Annually, senior students face their decision of next steps after high school. While many students choose to enroll in four-year colleges, or choose alternative paths, there is a select group of students that continue their education internationally. Seniors Zoë Gister, Liam McCaw, Cat Domet, Izzy Ghalam and Catherine Tang are a few students whose college experiences will be in a different time zone this fall.

Zoë Gister plans to attend Bard College Berlin in the fall. Bard is a small liberal arts school in Berlin that doesn’t require students to speak with German fluency, although Gister nearly is. Her interest in school abroad developed during her junior year after studying abroad in Germany for a high school program.

“In ninth grade, I knew I really wanted to do an exchange program in high school, and I Googled free exchange programs,” Gister said. “I didn’t know for sure if I wanted to go to school internationally, but I definitely knew I wanted to go have some sort of study abroad experience. After my exchange year in 11th grade in Germany, [where] I lived in Germany for a year, I came back and I was like, ‘I know that that’s where I’m supposed to be.’”

Liam McCaw will be attending University of Victoria in Canada next fall for his college experience. McCaw’s interest in international universities focused on Canada because he holds a Canadian citizenship, which significantly lowers tuition costs.

“I’ve considered international schools, but only Canadian schools, because I am a Canadian citizen. Canadian citizens get really cheap tuition at Canadian schools. My tuition was about $6,500 Canadian, which is closer to $5,000 American per year. Compared to equivalent [California] state schools, it’s like a tenth of the price. That was a huge incentive to go there,” McCaw said.

Izzy Ghalam will attend a university in Canada this fall, enrolling at McGill University. Like McCaw, Ghalam reaps the benefits of being a Canadian citizen. For Ghalam, her parents advised her to look into some Canadian schools, and after some research she loved McGill.

“I had been already looking on the east coast [for colleges], [and] Montreal is not that far,” Ghalam said. “[My] parents encouraged me to look into a lot of schools. [McGill] was one of the schools that I put on my list to research, but once I researched it, I really loved it and could see myself there.”

Cat Domet will also attend McGill University this fall. Similarly, Domet is a Canadian citizen and will also get to attend college while paying less of a tuition than most U.S. universities. McGill is a large school in a mainly French speaking area. While the school teaches in English, so students don’t have to be fluent in French to attend, Domet plans on trying to learn French while she is there. Domet has family living in Canada and has fond memories from visiting.

“My family is in Ontario, so I spent a lot of time in Ontario. I visited British Columbia a few times, specifically Vancouver, because I was visiting schools up there, and also because it’s amazing in Vancouver. I also went to Quebec one time before, when I was about 10. It was lovely, from what I remember,” Domet said.

Catherine Tang plans to attend University of Melbourne in Australia this fall. Tang explains how her interest in international education stemmed from a longtime desire to travel and experience new cultures. 

“Since I was young, I’ve wanted to travel a lot, so I thought about international colleges. I wasn’t sure about Australia. At first, I was thinking about China, but then I was like, ‘no, translating would not be good.’ I knew I wanted to go somewhere else and just experience something new. In sophomore year, I started thinking about Australia, but much more definitely in junior year,” Tang said.

For students considering their next steps after high school, attending international college offers a pathway beyond traditional U.S. university experience. More than the students above are taking the international path, including some who are attending U.S. universities with study abroad programs for their first semester or year. There are many ways to gain international experience after high school, and attending school in another country is just one of them.