Weak dollar keeps students from visiting Europe

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The weak dollar, already prompting world travelers to think twice about visits to pricey Europe, is forcing college students to reconsider favorites like London. Instead, students are increasingly opting for nontraditional destinations in Asia, Africa and South America.In Europe -- where the euro, pound and Swiss franc have walloped the dollar -- students are still flocking to Oxford to study Shakespeare and Florence to study Renaissance art.But they're much more likely than in years past to consider countries where the dollar is stronger, such as Argentina or China.Study abroad trips to Argentina grew by 42 percent from 2005 to 2006, the latest statistics available. Study in China was up by 38 percent, according to the Institute of International Education."There seems to be a steady shift toward locations that are both less expensive and more advantageous to careers," said Peggy Blumenthal, chief operating officer for the Institute of International Education."Students are going to Mexico rather than Spain, China rather than Japan," Blumenthal said. "The dollar certainly has made people look hard at value for the dollar."At California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, outside of Los Angeles, nearly twice as many students are studying abroad this fall over last year, said Lisa Loberg, director of its study-abroad program.But no one is going to Spain, the third most popular destination nationwide for studying abroad. Seven students are going to Mexico, two to Costa Rica and one to Argentina. In addition, two students are going to South Africa and one to Senegal."We want students to go where they want to go," Loberg said. "At the same time, we encourage them to go to nontraditional destinations. We say, 'This is college. This is your chance to go to a place you might not go on vacation.' "CLU senior Blythe Cherney, 21, studied in Thailand last year. This fall, she'll go to Oxford in England, one of the places where the dollar is weakest. She's aware of the weak dollar, but the Oxford program, which focuses on politics and the arts, "seemed tailored to me," she said.At Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., among the top U.S. schools for the percentage of students studying abroad, a new program in Shanghai has attracted three times as many participants as anticipated, said Charles Hall, dean of international programs.A program in Buenos Aires, which normally draws about 50 students, will have 65 this year.Meanwhile, students are returning from their European travels talking about high food and transportation costs, Hall said."They maybe take a little more bread at breakfast, so they don't have to pay for lunch," Hall said. "They're figuring out ways to penny-pinch."Colleges have different ways of funding study-abroad programs. Some base their charges on actual costs. Many charge the same amount for tuition, room and board as a semester at home as long as the college is sponsoring the program.Pepperdine, for example, costs $24,085 a semester for tuition, room and board. That's the same basic price it charges for a semester abroad. The school does charge an additional $3,080 for airfare and field trips."Some of our non-European programs end up compensating for the expense of other programs," Hall said. "Otherwise we'd have to up the price considerably for programs like London."The differences are more pronounced at schools like USC, where study-abroad charges are based on actual costs of housing, air and on-site transportation.At USC, a student who studies in London for a semester can expect to pay $28,060. A semester in Nanjing, China, costs $17,235.However they handle the funding, schools are trying to make their programs more accessible, an issue that was raised last month at the annual meeting of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, a foreign student advisers' group.Among all students studying abroad, about 84 percent are white, a number that has barely budged since 1994. Only 5 percent are Latino, a percentage that also has held steady since 1994.Surveys suggest that money is the primary obstacle for minority and low-income students. That's why CLU is looking into providing scholarships for students.(Contact Jean Cowden Moore of the Ventura County Star in California at jcmoore(at)venturacountystar.com.)