2008 Woodie Awards
Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: News
Weak dollar hits hard, but Europe still popular
Deena Greenberg
When Michael Cohen reclaimed his 300-Euro safety deposit from his Belgium dorm room last year, he had a lot to smile about.
"We were all excited to get it back because the Euro got stronger," the College junior said. "We all joked that we were making money off our housing deposit."
Last August, one Euro amounted to about $1.35. By last Sunday, the dollar depreciated to $1.49 for one Euro. The dollar fared even worse against the British pound, rising to more than $2 to the pound at the end of last year. A pound currently stands at about $1.98.
But the falling dollar hasn't stopped students from studying in Europe yet, according to director of Penn Abroad Geoffrey Gee.
"The truth of the matter is these exchange rates started to go bad more than a year ago, and that was the largest number of students [studying abroad] ever," he added. There are 678 students studying abroad this year, a major increase from the 547 who traveled last year.
Though students who went abroad were often frustrated with the exchange rate, most didn't see it as reason enough to skip out on studying internationally.
"The exchange rate isn't so bad to deter you from going abroad," said College junior Ryan Benjamin, who studied in Barcelona last fall.
He added that many prices appeared to be less expensive than those in the United States, but after the conversion, prices were relatively equal.
But for some students, the low value of the dollar made a difference in their study abroad plans.
"One of the main reasons I didn't want to go to London is because the pound is so terrible," Cohen said.
Students who did choose London said the exchange rate was certainly an issue.
"I thought it was a huge deal," said College senior Meghan Daly, who spent last spring at Kings College in London. "Just a trip to the grocery store ended up costing a great deal."
By the end of her time there, she had spent so much of her money traveling that she was limited to a box of cereal and milk a day.
"We were all excited to get it back because the Euro got stronger," the College junior said. "We all joked that we were making money off our housing deposit."
Last August, one Euro amounted to about $1.35. By last Sunday, the dollar depreciated to $1.49 for one Euro. The dollar fared even worse against the British pound, rising to more than $2 to the pound at the end of last year. A pound currently stands at about $1.98.
But the falling dollar hasn't stopped students from studying in Europe yet, according to director of Penn Abroad Geoffrey Gee.
"The truth of the matter is these exchange rates started to go bad more than a year ago, and that was the largest number of students [studying abroad] ever," he added. There are 678 students studying abroad this year, a major increase from the 547 who traveled last year.
Though students who went abroad were often frustrated with the exchange rate, most didn't see it as reason enough to skip out on studying internationally.
"The exchange rate isn't so bad to deter you from going abroad," said College junior Ryan Benjamin, who studied in Barcelona last fall.
He added that many prices appeared to be less expensive than those in the United States, but after the conversion, prices were relatively equal.
But for some students, the low value of the dollar made a difference in their study abroad plans.
"One of the main reasons I didn't want to go to London is because the pound is so terrible," Cohen said.
Students who did choose London said the exchange rate was certainly an issue.
"I thought it was a huge deal," said College senior Meghan Daly, who spent last spring at Kings College in London. "Just a trip to the grocery store ended up costing a great deal."
By the end of her time there, she had spent so much of her money traveling that she was limited to a box of cereal and milk a day.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
JB
posted 2/08/08 @ 4:43 PM EST
And also, Penn kids are loaded.
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