Sophie Gilbert thinks journalism as a university course is viewed less seriously in Britain than in the US. So when she wanted to pursue a postgraduate degree, she enrolled at New York University.
"Journalism is not `just' a vocational postgraduate course [in the US]," the 24-year-old former magazine journalist from London said.
"There's a lot of thinking about the process and history of reporting the news, and a lot of reading courses," she said.
Studying in the US is more expensive, but Gilbert said: "Personally, it gave me the break I needed to completely shake up my perspective and thinking."
Park Joo-hee, a 19-year-old South Korean accountancy undergraduate at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, initially applied to study in England, before opting for the US.
"In general, for business and accounting, I felt that the US is better than countries in Europe, which was a big determinant for me coming here," he said.
"Also, I felt that I would have a more fun college experience in the US, especially in LA because of its population diversity and good weather compared to the gloomy weather in London," he said.
For more than 50 years, US colleges and universities have been luring millions of young people from all over the world. A study by the London-based Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) -- a think tank affiliated with the Association of Commonwealth Universities and Universities UK -- said the US has the biggest share (22 percent) of the international student market. Last year nearly 565,000 foreign students traveled there for higher education.
The US remains the benchmark in higher education and its institutions dominate global league tables.
US experience
"For many students, a US higher education degree still seems to define the quintessential `American experience,'" OBHE chief executive officer Don Olcott said.
"The massive sports facilities, on-campus accommodation and fraternities that US education seems to provide offer an archetype for student living [of the sort] that international students have seen in movies," he said.
Olcott pointed out that despite heavy investment by other countries, the idea of higher education has more significance in the US, which is why institutions receive a lot of their funding from the private sector and alumni donations.
In addition, the US has a tradition of openness, which fosters the freedom of inquiry essential to productive graduate training. This means students have much more flexibility and control over their destinies, including finance -- a factor that is lacking in many European countries, where debate about whether higher education should be a privilege or a right continues to cause controversy.
"Perhaps the greatest and most lasting draw to students is the flexibility of the system," said Jerome Lucido, vice-provost for enrollment and policy management at USC, which for the past six years has consistently drawn the largest international population of any US university.
"Undergraduate students are not restricted to one area of study, are not required to choose early on and can often structure a program according to their diverse and emerging interests," he said.
Another big advantage is the number of US institutions of higher learning -- more than 4,000 and counting. These range from public and private research universities to two-year community colleges, regional universities and the growing for-profit university sector.
British qualifications are highly regarded and widely recognized, yet the OBHE study suggests that many overseas students consider an US degree a better investment. In the US, annual tuition fees can reach US$38,000 at top institutions; students could save as much as US$10,000 by enrolling on a similar degree at a British university. However, this advantage disappears after taking into account the high cost of living in many parts of Britain.
The UK Council for International Education said the perception that future earnings may be better with a US degree is another factor.
A study by JWT, the advertising and communications agency, for the British Council showed that although foreign students often see British education to be of better quality, they choose to study in the US because many universities and colleges have industrial partnerships that provide prospects for future employment.
"Yes, our tuition can be higher than other nations', but our prices are wide-range," said Peggy Blumenthal, chief operating officer for the Institute of International Education, the powerful New York-based charity that works with stakeholders to promote US education.
"For example, our community colleges charge less, and students can study for two years and then transfer to a four-year institution to complete their study," she said.
Blumenthal said US graduate programs offer incentives for outstanding foreign students, especially in science and technology.
"This is not often the case in the UK," she said. "I've heard colleagues in India saying that while British and Australian universities may be less expensive, they often don't offer incentives in funded postgraduate research opportunities. So in the long run we are less expensive."
British universities point out that despite the perceived strength of the US system, the proportion of international students there is less than 5 percent, while the UK figure exceeds 13 percent.
Diana Warwick, the chief executive officer of Universities UK (the umbrella organization for the heads of 131 institutions of higher learning), said the international student recruitment market in the UK remains strong, despite fierce competition. Her organization has been lobbying on issues such as immigration fees and universities' ability to offer work placements to make Britain more attractive to foreign students and graduates.
partnerships
"It is no mean feat that we're second only to the mighty US in terms of numbers. UK institutions are very experienced in working overseas," Warwick said.
"Much activity is focused on developing and sustaining international partnerships with overseas higher education institutions, within which research collaboration [and] staff and student mobility can take place." she said.
"We've also been helped by the government's recognition of the importance of international students to the UK -- for example, through the renewal of the prime minister's Initiative on international education and the recent creation of a specific initial visa category for students," she said.
However, specialists on both sides of the Atlantic warn that the British and US advantage is diminishing as other countries increasingly offer programs partly or even entirely in English, especially at postgraduate level.
And the democratic conditions essential for freedom of inquiry are spreading. While this is a positive development, it means the two countries are losing one of their main selling points.
"The most important threats that US graduate education faces are overconfidence and complacency," said Debra Stewart, president of the US Council of Graduate Schools. "I have no doubt that North American graduate schools will be able to compete very effectively in the future, as they have in the past. But our leaders must realize that they are in a competitive environment. International admissions is no longer as easy as simply `opening the mail.'"
Olcott agrees.
"Given that the US already has strict immigration procedures since Sept. 11 -- interviews, biometrics -- and that the UK is rolling out a new immigration point-based system over the next year or so, which also includes biometrics and interviews, students might decide that they could go elsewhere rather than dealing with the expense and bother of applying for a visa they may ultimately not be granted," he said. "As a minor factor, I think politics could conceivably influence some students, or at least their parents."
"The US and UK will have to define the role and commitment to the international mix they desire in the long term," he said.
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