There are a million and one things to consider when making one of the biggest decisions of your life: where should you study abroad? with so many program types and destinations available to you, and the long check list of tasks you need to complete before actually heading overseas, it can be difficult to decide where to start. Get yourself organized with these five steps that will help you plan ahead for your time abroad.
If you’re going to seize the opportunity to see the world, you might as well do it on your own terms. Doing your research and comparing study abroad programs beforehand make big difference on the experience you’ll have in your program. As an investment of your time and money, it’s important to do your due diligence and weigh all the options available to you. Besides nobody wants to take a trip that wasn’t worth their time because when it comes to travel we’re all about having no regrets.
1. Select your desired discipline
So, you have a clue about what you want to study and need to find the place where they will give you the training you want. You might find places that offer some interesting interdisciplinary Bachelor’s or Master’s programmes, or specializations you may not have thought about.
2. Decide where you’d like to study
Chances are that you’ve already thought about a specific place where you would like to move and study. Even if you don’t know from where to start, you might want to do some research, checking countries and cities that have the most or all the desired traits, whether it’s the type of study programme, the facilities, the transport, living cost, or weather.
Nevertheless, if one of your main criteria is geography, you should try and narrow it down using other pertinent factors, such as career opportunities, financial options or application requirements. If you haven’t thought about researching the location, it may be best to effectively reduce the search to a handful of possibilities.
3. Use the best search engines for international degrees
Given that there are a few huge factors to consider (and many small ones) when deciding what university to enroll in, you should carefully search the ideal option for what you are looking for.
The best way to manage this lengthy and sometimes frustrating process is to use a well-informed professional platform for higher education, ideal for quick web navigation between study options, categories and filters.
4. Check the International University Rankings
Another obvious way to look at it is by asking “Which are the best universities?, but things aren’t as simple as that. There are many diverse ranking systems, created by several organisations that use different metrics to come up with their top university lists.
5. Research the most affordable degrees
It’s no secret that studying abroad may cost a lot, so you need to pay attention to the overall price of the study programmes available. And this means the tuition fees, especially: there are programmes with small or no tuition fees, as well as some institutions that, for a substantial amount of money, will ensure you the best and most reputable degree you can find.
6. Find out how others experienced studying abroad
If you have your doubts about experimenting with study programmes and universities that, while matching your other criteria on paper, still seem wrong, you need to see what previous international students, in a similar position, have experienced.