Higher education abroad

Higher education abroad

How to choose a university

To decide where to study, you need to choose a specialty, calculate the budget and, of course, make sure that you are sufficiently fluent in one of the foreign languages. Those who know German, French or Czech, have access to cheap higher education in these countries. English-speaking programs can be quite expensive, especially in countries with a high standard of living. At the same time, you can get a higher education abroad in English not only in the USA and Europe, but also in China and the United Arab Emirates.
Studying abroad is not always available to applicants immediately after the 11th grade. For example, in Great Britain and Austria, people study during 12 years, and graduates of the CIS countries need to somehow “get” the missing hours. There are three options for solving this problem: complete a one-year preparatory course at a foreign university; come to the country earlier and finish high school there; or go to university in their homeland and study there for 1 or 2 years.

How to choose a course

When choosing a specialty for higher education abroad, think not only about your interests and abilities, but also about the relevance of your knowledge in the future. The world is changing rapidly, but the popularity of scientific, technical, engineering and mathematical specialties continues to grow steadily. Experts in interdisciplinary fields are acquiring greater demand: for example, at the junction of the exact and natural sciences, on the one hand, and the humanities, social and economic, on the other. Interdisciplinary programs enable those who are going to get a master’s or second education abroad to rethink their career and direct it to a new direction. Select a program, check with its provider, where graduates work, request employment statistics and reviews.
If you already have an idea what you would like to do in the future, then deciding where to go abroad, pay attention to the reputation of the university in this area. In addition, you should choose a program that has the training or research base you need or links to employers. For example, look for where the authors of the most popular articles on your topic work.
You can search for higher education programs abroad not only on the websites of foreign universities, but also on websites of scholarship funds that you can apply for. Use the Education Index search engine to select a university and program.

Cost of study

The cost of higher education abroad for students is usually quite high, because they are not subject to subsidies for foreign citizens as a rule. The factors affecting the cost of educational programs are the prestige of the university and specialty, the country and the level of the degree.

Scholarships and grants

Free higher education abroad can be obtained through scholarships and grants. A number of grant programs are available for students not only in the traditional United States, Europe and Australia, but also in China and Japan.
The largest number of scholarships for higher education in foreign universities is available for those who have professional experience, research plan and links with research groups. They met with the future supervisor and decided on their future career. Therefore, there are not so many scholarships at the undergraduate level, and it is best to look for them on the websites of faculties, and not scholarship funds.
The easiest way to find funding is for PhD students. Their work and university rules often involve full participation in research and teaching. Therefore, they often receive a salary covering the costs of the educational program. In addition, many PhD applicants receive a research grant from a third-party organization and, having already agreed, apply for admission to the university.

Entry Requirements

To graduate abroad, you will have to pass a competitive selection based on your achievements, motivation letter and entrance exam results.
You can prove your knowledge of a language by passing a standardized test and obtaining a certificate. For English, these are IELTS or TOEFL tests, for German - FSP, DSH and TestDaF, for Spanish - DELE, for French DELF, DALF and TCF, for Japanese - Nihongo norke. The master's degree may require the results of other standardized tests: general GRE, GRE for a specific subject, GMAT for business schools or BMAT for medical specialties.
Admission to PhD programme is more like a job seeking. You need to understand well what you are going to do during and after the program, and show that you have experience and publications on this or a related topic.
For many masters and postgraduate programs, a very important selection criterion is the experience of volunteering and specialty work. For example, a Chevening scholarship requires at least 2 years of experience. So start internships during the holidays and work out a resume.
Low marks in the certificate or a previous diploma can be compensated by a strong letter of motivation or a resume. On the other hand, a red diploma does not guarantee you a receipt.

How to be accepted to the university

It is necessary to approach the submission of documents for admission to a foreign university with full responsibility. Check in advance all the terms and requirements for the application, register for exams and on the website of the admissions office.
The standard package of documents for studying abroad includes a motivation letter, resume or CV, school certificate or university diploma, recommendations from teachers and the results of standard examinations. Let's talk about each document separately.
The motivation letter is the main document for entering any higher education program abroad. It may look different: reflections on a given topic or answers to questions. The most standard format is an essay about what has led you to the chosen profession, what you are going to do in the future and how this particular program will help you. In the letter you should show your skills in goal-setting, competent presentation and argumentation. If, on admission to the master's or graduate school, you change your specialty, then in a motivational letter you will have to clearly explain why and rely on your ability to learn, analyze literature, write scientific articles, and so on.
If you do not yet have a document on previous education, then you need to request from your educational institution an extract with grades for all the subjects that you have studied so far.
A letter of recommendation is written by a teacher or supervisor from a past job. The choice of recommenders should be meaningful. A status or a known name will certainly add weight to the letter. But it is much more important that the author is able to convincingly describe your merits with convincing examples.
A CV or resume plays a large role in admission to graduate and postgraduate studies abroad. This is the first document that the selection committee studies, so it should make a good impression. Here conciseness and clarity are important, as well as a pleasant format.
For admission to specialties related to art or engineering, you may need to attach your portfolio or completed creative task to the application.
Candidates for a PhD position in a foreign university may need to be interviewed as a final test. This is the last phase of the selection, to which a small number of candidates are invited to meet in person and check the veracity of some details of the application. Do not worry about the interview: if you are called, it means that you are already very interested for the commission.

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