With college acceptances hopefully right around the corner, the fear will begin to shift amongst seniors from finishing applications to the question, “How can I afford college?” The combination of the country’s economic struggles as well as the rising price of college has lead to students’ increased needs for financial assistance. It raises the question of whether it is truly necessary for college to be this expensive  and whether or not students from other countries are facing the same issues.

China has one of the most rapidly expanding higher education systems, yet its prices remain significantly lower than those of Western countries. Since China is becoming more involved in world politics, the economy as well as the international growth of the Mandarin language, more foreign students are studying in China. According to University World News, tuition fees vary by school, but the average price ranges from about 16,000 to 27,000 RMB a year or an average of $4,500 USD, which is next to nothing compared to the $50,000 a year seniors could soon be facing.

In some cases, foreign schools may compare to the price of some American universities, but the quality of the education can be vastly different. According to The Chicago Tribune, student Nicoletta Knoble could have studied at University of Chicago, University of California Berkeley, or New York University, prestigious American schools, but instead chose to attend Cambridge University in England. Knoble will spend about $26, 000 a year on tuition and living expenses, less than half the cost of New York University which costs $61, 907 a year. The price of Cambridge University is more comparative to the price of Knoble’s state school, the University of Illinois, but her studies at Cambridge will give her a more valuable education experience.

For those who don’t necessarily want to spend all four years abroad like Knoble, study abroad is a popular thing for college students to pursue sometimes because it is cheaper than the price of their own university. The number of students participating in study abroad has been increasing exponentially in the past decades, and the price is a major benefit of this program. Most schools still transfer financial aid packages to study abroad, so this valuable experience may also be beneficial to one’s wallet.

The United States, however, is not the only one suffering. Students in Quebec and England have recently been protesting tuition hikes in their respective countries. According to the New York Times, in Quebec, undergraduate tuition costs an average of $2, 519 per year but government officials are suggesting a price increase of approximately $254 a year. Demonstrations went on from February to September this year, and schools were forced to  push back their starting dates to accommodate student protests.

In England beginning in November, students protested government plans to triple the cost of tuition fees to approximately $14,000 USD a year. Chants of “no ifs, no buts, no education cuts” could be heard throughout the streets of London as students of all ages came together to fight these new price hikes.

Foreign language teacher Mr. Haddad said, “I went to school in Paris and in the Middle East and it was much cheaper than here in the United States.”

Despite these other countries facing hikes, the United States exceeds their prices by leaps and bounds. At some point, a college education will become impossible for students to pay for and universities will have to do something to halt the continuous price increase. Students are already being limited by their finances, and it will only get worse. Eventually, students may be forced to go overseas to get a quality education that they can afford.