The U.S dollar

America. The home of the brave. The land of liberty. The economic superpower of the world. Wait, scratch that last one. By Matt Ulmer (2008)

The value of the U.S. dollar has been steadily declining for years, and has now reached a point so low that U.S. newspapers are overflowing with stories about the increasing numbers of students electing not to study in Europe anymore, because an eight euros sandwich is nearly $19 USD.  To fully understand the situation, consider this: A European can save 60 euros on an Apple iPod Nano that costs 200 euros simply by buying it in the United States.

First, what this means is that now is a better time than ever to study abroad in the United States.  Have you always wanted to study in New York or Los Angeles or some other large city, but always worried it would cost too much?  Now it might be a bit more manageable.  And even studying in a small town may allow you to travel and get an education for less than a semester costs in your home university.

But the other interesting element of this is how it affects U.S. students.  Europe - particularly France, Spain and England, where the U.S. dollar to pound ration is even worse than the euro - has always been the number one study abroad destination for U.S. students.  But if you believe the American press, this is rapidly changing.

A report by the Institute of International Education states that, within the last two years, the number of students studying abroad in Europe has increased by 4.8 percent, while the number of students studying in the Middle East has increased by 31 percent, in Asia by 26 percent and in Africa by 20 percent.  The media claim that this means students are less interested in studying in Europe.  And they blame this directly on the value of the dollar.

We here at StudyAbroad.com, a free comprehensive directory of study abroad programs, think otherwise.  We think U.S. students are finally maturing internationally.

StudyAbroad.com polled visitors to its website, asking students, "Have you changed the destination in which you want to study abroad because of the weakening dollar?"  While 43 percent of respondents said yes, 34 percent said no and 23 percent said, "My desired destination isn't affected."

Consider that for a moment.  More than half of all respondents were not affected at all, either because money does not pose an issue, or because the destination they were intending to study wasn't impacted. 

Explaining those who were not concerned with the money is easy.  Even though the government has passed a bill asking that 1 million U.S. students study abroad by 2010 (compare that to the 223,000 who studied abroad in 2006), the majority of current study abroad students decide to learn in other countries not because it's a requirement, but because they want to, and they think it will make them a more marketable job candidate.  And those students have the financial means to afford a semester in London, even if the price is now slightly inflated.  We won't start seeing more of the "typical," more monetarily concerned American student looking to study abroad until a few more months or even years into the government's new bill.

Far more interesting are the students whose desired destinations aren't affected.  Does this mean that a respondent was planning to study in Lyon, France instead of Paris, France, and since cost of living in the smaller city is much less than that of the booming global metropolis, she wasn't too perturbed by the increased costs?  Maybe.  But again, we here at StudyAbroad.com think it's something different.

Let's get back to the numbers offered by the Institute of International Education: a growth of 4.8 percent for Europe, but 31 percent for the Middle East, 26 percent for Asia and 20 percent for Africa.  What could possibly explain this massive growth for other countries, and teensy tiny expansion for Europe?

Well, could it be that, since the percentage of U.S. students who study abroad in Europe is so large, there isn't any more room for huge growth?  Sorry to keep throwing numbers at you, but more than 60 percent of all U.S. students study in Europe.  It can't possibly increase that much more. 

But what can increase are the percentages of students studying in other parts of the world.  Parts that are getting a lot of international attention, like the Middle East or Africa, and parts that are playing an increasingly important role on the world stage, like Asia.  The Institute of International Education's stats don't mean that students are any less interested in Europe.  They mean they are more interested in every other part of this large world of ours.   

And that's good news for everyone.  It means Americans are becoming more internationally aware, which will mean improved foreign relations.  It means greater global understanding and unity.  Who knows, it could mean that the next time some American tourists are looking for directions in your country, they'll be able to ask you in your native language.

That's asking too much?  Okay, but we here at StudyAbroad.com think there's been a step in the right direction.  And we also think you should start buying some Apple products in America.  You can certainly afford to study abroad there now, so might as well pick up some gadgets in the process. 

Matthew Ulmer is a writer at StudyAbroad.com - a resource of EducationDynamics