I'm not sure if this belongs here but has anyone ever ended up studying in another country after travelling? How did you manage it financially? Any stories appreciated
Hasnt happened yet but my daughter will be attending Holloway college just west of London England for her 3rd year in environmental science,its about a year off at this point but she is really looking forward to the adventure, Mom and Dad get to finance the whole affair,fortunately that wont be a problem..
Has anyone ever done it as an undergraduate though? Where and what did you do?
I have not study abroad after travelling per se, but I did start my undergrad as an international student. In general, the biggest problems would be in the admission and in the fees. Only when both criteria are met that you can then obtain a student visa to actually remain in the country.
Re admission: you must make sure that you meet entry requirements, and that your previous qualifications can be converted to local equivalent for assessment. In many countries, language requirement will be important, as nearly all classes would be conducted in the language of the country and not in English.
Re fees: not knowing where you are from, it is hard to say much. E.g. in US the fees is so high even for US citizen it may as well as an international student fee in most of Europe. And even within Europe itself, fees vary. It's very expensive in Ireland (e.g. in TCD/UCD, fees for this year, about €16,000 for non-science subjects, €20,000 for science and engineering subjects, €31,000 for medicine and dental science) but according to my Swedish friend, it costs virtually nothing in Sweden (only some administration fees of a few hundred euros).
Re living expenses: often, student visa allows the student to work, commonly on a part-time basis during term and full-time during holidays. But this may not be sufficient to cover all living expenses. Or if you work too many hours, your school work may suffer. It is common to work for some money to cover living expenses, and get some help from parents to cover the shortfall.
International students tend to benefit at a postgraduate (PhD by research) level. Again, on general term, a PhD student will be funded by research funding and quite often the fees will also be paid by the advisor. The funding will be sufficient to pay for living expenses and some extras for travel etc during holidays. Research position is not always advertised. Also, while some applications need to go through a central system (those tend to be the advertised ones), some just go directly to the boss of the lab you're interested in working in (usually the unadvertised ones).
I studied in a couple different schools while Living in Antofagasta, Chile.
The experience itself was incredible. The students were more than happy to show me around the town, help me with assignments, so long as I could return the favor. Unfortunately, British Columbia's school district is bullshit, and 13.5 months of grade 10 counted for literally zero credits. Leaving me worse off then when I actually started. That isn't to say I wouldn't go back and do it all over again, because what's a couple years? nothing.....
If you have the opportunity to travel and study abroad. Take advantage of it. Why not?
I was an undergraduate exchange student in Madrid/Spain and a graduate exchange student in Melbourne/Australia, while my home university is in Berlin. Both times I was lucky enough to get a scholarship and I didn't have to pay the tuition fees, because as lil_lil has mentioned they can be very expensive (especially in Australia!). Within Europe it's quite easy to go on exchange, most universities are part of the Erasmus Project which allows students to study in another country without having to pay tuition fees. It depends where you are from, but if you're planning to go on exchange, it's worth to check the partner universities of your home university. Most unis have mutual agreements of student exchange with other universities abroad and there's quite often the possibility to apply for a scholarship.
However, the scholarships I had did not pay a lot of money for living, so in both cases I had to work part-time as well as study. In Madrid I was legally allowed to work as a member of the EU, but in Melbourne I had to get a work permit on top of my student visa. I also was only allowed to work 20 hours a week during semester and people got into a lot of trouble in case immigration found out they were working more than the hours allowed. So, I wouldn't muck around with these rules and regulations!
Before you plan on studying somewhere else, you should therefore figure out, how you will be able to afford it. Whether you can get a scholarship, your parents can support you and or if you're willing to work part-time. Additionally, it's important to check that the courses you're taking will be granted at your home university. It makes no sense earning credits, when you can't use them for your degree at home. If all of these things are sorted, I can definitely recommend studying in another country, as it not only gives you an insight in another education system, but it also provides the opportunity to experience life in another country. I absolutely loved it!
I'm not sure if this belongs here but has anyone ever ended up studying in another country after travelling? How did you manage it financially? Any stories appreciated
1) Yes, the question belongs here.
2) For many people studying abroad is a form of travelling. I certainly see it as such.
3) I studied for a semester in Palestine and I really loved being there. I financed it the same way I did my regular studies: I had a scholarship from the German government plus some money from my parents. The only difference in cost was paying for the flight (around 400 EUR). I had to pay tuition fees, but this was offset by the lower costs of living in general. I paid a lot less for food and for taking bus and taxis in Israel than I would have paid at home.
4) Studying abroad can be cheaper than studying at home because
- cost of living in the other country might be lower
- study might be free of tuition fees
Studying abroad is also cheaper than travelling because instead of staying at hotels and hostels all the time and paying for train, bus and plane tickets you rent an appartment and stay in one place.
For example: To travel around Europe for a month you need approx. 1800-2300 EUR. To study for a month in another European country you need between 500 and 1200 EUR.
Hope this was helpful to you Marcus.
Do you have a specific country in mind where you want to study? You will get better answers on how much it costs to study abroad if you ask "How much does it cost to study architecture/maths/chemistry etc in city A in country B?"
[ 06-Dec-2009, at 07:19 ]
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