Studying Abroad

According to DAAD, the number of US students studying abroad in Germany at universities during the 2010/2011 school year rose about 5.5% from the previous school year to over 9000 students. The rise in popularity for German universities could be because of the already good yet increasing quality of German schools, the low or nonexistent tuition rates for German universities, and because of increased advertisement and scholarships to American students for such study abroad options. Another factor has been growing number of American students studying abroad anywhere recently (rather than just in Germany). It has usually been the case that Germans studying in the states have always outnumbered Americans studying in Germany, but now the gap has almost closed. German universities are becoming m

ore enticing to American students- hopefully the promise of American universities has remained stable and that the closing gap cannot be attributed to decreasing popularity among Germans for US-study abroad trips. Attracting the world’s best students from around the world is good for the host country, good for the universities in the host country and reflects how attractive a nation is for the world’s most talented people as well. Here in the US we should try to figure out what Germany and its universities are doing right- it’s in our best interest if we want to keep our society successful. More gifted minds coming into our country means more great ideas coming out our country.

-Dane