Americans overestimate the quality of our education. That is not to say that we don't have world-class colleges and universities, but as much as we value our own system, we underestimate those of other countries. If we continue in this trend, the United States will face a larger "brain drain" than we currently have.

So why am I attending Brandeis? Because I assume that the education I receive here will put me in a position to succeed in the future—more so than that at other universities I could have attended. So I take out loans and accumulate the debt along with my fellow classmates who are all operating under the same assumption. Well, we might be wrong.

Not exactly wrong, but we might be underestimating the need for the debt we accumulate. More and more students are going overseas for their college careers to attend world-class universities at a fraction of the cost. Some are viewing this as an "outsourcing" of education. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that only 0.06 percent of U.S. undergraduates are currently pursuing their academic careers in universities abroad with about half of those students going to Britain.

Yet the OECD also notes that the number of students choosing to attend college abroad has been increasing while the number of students from other countries coming to study in the U.S. has been decreasing. While they cannot say exactly why those students are going abroad, the belief is that lower costs for education are a major draw. The perception of U.S. universities is getting worse both inside and outside the U.S., and with schools abroad offering similar educations for a fraction of the cost, that 0.06 percent could grow into a much more significant number.

In the past few decades, we have also seen more and more companies outsourcing jobs to other countries. While that outsourcing used to tackle the laborious manufacturing of items, the actual development and innovation are now being outsourced as well.

The old justification for outsourcing was that it opens up higher-level jobs in the U.S., but that is quickly proving untrue. Even staples of American commerce like General Electric and General Motors have become known for sending jobs out of the country.

The same principle that we apply to keep jobs in the U.S. should apply to keeping students here as well. If the trend of outsourcing education continues, there is no guarantee that those students will return and then become productive members in our markets.

Just like a company is smart for hiring workers at the lowest costs, a student is smart for getting the best value for his or her education. The same way that economists have warned of a "brain drain" in the U.S. for outsourcing many of our engineering jobs, we need to be wary of this occurring at an even earlier stage. Students who receive a high-quality education at a reasonable price will feel more indebted to their universities or the country that provided the opportunity and want to give back. If an international university allows a student an opportunity that they would not have had here, they're more likely to stay and contribute there.

What is likely keeping the majority of students in the U.S. is the cultural factor. College can be daunting enough without the culture shock of a new location or new languages, but the risk of moving to a new country may not outweigh the benefit of avoiding copious amounts of debt, and students may wise up to the idea of outsourcing their education. To avoid this, universities should take a cue from the recent histories of G.E. and G.M. While both companies are known for being leaders in outsourcing their labor, they've recently shifted focus to growing their U.S. presence and work force.

What provoked the change? While there are plenty of reasons, subsidies and tax breaks are significant reasons. The same could work for students—a wider availability of scholarships, years of service to cancel debts, financial incentives to keep the U.S.'s top minds studying at local universities—all these ideas can work and can help ensure future success for the US.

In my travels, especially around Europe, the attitude toward college seems different. In the United States, continuing education is seen as an obvious necessity to a certain level of success outside of manual labor.

Yet we still treat the institutions in a high-minded bourgeoisie sort of way. We proclaim that everyone has the right to education, but that mindset stops after high school. Then we add the disclaimer that everyone deserves higher education with a healthy dose of debt or at lesser universities. Plenty of universities around the world provide the same level of education at a price that is considerably more affordable. That's because education, even higher education, shouldn't be a privilege, but a right. And not at the risk of future financial hardship.

The U.S.'s position as an innovator and economic leader ensures that some of the greatest minds choose to study and work here. Yet this can't be taken for granted. We need to change our attitude towards education and particularly education costs if we care about the long-term success of our country. As Americans, we are bred to be competitive.

We are competitive against each other, other cities, other states and especially other countries. Capitalism tells us that if other countries offer the same quality education for a lower cost, it will only be a matter of time until our students choose to take their minds elsewhere.