I'm approaching this question from a U.S. student and programming perspective. I don't know the answer but I suspect yes. The folks that can best track study abroad interest to the UK are those at GoAbroad.com, StudyAbroad.com and IIEPassport (anyone want to share traffic data to London & other UK programs?). The folks that can best track study abroad participation are those at IIE compiling Open Doors data. We shall see...
As I was searching Twitter during lunch for my daily "Study abroad related tweet of the day" I came across many tweets from students who were talking about studying in England and London and this got me thinking about the question. The Amanda Knox situation has had an impact on study abroad interest to Italy which makes me wonder what impact the Royal Wedding will have on U.S. student interest on studying in London.So I thought it would be interesting to conduct a brief search through Twitter and to copy and paste any posts related to studying abroad in the United Kingdom and they follow:
Dreaming about London on this special day... Can't wait to be there for Fall semester 2011!!! @royalwedding #London #fb#studyabroad
Why Prince William and Catherine Middleton Should Inspire All Students http://ow.ly/4JFor #StudyAbroad #GlobalEd #IntlEd
Just saw Peter Alexander on @Todayinterviewing #studyabroad students for their reaction at the#royalwedding!"
I have decided in order to go to London this fall, I need to purchase a royally perfect hat. #royalwedding #studyabroad
Shove me in a suitcase and send me to Oxford, already. The anticipation is killin' me. #excited #england #studyabroad #yay
What a coincidence that I get an email about applying to studyabroad in England...
i WILL study abroad in london, and i WILL meet prince harry, and i WILL be the next princess. #dreams
Close to dropping everything and running off to London. The things that Study Abroad meetings will do to you..
Are there any princes left in the world? Because listen ima studyabroad, meet one, and have my own royal wedding. Okay.
Did any UK study abroad students make it to the Royal Wedding? Feel free to post photos!
I wana study abroad in England.
when I study abroad I will meet a royal and get married #obsessed
My dad called me at 6:12 am to tell me to study abroad to meet and marry prince harry...
Oh! I want to study abroad in UK. Fighting for my dream come true. First step study English language now!!!
Can't wait to study abroad aka hit up London and have #princeharryfall in love with me. #itwillhappen
I'm going to study abroad in London and then stay there to become apart of the royal family. Do you approve, though?
I am strategically planning my study abroad in college to coincide with Prince Harry's wedding.
Of special note: This snapshot of Twitter posts related to study abroad and the United Kingdom was conducted at 12:30pm Chicago time which was several hours after the Royal Wedding coverage concluded. It would have been interesting to see related posts during the live coverage.
Sort of a duh type of question but I wanted to ask! Based off of my quick review (copy and paste from Twitter) the answer is yes but the wedding was today. I'm interested in knowing the long term impact of the wedding on study abroad interest in London/UK.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really interesting question, David. I can tell you from experience that blockbuster movies (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Chronicle of Narnia) are mentioned to me daily by students starting the process of study abroad in specific destinations like England or New Zealand. They always lead into it with "this may seem silly but...".
ReplyDeleteThat's not to say the movie was the only reason they wanted to go abroad to a given country or city, but it is commonly stated as at least one factors that has influenced their desire to go to a specific destination. I will also be interested to see the impact of today's wedding on future study abroad students!