MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile, favourite S. American destination for US students

A growing number of university students from the United States spend a year abroad, pursuing careers from political science to the arts, and gaining a wealth of world-knowledge in the process. Chile appears to be a growing favorite among them.

A study conducted by Ranking International via the International Institute of Education showed an eight percent increase in students who studied abroad in 2005, polling students from 921 U.S. universities. The results show that Chile is now the most desired destination in South America and follows only Mexico and Costa Rica in all of Latin America.

Allan Goodman, director of IIE, said that "after the events of September 11, U.S. students showed increasing concern with the world beyond North America. We also saw an expanding number of grants and university programs to stimulate interest in study abroad."

While traditional destinations such as Italy, France and the United Kingdom still top the charts, they have not seen the increase that Latin America and Asia have seen.

Interestingly, there has even been a drop between one and five percent in study abroad to English-speaking countries such as the U.K., Ireland and Australia.

Why South America and why, then, Chile? Any exchange student off the street can attest to the curious glances and queries that undoubtedly arise in most conversations, "Why Chile?" The attractions are many and consistent. Chile is a country of rich history, geography, culture, linguistic peculiarities and culinary delights.

Educationally, the factors that really shine seem to be language and the interesting political and cultural changes that Chile is currently experiencing. Knowledge of at least one foreign language is an undeniable asset in the job market, and Spanish, more than most others, is of particular interest. In various disciplines from International Relations to Political Science, the experiences which avail themselves in the rapidly developing economy of Chile are very attractive.

Chile's many other riches are simply an added benefit, promising to enchant its visitors and, hopefully, entice future students. The Santiago Times