By David Leonhardt. The group that administers the SAT has begun a nationwide outreach program to try to persuade more low-income high school seniors who scored high on standardized tests to apply to select colleges. The group, the College Board, is sending a package of information on top colleges to every senior who has an SAT or Preliminary SAT score in the top 15 percent of test takers and whose family is in the bottom quarter of income distribution. The package, which includes application fee waivers to six colleges of the student’s choice, will be sent to roughly 28,000 seniors. More...

By Bobbi Dempsey. Frustrated by the lack of affordable college options at home, American students are increasingly looking beyond our borders for ways to get an education without jeopardizing their financial future. Universities in Canada and even farther afield offer comparable quality at a lower cost -- but you have to know where to look.
When you run the numbers, it's no wonder U.S. students are looking abroad. Two-thirds of college seniors who graduated in 2011 had student loan debt, with an average of $26,600 per borrower, according to the Project on Student Debt. That represents a 5 percent increase from just a year earlier -- an annual rate of growth that has become standard in recent years. The reason students need to borrow so much money? Soaring tuition costs. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Education show that annual prices for undergraduate tuition, room and board at public institutions rose 42 percent to more than $13,600, and prices at private not-for-profit institutions rose 31 percent (after adjusting for inflation) to $36,300 for the period between 2000-01 and 2010-11. More...

A proposal by the UK government to charge visitors from “high risk” countries a £3,0000 visa bond has stirred reactions from  parents and potential students in the UK’s third largest student market, Nigeria, as well as an outcry from members of the government.
Despite assurances from the UK’s ambassador to Nigeria Andrew Pocock that the scheme, if introduced, would affect very few people, there is still palpable confusion. Last week, senators said the proposed bond is “selective, discriminatory, obnoxious, vexatious and unprecedented”. More...

By Travis Mitchell. Find out which U.S. schools offer international students the most financial aid and more. U.S. News & World Report released its 2014 Best Colleges rankings earlier this month, which provide insight and data on nearly 1,800 schools.
The rankings and data include several points of particular interest to international students considering a U.S. education, including information on the highest average financial aid awards and available ESL programs. More...

Between 700 and 800 Brazilian nationals are studying at Dutch universities, propelling the South American country into the top five of non-EU student bodies.
A special government programme and word-of-mouth have been crucial in boosting the popularity of Dutch universities, Remon Boef of the higher education body Nuffic, told the Volkskrant. Nuffic has a special office in Brazil. More...

By Wedigo de Vivanco. Einem Blick nach draußen fällt auf, dass sich die deutschen Hochschulen nicht genügend Gedanken machen, zur Mobilität bereite internationale Talente für ihre Hochschulen zu gewinnen. Deutschland wird zum Zielland für die Studierwilligen, die bei der Suche nach einem angelsächsischen Studienplatz leer ausgingen. Mit angelsächsisch mein ich Studienplätze in Ländern mit Muttersprache Englisch, also Großbritannien, die USA, Canada, Australien und Neuseeland. Auch auf die steigende Attraktion anderer Länder wie den Niederlanden, und der Schweiz sei verwiesen.
Eine nähere  Betrachtung der Gründe verweist vor allem auf zwei Ursachen. Einmal ist in Deutschland das englischsprachige Studienangebot sehr gering – insbesondere für ein Bachelorstudium -und zum anderen verhindern die Bewerbungstermine  und die späte Mitteilung über die Zulassung eine Entscheidung für einen Studienplatz in Deutschland. More...