Albert CardonaApr 7

"In the UK, a quarter of total university income is generated by international students, who pay much higher fees than home students. To attract them, British universities rely on vast, largely unregulated networks of agents operating primarily in Asia and Africa."

"The reason British universities spend so much to attract international students is simple: if they were to rely solely on home students, they would go bust."

What could possibly go wrong ... with university finances. This system is not well-grounded, not reliable or stable in any way or form.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2026/apr/07/brutal-reality-of-life-as-a-foreign-student-in-the-uk

#UK #academia

‘I see it as trafficking’: the brutal reality of life as a foreign student in the UK

The long read: Universities in Britain rely on overseas applicants paying full fees, which has given rise to some unscrupulous recruiters and left many hopefuls and their families deep in debt

The Guardian
Show threadj_bertolotti5d ago

@albertcardona An extra ingredient that needs to be added to the story is that the system to apply and be accepted by a Uni in the UK is so extremely convoluted and baroque that it is unlikely you will be able to navigate it from outside the country without the help of someone.

(Also, plenty of countries in Europe where Uni is cheap. Not sure why all those students aim to the UK.)

Show threadKo-Fan Chen 陳克帆5d ago
@j_bertolotti @albertcardona it's the language and the interconnected network one imagined for the Anglosphere. I was a subscriber for it myself as an international student, plus the UK was among the few countries that had shorter years to complete Master(1yr) and Bachelor degrees (3yr), although this list is now expanded.
Show threadAlbert Cardona5d ago

@kofanchen @j_bertolotti

And yet most graduate programs in Europe run in English, at least in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and in my home country, Catalonia. At least that’s what I’ve seen from direct experience.

Show threadKo-Fan Chen 陳克帆5d ago
@albertcardona I completely agree, hence the draw to the UK was an image that was sold to and re-enforced ourselves but after some careful examination, it is a lot of wishful thinking and not entirely true. However I am not sure how much everyday life I can operate well in a country that I don't speak the language @j_bertolotti
Show threadj_bertolotti
@kofanchen I have lived in multiple countries (well ok, two) where I didn't speak the language. Some stuff you can still do it in English (especially within the University), some stuff you can do without much talking (e.g. shopping at a supermarket), some stuff you need help from someone who actually speak the language. Not necessarily smooth, but doable.
Then you gradually get the basics of the language and things get better.
@albertcardona
Apr 10 at 8:17amWeb
Show threadKo-Fan Chen 陳克帆4d ago
@j_bertolotti I feel it is a bit of balance thinking. when I started I didnot actually calculated too much, most of my peers went to USA, that was just Taiwanese did for study abroad, coming to UK was actually unusual..and a bit adventurous. With post-colonial order set in, my feeling is the "vision" for most Asian students would need to be a lot more adventurous to go outside the Anglosphere. Fortunately, my student life in UK has been great too as the fundings was good. 1/2 @albertcardona
Show threadKo-Fan Chen 陳克帆4d ago
@j_bertolotti but it has changed in UK, the living cost is high and for the students mentioned in the Guardian it would become clear, the y needs to think carefully ton balance cost of living and the assumed language advantage, China and European countries on balance can be a better options. 2/2
@albertcardona