Throughout the years it has become increasingly common for university students to study internationally.

According to the House of Commons Library website, there were 758,855 foreign students that decided to study in the United Kingdom in 2022/23.

Which is a significant increase to the 254,000 in 2017/18.

 But why do students decide to study abroad or more specifically in the United Kingdom, in the first place?

There are several reasons why, one being that the UK is a high-income country, as mentioned by the Migration Data Portal website, 5 out of 7 international students choose to study in high income countries.

Another reason is that the UK’s education system especially in university is highly respected for being academically successful around the world.

UK universities often make it up to the top 10 global universities lists, for example Times Higher Education recently did a World Universities ranking and Oxford University managed to rank 1st.

Sian G. who is currently doing his postgraduate degree at London School of Economics moved from Switzerland where he did his undergraduate degree in St. Gallen.

One of the reasons he decided to move to London, was because he had heard of the academic benefits of the UK education system.

But he said it was also because he wanted to be in a different environment, coming from Switzerland one of the smallest countries in Europe, to London one of the biggest metropolises in the world definitely allowed an opportunity for that “big city” experience.

However, there are still some cultural differences that take getting used. Sian did say that a lot of people in London are open, friendly, and less preoccupied with other people around them than in Switzerland.

In the sense that they do not care too much about how other people present themselves.

Furthermore, he said that the cost of living in London was like in Switzerland.

However, travel is cheaper in Switzerland than in the UK and food is cheaper in the Uk than in Switzerland.

Sian also lives in a flat that offers student housing for LSE students, which he says also costs similar amounts to housing in Zürich for example.

Regarding educational differences, Sian said that it was a smooth transition from his courses in Switzerland to the ones in the UK.

Due to the help that LSE was able to offer him.

Of course, his former and current university take different learning approaches.

His classes in Switzerland usually included some form of group work, which is less common in LSE.

They are usually given individual assignments, such as essays, which he said could occasionally be more academically challenging.

Sian also offered some advice to anyone who is planning to study abroad in the future or is entering a new school environment.


He recommends trying to focus more on making social connections in your first week than purely academics.

After all University is not just about work but also about having new experiences and making friends, so you can thrive in your academic environment.