U.S. students attending Mexican universities
I am a professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication in Los Angeles, and I'm conducting research on American students attending Mexican colleges and universities because (a) it is cheaper and (b) for a host of other reasons, including cultural. I'm told that U.S. students at Mexican universities/colleges aren't just Latino anymore; they are also white, and U.S. students are pursuing a wider variety of majors, from business, law, health professions, bilingual ed, fashion design, etc. Precise numbers are hard to come by, but I'm told that there is a discernable rise in the number of American students pursuing degrees in Mexico, and that Mexican institutions themselves have become more aggressive about recruiting in the U.S. because of NAFTA and other reasons.
My name is William Celis, and I'm an assistant professor of journalusm at USC. I'm reachable at celis@usc.edu. Not only am I interested in hearing from people who attend/attended college in Mexico, but I'm also interested in what the Latino community itself thinks abt this trend. Thank you for reading.
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Student? no yet but I would
Hi! I'm a canadian seeking info to find Mexican universities open to canadian. It's not easy to find information here in Canada. Why study in Mexico? to improve my spanish and discover a new culture and why not even relocate. You like the Mexican University you study at? Let me know at zephyr1957@hotmail.com
U.S. Students at Mexican University
I just recently heard about this when my uncle was here visiting from Mexico. He informed me about all the Anglo students that are at his daughters university and at other Mexican universities. I'm not very supportive of this issue. It is probably good for the economy of Mexico, but how does it affect the admissions of Mexicans to get into the universities.
Should the Mexican Government allow such easy access to thier universities so Anglos can save money on education when Americans do not respect Mexico, it's government or its people? Even Mexicans born in the United States are not treated as equals to others Americans, as much as the United States may act like there is no discrimination. If Mexicans-Americans and Mexican Nationals were valued for what they provide to the U.S. and its economy (especially cheap labor), we wouldn't have anti-immigration laws popping up on voting ballots. Now they want to be in the Mexican universities. They already expoit the Mexican labor with their maquiladoras. Sure, lets let the United States take advantage of Mexico, again, and again, and again!
U.S. Students at Mexican University
I think it is a good idea that Mexico starts acting as a leading country in education opposed to always wanting a handout.
The U.S. does not take advantage. It is the very own Mexican government of Mexico that takes advantage of the people. Please wake up.
The University of Texas at El Paso provides the same tutuion to Mexican nationals as U.S. nationals.
U.S. student at Mexican University
I am a young latina going to school in the mid-west. I would like to have the opportunity to study abroad in Mexico. I think it is great for people of other races to see how the Mexican/Latino culture works and lives. Many of these students going to these schools are ignorant of the world around them. Many of the students I have talked to appreciate the experience of being an "outsider" looking in.
I would consider myself and outsider considering that I am a third generation American. If I had the opportunity to study in Mexico it wouldn't be based soley on financial constraints or not having to complete an undergraduate degree.
Do not think for one minute that Anglos are the only people taking advantage of this opportunity. At the universsity I am attending there have been Japanese exchange students and others go to Mexican universities to study abroad.
For students who go straight to Mexico to get thier degree, I think there should be some standard for universities to set up for the acceptance/consideration process. It does sound like these students are taking advantage of the fact that an undergraduate degree is not required for continuing education past the "four year plan." Do these students get charged the same international tuition rate the U.S. imposes on students who come from Mexico? What is the criteria for acceptance? How does acceptance of Mexican nationals into U.S. colleges and universities affect U.S. acceptance and enrollment? The questions can go on and on. In the end who really benefits more? That is what we really want to know.
U.S. students at Mexican Universities
You are correct that the flow of American students to Mexican universities -- both Latino and white and others -- poses a lot of questions/issues on both sides of the border. I began this research with a fairl narrow focus: the affordability and access issue. But in doing more research, I discovered that Mexicans face the very same issues; a lot of them, especially working class and poor, cannot afford college in Mexico, even though the tuition has been significantly subsidized for Mexicans who cannot afford college. One major caveat to this story I have discovered: UNAM, the flagship of the Mexican public university system, makes it difficult for American and other foreign students to enroll. (plus the flagship in Mexico City is unbelievably crowded with 268,000 students; at that number, it would take just over nine University of Texas at Austin campuses to equal that enrollment.)
In any case, would you allow me to interview you by phone or via email? Or perhaps email your uncle? This is a grossly underreported (and significant) higher education story with a lot of implications. By the way, I found out abt this by reading a letter to the editor last month in the San Antonio Express-News. A parent had written in to react to a story the paper ran about the growing expense of U.S. colleges and universities and its impact on Latino students. The parent wrote that she sends her children to Mexican universities because (a) they are good and (b) they are affordable.
Anyone else out there with personal experiences on this issue or thoughts they want to share?
Americans at Mexican universities
I am a U.S. citizen, my husband is a Mexican national. We live near Cananea, Sonora, about 50 miles from the Arizona border. Many people here have dual U.S./Mexico citizenship, with homes or family on both sides of the border. All of us are bilingual/bicultural.
Yes, there is a definite trend for students in our area to choose Mexican universities, where they once all studied in Arizona. Cost is one factor, an important one. But there is another.
For professions like medicine, dentistry, and law, it is not necessary in Mexico (or in England or mainland Europe, for that matter) to first complete four years of undergraduate study. You go right into medical, dental school, or law school, after completing "preparatoria" (high school).
The professionals turned out by this system are just as competent as their American counterparts who first had to earn an undergraduate degree. Further, because of the demand for medical professionals in the rural areas of the U.S., people with a Mexican medical degree can be quickly certified for practice in the U.S., and are enthusiastically recruited in places like Texas and other border states.
Thank you for the opportunity to add my experience to the dialogue on this subject.
Alice Marcarelli Valenzuela
valenzuelararj@hotmail.com