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Top Destinations for Overseas Education

A total of 262,416 students have studied overseas in the most recent academic term (2008-2009), according to a recent study by the Institute of International Education. ^[1]

China makes it fifth in the list of the most popular destinations, dominated by European countries.  These five countries account for 46% of total students enrolled overseas in the 2008/2009 academic term:

• United Kingdom, 12.7%
• Italy, 11.7%
• Spain, 9.6%
• France, 6.6%
• China, 5%

Overall, enrollment overseas has increased by 8.5%. Three Asian countries have among the highest rates of increases as destination for an overseas education:  India, China, and Japan. In these three countries, it would cost only about half, at most, of what one would spend in a local college or university.  For example, college education in India would be about two-fifths the average U.S. local cost.  (Note:  These calculations are based on most recent estimates of average tertiary educationexpenditures per student ^[2] and GDP per capita^[3] in each country.

^[1] Institute of International Education
^[2] Nationmaster.com
^[3] Central Intelligence Agency

International Students in the USA: Asia Dominates (but at a Steeper Price)

A total of 671,616 international students studied in the U.S.A. in the most recent academic term (2008-2009), according to a recent study by the Institute of International Education.^[1]

• India tops the list of countries from which international students originate.  China ranks second in the list.  India and China, combined, account for thirty percent of the total population of international students.
• South Korea ranks third in the list.
• Half of the total international student population in this country comes from only five countries.  Four of those five countries are in Asia, with only Japan ranking lower, fifth in the list below Canada.

In fact, Asian countries dominate the top 25 places of origin of international students.

With the dramatic increases in the cost of education, will this trend continue?  Consider the recent fee hikes that elicited recent student protests in one of our country’s most prestigious universities.^[2]

That would bring the basic UC education fees to about $10,300, plus about another $1,000 for campus-based charges, for a total that would be about triple the UC cost a decade ago. Room, board and books can add another $16,000.

Never mind the laptop!  Twenty-seven grand and change seems like a steep sum to me.  How can the typical American family whose average household income is $50,740^[3] afford to bring their sons and daughters to college nowadays?  And, how much more of a challenge is it for foreign students coming from the above-mentioned countries?

Using GDP per capita as a benchmark for comparison, while the US figure rests at $46,900, consider that of those five countries. ^[4]

• India, $2,900
• China, $6,000
• South Korea, $27,600
• Canada, $39,100
• Japan, $34,000

^[1] Institute of International Education
^[2] Amina Khan, “UCLA students end a day of protest over fee hikes”, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 19, 2009
^[3] U.S. Census Bureau
^[4] Central Intelligence Agency

With H1N1, Everyday is Global Handwashing Day

Millions of children and adults in over 80 countries are celebrating the second annual Global Handwashing Day. UNICEF Japan has launched a project promoting handwashing among children in Japan and around the world.¹ This video shows a dance choreographed by Kaiji Moriyama, a renowned dancer, as a public service supporting such efforts.  Everybody...Washi, washi, wah...

The Japanese government also launched a "cough etiquette" campaign, which encourages people to cover their mouths, use a tissue and turn away when coughing.²

¹unicef.org
²Catherine Makino, ”Japan takes hand washing to new level”, Chicago Tribune, Oct. 16, 2009

2009 U.S. Math Tests: Racial/Ethnic Gaps Persist

The Department of Education released today the results of the 2009 math test, known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, that was given to 329,000 fourth- and eighth-grade students.¹  Sam Dillon of the New York Times characterizes the results as sluggish and disappointing.²

Scores on the most important nationwide math test increased only marginally for eighth graders and not at all for fourth graders, continuing a six-year trend of sluggish results that suggest the nation will not come close to bringing all children to proficiency by 2014, a central goal of the Bush-era federal education law, No Child Left Behind.

According to Mr. Dillon, the fact that racial and ethnic gaps still persist even since 2007 makes it especially disappointing.  Here's a summary of the results by racial/ethnic group from the NCES.

Among Fourth-Graders
White and Asian/Pacific Islander students continued to score higher on average than Black, Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native students in 2009.  Asian/Pacific Islander students also scored higher on average than White students.

Among Eight-Graders
In 2009, both White and Asian/Pacific Islander students scored higher on average than Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native students.  The average score for Asian/Pacific Islander students was also 8 points higher than the score for White students.

1National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
2Sam Dillon, “Sluggish Results Seen in U.S. Math Scores”, The New York Times, Oct. 14, 2009

Jim Yong Kim: First Asian American Ivy League Leader

President Jim Yong Kim was inaugurated last Tuesday to become the first Asian American leader of Ivy League school.¹ Dr. Kim co-founded Partners in Health, a Harvard-affiliated nonprofit organization that provided health services in Haiti. He also served as Director of HIV/AIDS in the World Health Organization, a program that significantly raised global AIDS awareness and changed the life prospects of thousands who are currently in treatment.² In his inaugural address, President Jim Yong Kim imparted his wisdom to the student body and bequeathed upon them a greater calling ahead.

Find your passion, be persistent in achieving mastery, pursue knowledge in the way that works best for you and embrace the planet’s problems, because no one will be more prepared to fix them than you.

¹Holly Ramer of The Associated Press, “1st Asian-American to lead Ivy League school inaugurated”, Nashua Telegraph, Sept. 23, 2009
²Global Health Champions, PBS.org

SAT Scores Dip: Except For Asian Americans

In his NY Daily News op-column today, Stanley Crouch offers suggestions on how to reverse the continued decline of SAT test results in the past five years.  He takes mass media to task in portraying the attractiveness of intellectual capacity among our youth.¹

Important shifts in our culture are given national recognition through our electronic mass media. Let's begin to see intelligent young people, or those who study and work hard at doing well in school, depicted as more than merely nerds.

From the silly comedies of Jack Black to the hip-hop imbecilities of Lil Wayne, little room in our culture has been made for protagonists with brains. Now is the time when we need to see them out here.

Mr. Crouch points to a historical precedent in similar efforts, J. Edgar Hoover calling upon Hollywood to reverse the trend of glamorizing crime in the 30’s.  The author confirms that the call was heeded, leading at least to an expanded characterization in gangster movies with name stars also getting positive roles of defending society against criminal types.

The op-ed columnist suggests that media should also communicate the importance of study and high-quality performance, given that “Americans allow TV to become the favored baby-sitter and one of the biggest family influences on the children of the house.”   Mr. Crouch believes that is why the SAT performance of Asian American students does not follow the overall trend of decline.

The performance of Asian American students in the SAT tests in fact runs in contrast with other minority groups.  Says one AP article published in the New York Times, “Whatever Asian-Americans are doing, educators want to bottle it.”  The article expounds on the performance of Asian American students in the SAT tests and how taking prep subjects may be one of key factors that result in such a notable feat.²

The exception is Asian-Americans, whose average combined score surged 13 points to a combined 1623, while scores for whites fell 2 points to 1581. For black students, average scores dropped 4 points to 1276. Average scores for two of the three categories the College Board uses for identifying Hispanics also declined, and overall ranged from 1345 to 1364.

White kids are more likely to have access to advanced college-prep subjects than blacks and Hispanics, and the success of Asian-Americans on the SAT is also probably due in part to their push to enroll in such courses.

Such a push towards prep subject enrollments may not be where all the answers lie, nor can mass media be pushed into that redefinition of appealing character portrayal that Mr. Crouch idealizes.  For one thing, a push is a push; forced implementation or coercion is never appealing.  Yet, many Asian American students today experience such pressure to conform to traditional value that their families continue to weigh down on them.

Apart from study and hard work, there are other factors that matter and contribute to one’s personal growth and development.  Perhaps, mass media can be talked into promoting the notion that a good life-study balance is sexy as well.

1Stanley Crouch, “Until smart equals sexy, U.S. kids will lag on SAT scores”, The Daily News
2The Associated Press, “SAT Scores Dip for High School Class of 2009”, New York Times