MORE Irish young people
are enrolling in American colleges each year due in
part to "fierce competition" for places at home.
A new report reveals that 1,158 Irish students are
currently enrolled at third-level institutions in
the US - a rise of 9.3 per cent in five years.
The report also shows that some 7,700 American
students are currently attending third-level in
Ireland - up 9 per cent.
Northeastern University in Boston is favourite among
Irish undergraduates travelling to study in the US
while New York University is the top choice for our
postgraduates.
The figures are contained in the 2013 Open Doors
Report by the Institute of International Education
in the States.
It shows that Irish emigrant undergraduates are
opting primarily to study along the east coast with
Duquesne University, Boston College, Mercyhurst
College, and the University of Scranton also making
the top five.
Columbia University, the University of Notre Dame,
Harvard University, and Cornell University complete
the top five choices for Irish postgraduates.
The figures show that undergraduates account for 39
per cent (452 students) of the total with
postgraduates accounting for 32.2 per cent (373).
Students doing non-degree courses make up 19.7 per
cent (228) with participants on short-term courses
or other training schemes accounting for 9.1 per
cent (105).
Meanwhile, of the Irish undergraduates, 86.6 per
cent are doing four-year Bachelor degrees while 13.4
per cent are enrolled in two-year "feeder" courses
at community college.
It costs an Irish undergraduate an average of
$21,706US (16,143 euro) a year to undertake a
four-year degree at a public university in US. That
jumps to an average of $29,056US (21,600 euro) a
year to undertake a four-year degree at a private US
university.
Ms Davidson said, however, that a "significant
proportion" of Irish students will qualify for
either full or partial scholarships to help towards
the cost of these tuition fees. Meanwhile,
postgraduate study in the US can vary from $21,706
(16,143 euro) a year up to more than $50,000US
(37,131 euro) depending on the college and field of
study.
Education USA, which published the new report, is
Ireland’s only official information source on
studying in the US.
Its Ireland manager Joanne A. Davidson said there
was "something for everyone" at America's 4,000
third-level institutions with feeder community
colleges an option for people who don't get the
Leaving Certificate points they expected.
She said once a person is accepted by an accredited
American educational institution, they must then do
a visa interview at the US Embassy in Dublin.
“It is no surprise that the number of Irish students
studying in the US has grown this year. Competition
is fierce for places in Ireland and with the
holistic application process used by US colleges,
many students find that their best fit university is
actually abroad.
"So many Irish students are now looking for other
options and are looking for ways to diversify to be
more competitive in the jobs market down the line. I
think they see America as a good way to do that, to
stand out a bit from the rest of the crowd."
Ms Davidson said she expected the numbers travelling
from Ireland to study in America to continue to rise
in the coming years.
"We have found that our phones and emails are much,
much busier especially in the past six to eight
months," she added.
Meanwhile, the new report shows that a record high
of 819,644 international students are currently
studying in American, while US students studying
abroad stands at an all-time high of more than
283,000. |
