In the past, when students did a university degree, they tended to study in their own country. Nowadays, they have more opportunity to study abroad. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this development?

It is increasingly common for students to go abroad for higher studies, rather than study in their nation. This essay will highlight some of the benefits and drawbacks that have resulted from this switch. Looking firstly at the positives, a significant advantage is that foreign universities are often much better organized with their courses and equipped with good teaching staff. For example, Harvard University had 100 courses which made an individual expert in a field he was interested in, rather than subjects which are not relevant. Due to that the student can concentrate only on one subject, this can help him to develop skills for an employment opportunity in future. Not only this, but the staff who work at foreign colleges has been professionally trained to teach a student with a piece of practical knowledge. It is rare for a college in their own country. However, studying in abroad also present some disadvantages, the most obvious of which is the lack of loved ones around. Although friends and relatives can talk on a video call, these calls can be infrequent, and loneliness is often the consequence. To make matters worse, it has been shown that those who are lonely are at greater risk of becoming depressed and having their concentration on studies weakened. Furthermore, they have to deal with racism as the local students consider themselves superior due to the colour of their skins. Such an environment is likely to curtail happiness and trigger severe depression. In conclusion, despite the benefits of the systematic curriculum and highly trained professors that foreign colleges can offer to the students, the drawbacks of loneliness and its concomitant depression should also be taken into consideration.