The cost of college has risen significantly over the last several decades. The cost of college when I went, back in 1991 was approximately $10,000 per year. That was a private college, so, it was higher than a state funded university. With the reach we are allowed now, with the internet, the search for cheaper college costs is no longer national. High School students are starting to search globally for their education and to save on the cost of college. I have to say, I absolutely love this. Not only can they get their education, but, they have the opportunity to learn of new cultures.
Check out some of these books on researching colleges (The Princeton Review Best 382 Colleges 2018 Edition and The Princeton Review Complete Book of Colleges 2018 Edition) and study abroad programs (Student Guide and Parent Guide).
So, today’s post, will explore ten countries and where America ranks with the cost of college that our students and/or parents, must pay.
In the United States, the amount of student loans taken out is 1.3 trillion dollars. Wait, what???? 1.3 TRILLION dollars? That is just under 19 trillion less than the US national debt… The number of students who have student loans out is slightly over 44 million students. 7.4% of our population has student loans. That is an average of $37,000 per student. However, you look at the individual fields and you will see that students with medical degrees, the cost of college for them is close to $200,000. Lawyers have a cost of close to $150,000.
Let’s start with the countries that offer FREE college tuition:
- Denmark
- Brazil
- Germany
- Finland
- Greece
- Ireland
- Mexico
- Norway
- Poland
There are nine countries that offer free tuition. And I want to let it be known, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland and Greece made it on the top 20 list of vacation days given to their citizens.
France, Columbia, Austria, and Switzerland average less than $1,000 in annual costs. Italy, Netherlands, China, and Israel average less than $5,000. New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Japan, Canada, and South Korea average less than $8,000 per year.
The only comparable country with the US in costs is the U.K. Lists that are out there show that the US is slightly less expensive than the U.K., However, I don’t fully count them because a majority, if not all of the colleges in the U.K. are private. With that said, the student loan debt in the US is higher than the U.K. by approximately $7,000 per student.
Is your child ready to head off to college in the next year or two? Have you looked into the cost of college here in the US and globally? Would your student consider, or, would you allow your student, to study abroad to help with saving on college costs and to give them a chance to live in and learn a different culture? Comment below or share on my Facebook page!
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Look at that list of countries with free tuition! A few states here in the US have started to offer similar options. I worry about my children and what it will be like in 10 years from now for them!
It’s pretty staggering in the US. But free tuition? I’m movin’!
It’s funny because in my day college wasn’t a must do. Then I think they promoted so well that it became a thing that everyone should go and prices skyrocketed. Both my kids went, we wouldn’t have it no other way and now I’m a true believer that college isn’t for everyone and there are plenty of trades that kids can go into right out of high school. My daughter has a bill of over 100K and she could have went to a community college and still have been doing what she does. And she has a GREAT job!
Things definitely shifted to a must do environment I think in the early 90’s. However, today, having a degree can be optional, I agree. Instead of diploma’s, getting certifications in certain fields should be sufficient, depending on the field you go into. Such as coding, writing, social media, etc. My son wants to be a psychologist, so, he’ll have to go to school for that. He’s debating going further to become a psychiatrist. His dad works at a university, so, his education will be free, we will just have to pay for dorm, books and meal plans. I know we’re one of the fortunate ones! I told him he will have to get a work/study job so he can help with the dorm, books and meal plans lol.