Studying Abroad vs Staying Local: What’s Really Worth It? (Part I)

Every parent wants the best for their child — but when it comes to university, “the best” isn’t just about rankings or paycheck. 

After chatting with students, working adults, and parents from Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, India, and Singapore — people who have walked both the local and overseas paths — I realized there are deeper truths no league table can tell you. 

Take Nanette from King's College London. She found that being abroad actually made her Chinese even better: 

“Leaving home made me appreciate my roots so much more. My heritage and my language — they’re a part of me I never want to lose.” 

Or Sachin from India, who found a new sense of freedom: 

“At home, everything was done for us at university. Studying overseas, I had to learn real-life survival skills.” 

From all the conversations, we’ve picked up six major themes that seem to come up again and again — and they’re much bigger than just personal stories: 

Global perspectives, career growth, independence, networking, academic quality, and English skills. 

Being surrounded by classmates from all over the world changes how you think — you learn to see the world through different lenses and become much more open-minded. 

“You don’t just travel — you learn to think across cultures.” (Student from Japan) 

“Your cultural intelligence gets challenged — and strengthened.” (Student from Tufts University) 

Studying abroad boosts your cultural fluency — a huge plus for getting hired by international companies. And if you can also speak your native language fluently? Even better — you become a bridge between global firms and your home market. 

"My London internship taught me how Europeans and Americans give feedback differently — it’s crucial for global careers." (Cambridge student) 

"You quickly learn which jokes land — and which ones absolutely don't — across cultures." (Film major student) 

Living on your own forces you to grow up — and fast. 

"I went from relying on tutors to managing my own study-work schedule." (UPenn student) 

"Learning to cook, budget, and survive in a foreign system built resilience like nothing else." (UCLA student) 

"It was probably the first real chance I had to make mistakes — and learn from them." (Johns Hopkins student) 

This one’s massively underrated. As someone active in my uni alumni networks, I can tell you: lots of internships and job offers — especially overseas — come through who you know. 

"Jobvite reports that employee referrals have a 30% success rate — way higher than the 7% average through normal applications." (Google search) 

Overseas universities give you way more course options — including fields that local universities might not even offer. Plus, for those aiming for PhDs, the US and UK provide stronger research funding and scholarship opportunities. 

"In India, it was mostly memorizing textbooks. In my UK uni, it was all about solving real-world cases." (UCL postgrad) 

Probably another hidden gem. English is spoken in 186 countries by 1.52 billion people — 75% of whom speak it as a second language. 

"English was absolutely essential for my job handling international clients." (Korean graduate from University of Illinois)