TOW #19- “Americans are Moving to Europe for Free College Degrees”

            Lobosco, a reporter in CNN news, states that there has been more than several cases where an American college student dropped out of school to go to Europe, such as Germany, where tuitions are free. Lobosco than continues to state that because “a lot of American students don’t pay full price for tuition, . . . moving to Europe might not be that great a deal” (7). Unfortunately, Lobosco believes that studying abroad does more than allow you to save money, but give you the benefit of learning a new language, travel opportunities, and being prepared to work in a global economy”. Although those factors might seem to outweigh the negative consequences, as those studying abroad seem to save up more money, they are simply unrealistic expectations as more money is actually spent on visa and residency permit.

            Although not an expert in legal matters for immigrants, I have experienced the process of getting visa and residency permit myself, often translating English and writing emails to our lawyers for my Korean parents. Although they might be designed to be an easy process, without cars, fluency in language, and most importantly, money, it is nearly impossible to achieve the dream of living aboard. If lucky, the process can be as long as two years. However, for certain families, the time range can be extended up to more than ten years. This results in spending thousands of dollars on lawyers and green cards, when they could be spent on American education.

            Even when graduated from a foreign college, those opportunities that has given you the “prepa[ration for] work[ing] in a global economy”, can’t give you jobs. Although being bilingual gives you more advantage when competing for jobs, there are so many education systems that are already available for the American students starting in middle schools, that give them the opportunity to not only travel around in Europe, but also experience “student exchange”, programs that allow students to completely submerge into the culture that they study in.

            Although America is known for their expensive education and cheeseburger with fries, it is undeniable that moving to Europe to study abroad is far less beneficial as students will face visa and residency permit, that will leave them if not just as much, but more money in debt compared to those who stick to receiving the American education.