Not inclined to believe this with it taking a deeper look at the numbers. It would imply a dramatic shift over the past several years that I haven't seen described elsewhere.
In my experience "study abroad" - and, in terms of raw numbers, most of this trend consists of single-semester outings, which frequently involve paying regular tuition for one's home university in addition to an array of housing, travel, and administrative fees abroad - is very much mainly an option for students who don't need to finance their own education and who aren't taking out loans. Which, as far as I'm concerned, is appropriate: Most study abroad programs are more tourism than education, anyway. It's not as if more than a small share of undergraduates abroad are seeking out the world's finest experts in their fields of interest, and students typically take classes taught in their native language.
Travel isn't inherently virtuous, and the cross-cultural experience that many students get is more comparable to a week spent in Disneyland than it is to anything that seriously challenges or edifies.
I guess you're right. For obvious reasons I'm very attached to the idea of studying abroad and I want to hope that it helps broadening people's horizons a little bit. Considering how ignorant of the rest of the world many Americans tend to be, a little Disneyland trip is still better than nothing.
Of course the fact that it's still a privilege even among the already-privileged subset of College students is absolutely depressing.
