More and more students decide to study in foreign countries.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend?

Today, the number of students going abroad in pursuit of further education is on the increase. In my
view, this trend could bring about some benefits and drawbacks to individuals and countries as a whole.

On the one hand, there are undoubtedly some great beneficial aspects when students study overseas.
On an individual level, these students can have access to advanced educational standards offered by
prestigious institutions, such as Cambridge or Harvard University. Studying abroad, therefore, could
immensely enhance their professional development, which enables them to secure a position with a
desirable income in the future. More importantly, countries, especially less developed ones, may also
reap the benefits from this development. This is because after the students complete their studies, they
may decide to move back to their countries of origin to start working. Their knowledge and expertise,
which were accumulated during their studies, are valuable assets of which governments could consider
taking advantage for economic expansion and improvement of living standards.

On the other hand, overseas learning is not without its flaws. To begin with, students traveling abroad
often lack parental care and guidance, which could lead them to irresponsible behaviours, such as
truancy, or even narcotic addiction. As a consequence, they could face suspension, or more severely,
expulsion, leaving a gloomy future ahead of them. Additionally, less developed countries may be faced
with brain drain, which is the migration of their brilliant students in search of a higher living standard
and income. These developing countries, already at a disadvantage compared with developed ones, may
lose skilled and specialized labor, leaving them with little competitive competency, for example, in the
industries which required advanced level of expertise such as chip-making and automobile production,
the pillars of advanced economies.

In conclusion, while students and countries could gain significant benefits from overseas learning. This
trend could also be disadvantageous for students without a sense of discipline, and countries without
good meritocratic policies could also face great loss if these overseas students decide not to come back
home.