The USA is the top choice for parents who would consider university abroad for their child, a new survey shows.
HSBC’s The Value of Education Foundations for the Future report revealed that nearly one in two parents selected the USA as one of their top three destinations from a list of 50 countries.
However, the USA was also found to be the most expensive destination, with the average annual tuition fees for international university students there being as high as US$33,215 per year.
Findings from the survey of 6,241 parents in 15 countries show that of those who chose the USA as one of their top three preferred destinations for their child’s international university education, those in China (12 per cent), the UAE (12 per cent) and India (10 per cent) made up the largest proportion.
The majority (59 per cent) of parents, when asked to select the one reason to best explain why they chose the USA as one of their preferred destinations, say it is because of the better quality of education it offers. A further 29 per cent say it is for the job prospects there.
“Students and parents consider a university education in the USA as a good investment because they have access to the largest choice of excellent colleges and universities and to the English-language skills that are so critical in today’s job market,” said Allan Goodman, President and CEO of the Institute of International Education. “The USA is home to the largest group of higher education students from around the world– about 1 million in the 2014/15 academic year – who have contributed about US$30.8 billion to the USA economy over the same period from tuition and living expenses,” he added.
Over a third (35 per cent) of parents around the world would consider an international university education for their child. Ambitions for an international education are the highest among parents in Indonesia (60 per cent), the UAE (58 per cent), Hong Kong (54 per cent), India (47 per cent) and China (44 per cent). Countries where parents are the least likely to consider sending their child to university abroad are Egypt (10 per cent), Australia and France (both 16 per cent).
Top countries parents are most likely to consider for their child’s university education abroad
- USA
- UK
- Australia
- Canada
- Germany
- Japan
- France
- Singapore
- China
- New Zealand
Article published 28th September 2016