Choosing to Study Abroad
Making the decision to study abroad is one that cannot be taken lightly as it will involve you spending at least 3 years of your life in a country that is not your own and often having to learn and speak the language of that country. There are both benefits and drawbacks of choosing to study abroad and I shall give you a quick overview of what these are now –
Pros
For many people, their days at University will be the best days of their life; they will meet many people that they will call friends for the rest of their life. Hence it is vital that the University that you go to will allow you to meet people and each University will have different types of people in them. If you study abroad, you will meet a diverse group of people and end up with contacts all over the world.
Moreover, if you intend to stay in your country of study after you have graduated, then not only will you have a degree from that country, but also you will have had 3 years at least to learn the language and integrate with the population. However, the main benefit for many people is the cost, going to University in the E.U., but outside of the UK can save you thousands of pounds as tuition fees and living costs are lower.
But, you must consider that if you move outside Europe, then you become an International student and will therefore have to pay approximately 3 times the fees of a student from that country, depending on the location of your University of choice.
Additionally, if you come back to the UK after study then you will have added another language to your portfolio and shown that you can live away from home for long periods of time. Finally, your choice to study abroad will not count towards UCAS choices in the UK and will therefore incur no cost in terms of affecting your choices for Universities in the UK.
Cons
Despite the vast amount of benefits on offer for studying abroad, there are also drawbacks. The top benefit is also the top cost (no pun intended), the Tuition Fees. Yes if you stay in the E.U. then they will be low, but going to America or Canada can incur costs of around £30000-£40000 a year for undergraduate study.
Furthermore, you will have to live away from home and look after yourself as you can no longer just hop on a quick 2 hour train home if something bad happens. Some courses will be taught in English, however there are plenty that won’t and you may have troubles overcoming the language barrier which is not conducive for learning. If you’re not fluent in the language your course is taught in before you leave, then don’t go as you’ll just be playing catch up as soon as you get there.
Finally, many overseas Universities are not well recognized if you return to the UK to work and you could therefore find yourself struggling for employment unless you went to top European Universities.
Consider all of the options and then choose which one is right for you, remember there’s nothing preventing you from applying and then making your mind up nearer the time, just apply early so you don’t miss out!