Education in US attracts Turkish students

Turkey ranks first in Europe and tenth in the world in sending students to the US. The absence of entrance exams, mobility among different departments and the advantages provided by an American degree raise the number of Turkish students in the US. Experts who spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) agree that, besides the increase of the Turkish youth population, transportation facilities, joint education programs, the economic transformation of Turkish economy over the last decade has led to more students preferring the US for an education. According to the  Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Open Doors 2012 report, Turkey has long been the only European country to figure regularly in the top 10 nations sending students. The report adds that out of 764,495 foreign students in the US, 11,973 were Turkish. Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) Josue Barrera, Director of Office of Public Affairs and Strategic Communication, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of US Department of State said, “Turkey is the tenth leading place of origin for international students in the United States. There have been between ten and twelve thousand students from Turkey enrolled in U.S. higher education for the past decade, although there has been some fluctuation within this range. Turkey is the only country from Europe that has consistently had more than 10,000 students at U.S. colleges and universities over the past decade – more than the next leading European senders, the UK (with more than 9,000 students in the United States last year) and Germany (with about 9,300).” The US is preferred by all international students in the world. The reasons for Turkish students' interest in US education institutions are related to the structural and organizational differences between Turkish and American universities. Unlike Turkey, the US does not requie a central entrance exam as it is not a mark-based system.

The director of Istanbul based Eurasia International Education Fairs (IEFT), Deniz Akar, told AA that Turkish students are attracted to the US due to the flexibility in course-selecting system, chance to develop their English skills, and most importantly the advantages of an American diploma in finding a job.

In addition Barrera asserted that educators and diplomats attributed Turkey’s leadership in sending students to the United States to a combination of push factors – demographics and higher education capacity in Turkey - and pull factors – the quality and diversity of higher education in the United States and the growing popularity of English language as preparation for careers in the global economy.

The advisor for a consultancy institution operating under Turkish-American Association in Ankara, Future Assist Gokyar Karsit, emphasized the effort of US education institutions to raise the diversity of students enrolled, and said, "Schools want to recruit students from the countries that rarely send students. Turkish students are distinct for US schools in terms of  competitiveness. They are wondered in world politics arena, as well."

One of the important factors went unnoticed that helped the increase in number of Turkish students in US is the economic transformation of the last decade.

A research report published by World Education Services (WES) published in October 2012 emphasizing systematically identifying key emerging markets and offering strategies to successfully recruit students from them lists Turkey among top four “emerging markets” in the world.

In the report that showed Turkey as a market for graduate and dual-degree programs, Turkey is also recognized as “a country with high potential for recruiting students” with an economny in transition generating new wealth and aspirations.

The report also advises American high education institutions to overcome barriers by understanding the unique segments of Turkish students, and building pathways for students through partnerships.

Rise in airway transportation also increases number of Turkish students in US

Experts also point at Turkey's youth population, visa and transportation facilities and joint education programs as reasons behind students' rising interest. 

Deputy Vice President, Research and Evaluation Director of Center for Academic Mobility Research at IIE Rajika Bhandari told AA that many U.S.institutions have built and sustained successful partnerships with Turkish institutions over the past several years and have thus also hosted a large number of Turkish students.

"Within the SUNY system, 11 campuses have developed joint programs and exchanges with 7 Turkish institutions, and New York state is by far the top host of Turkish students, hosting close to 20% of all Turkish students in the U.S.”

Karsit from Future Assist also said, "Before parents were more concerned when sending their children to the US but now there are Turkish airlines flights three times a day to New York."  

Another factor is easy visa procedures. Karsit said Turkey was not among those countries that US applied hard visa procedures after 9/11 events.

"Rather, US easily gives 10 years of multiple visa to Turks."

Students return to Turkey after completing mostly engineering, MBA graduate programs

Turkish students mostly enroll in graduate programs in engineering and business administration. They also prefer coming back to Turkey to work as they can find good opportunities similar to those in US thanks to the surge in Turkish economy.

Beyza Unal, a Fulbrighter at Old Dominion University at Conflict and Cooperation studies told AA that Turkish students did not prefer US because of lacking education skills in Turkey, rather Turkish education system was based on encouraging students to have international experiences.

US, country of experiences

Dilek Bolat, a banker who got English language education in US listed the factors that pave the way for Turkish students' getting education in US in increasing numbers as: "University fees' in US being much cheaper than the ones in Turkey, expectations in Turkey for an employee to speak high level English, easiness of conducting academic search in US and importance of an international experience."

English language lecturer at Koc University who used to be a Fulbrighter at New York State University said that having a US diploma was still highly reputated in Turkey, and added that Turkish students started to prefer returning to Turkey with their diplomas as they could find job opportunities as good as US.

Students prefer returning as employment facilities widen in Turkey

Turkish students mostly charm coming back to Turkey after building their CV's, rather than staying, opposite to what is generally known. 

Barrera from US State Department told AA: “We do not have data on the numbers of Turkish students who stay on in the U.S. and ultimately enter the U.S. workforce, but we do know that about 11% of Turkish students are on Optional Practical Training (OPT) under the sponsorship of their U.S. institution.  OPT permits international students to pursue study-related work for a period of 12 or 29 months. This suggests that some Turkish students are staying on to work in the US right after their studies, but many are likely returning home or to another country for employment or further education.”

Bhandari from IIE said that the largest proportion of Turkish students are in engineering (25.1%), followed by business/management (15.2%), and social sciences (14.4%). "Most students from Turkey are graduate students (51.8%). 29.2% are undergraduate, and only 4.1% are studying intensive English in higher education institutions although it’s likely that many students have English as part of their coursework in the academic programs," added Bhandari.

Turkish families started to send their children for pre-graduate programs to US in the recent years. 

Director at Washington-based Globalise, an institution which provides consultancy for high school students, Sevine Hava said, “Turkish students do not just attend Universities or Post Graduate Programs. They are starting younger and younger. We have seen a significant increase in high schools recruiting students and specifically offering talented basketball players, swimmers, and academically competitive students getting acceptance into top boarding high schools, private day school and public schools all over the United States."

Hava added that the current trend was that Turkish students were preferring to attend schools at a younger age in the United States so they have a competitive advantage when applying to universities in the United States.

"The high school system in Turkey came at a cost with many private schools starting at 15,000 TL a year not including "dershane" fees to get into those free universities and when not accepted into a good university they choose to go to a private institution which can run any where from 20,000 TL- 35,000 TL which is comparable to some universities in the US. Students are also paying for English language courses and exams; starting at earlier age allows them to learn the language and integrate into the US much easier then when they arrive later in life."