News - from the College and the Students
December 4th2008 - Students want study near London
- Source - Guardian
Students from abroad more concerned with location and reputation than fees
International students are more concerned with how close a university is to London than by the fees it charges, a study has shown.
Studying in or near the capital is one of the top priorities for overseas students deciding where to study for a degree in the UK, Lancaster University academics found.
It matters more to them than how much their course costs, which for undergraduate students from outside the European Union ranges from £6,410 per year at the University of the Highlands and Islands to £19,450 per year at Imperial College London for 2008-09.
Where a university and its courses rank in newspaper league tables is another factor which comes before the cost of fees for international students, the study showed.
Economics lecturers, Dr Kwok Soo and Dr Caroline Elliott, analysed how international students chose where to study at 97 universities between 2002 and 2007.
The researchers looked at students applying for degrees in business studies or engineering to get a spread of classroom-based and lab-based subjects.
They created a statistical model to compare the impact of factors such as the cost of a course, the importance of the university's city having a Premiership football team and the city's average rainfall on an international student's decision where to study.
They looked at the relationship of each factor on the number of applications and tested to see if as fees increased, for example, the number of applications fell proportionately.
Their study used statistics from the universities and colleges admissions service, Ucas.
Elliott said: "We find that the fees charged may influence the application decision of some students, but that there isn't a proportionate relationship between fees and the number of applications.
"Proximity to London and the existing popularity of a university among students already living in the UK are significant predictors of university applications."
The study comes as the British Council warned universities today that the number of overseas students in the UK was likely to dip in the next five years.
Overseas students from outside the EU contribute £2.87bn to the UK economy each year and are a growing part of universities' income. Some 75,830 took full-time undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at UK universities in 2006-07.
But China and India, traditional recruiting grounds for UK universities, are building their own higher education markets, the British Council said.
It urged UK universities to focus less on recruiting international students and more on building links with universities overseas.
Pat Killingley, the British Council's director of higher education, said: "It is essential that serious long-term investment is put in place to maintain the UK's brand and its position in the global education market. Without this, the UK is in real danger of losing its place as a major player."
For further information on how Fulham and Chelsea can help you study and work in the UK please contact: info@fccollege.co.uk
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