英國大學萎靡不振迫使優秀學生赴美求學

中國日報網 2012-06-08 08:55

Record numbers of British students are considering studying in the United States, according to the Good Schools Guide.

Growing numbers of bright teenagers are rejecting British universities in favour of those in the United States amid claims they no longer represent value for money, a leading headmaster has warned.

Students are being forced to seek courses on the other side of the Atlantic because institutions in this country are stuck in a “malaise”, according to Anthony Seldon, Master of Wellington College, Berkshire.

He said cash-strapped British universities provided less contact time with lecturers and displayed only a “perfunctory interest” in sport and the arts.

The comments – in a new book published by The Good Schools Guide – come as figures show a surge in the number of pupils applying to study in the United States.

According to data, the proportion of students taking the US college entrance exam in Britain increased by a third last year compared with 2008. In all, more than 10,000 applicants sat the main admissions test, it was revealed.

The rising interest is believed to be driven by pupils from independent and grammar schools seeking to escape annual tuition fees of up to ￡9,000 in Britain from September.

But writing in the new book, Uni In The USA, Dr Seldon said theexodus was “down to far more than economics”.

“American universities in particular celebrate breadth of achievement far more than those in Britain, where only a perfunctory interest is shown in sporting or artistic prowess, or whether one held positions of responsibility and contributed to charitable activities,” he said.

Dr Seldon said that one-in-10 Wellington students were now applying to universities outside Britain compared with just the “occasional pupil” a few years ago.

Other independent schools have reported a similar increase in recent years.

According to the Fulbright Commission, which promotes links between US and UK universities, demand is highest for places at elite Ivy League institutions.

Applications to Pennsylvania University jumped by 50 percent last year, while demand for Harvard was up 41 percent and Yale reported a 23 percent rise, the Commission said.

The new guide includes reviews of more than 65 US universities, as well as information covering the applications process, entrance exams, fees, scholarships, visas and lifestyle issues.

(Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)

一位名牌中學校長警告說，越來越多的優秀英國中學生拒絕英國大學，轉而選擇美國大學。人們認為英國大學已不再物有所值。

伯克郡威靈頓學院的校長安東尼?賽爾頓說，英國學生們被迫到大西洋的另一邊求學，因為英國的高校陷入了萎靡不振的困境。

他說，英國大學由于資金緊缺，使得師生間的聯系時間較少，對待體育和藝術課程也是敷衍的態度。

這些評論來自《好學校指南》出版的一本新書。此前有數據顯示，申請美國學校的英國學生數量猛增。

數據顯示，去年英國參加美國大學入學考試的學生比例相比2008年增加了三分之一。據透露，共有1萬多名英國學生參加了美國高校的這一主要招生考試。

據認為，對美國高校感興趣的英國學生增多是由于很多私立學校和文法學校的學生想逃避從九月份起一年高達9000英鎊的英國大學學費。

不過，賽爾頓博士在新書《美國大學》中寫道，引發這一出國求學浪潮的遠遠不僅是經濟因素。

他說：“相比英國大學，美國大學特別重視全才的培養，而英國大學對于培養體育或藝術才能興趣淡薄，對于學生有無領導能力、是否參加慈善活動也不關心。”

賽爾頓博士說，現在威靈頓學院有十分之一的學生申請了國外的大學，而在幾年前，很少有學生這么做。