How to become an international student ?- A practical guide
Moving to a different country is a difficult ordeal for many. It involves taking care of many things which most of the times has to be done by the student alone and hopefully with some help of consultants and whole lot of informationavailable on the web. I studied in Sweden and Canada and come from South Asia. I found a university in Sweden, got my visa,did all the preparation for travel and left to study in Sweden on my own. Later, I moved to Canada for continuing my higher studies. It can be lot of fun in the end but the initial period of moving to another country and settling in can be duanting. Below I have outlined various things a student has to be do to become an internation student.
1) Funds
Studying abroad means a lot of expenses and need for money. You will have to pay for tuition fees and your living expenses. Some universities provide scholarship money that can help a bit. Most of the time you have to be ready tofund all these expenses on your own. You can get loan from a bank or your parents can fund it. If you have some saved up money that can help too. You can check if you are eligible to work in the country you are going for studies. Most of thecountries allow foreign student to work few hours a week that can help fund the studies. Professors in some universities can take a student as paid research or teaching assistant which can also help fund the studies. Figure out all these beforeyou think of studying abroad.
2) Finding a proper university
The first step is to find a good university to study. Lot of developed countries like USA, UK, Australia, Canada have many university that are very well renowned for good for per-suing higher studies. The universities in these countries charge tuition fees that can be in the range of 8000USD to 15000USD per year. There are some countries like Sweden, Germany, etc where universities do not charge for higher education. Most likely in any English speaking country it is not going to be
free education. It is up to you to decide to which country you want to go. USA is probably the top most sough after country for higher education. Once you decide on a country you can find the top universities in that country and find out about the application process. Internet and google.com is your friend in doing all the research for finding a university. You can also talk to some consultancy which is involved in this business.
3) Application process
All the good universities have a website that will explain the application process. Some universities require that you take exams such as SAT, TOEFL, GRE etc. You might have to prepare for those exams and send the result to those university. Get the application package from the university, fill it up, and along with the application processing fee and all your transcripts send the completed application package back to the university. You should hear back from the university regarding the status of your application in few weeks from the university.
4) Get visa
Once your application is approved and you have been accepted to the university, you will have to start the visa process required to enter the country. You will need a student visa. If you are from developed country most likely it is a less stringent process. For example, people from europe most likely dont have problem getting visa to enter North America. If you are from south Asia then most likely you have a 50-50 chance of getting your visa to USA. If your visa application gets
rejected then most likely you have to retry and see if you can get into another country. The most common reason for not getting visa is that you dont have enough funds for your studies or the visa officer is not sure you are not going to return back or not convinced of your intentions.
5) Prepare for your travel
Once you have got your visa, you have to prepare for your travel. This could mean buying all the clothes suitable for the country you are going, buying text books, suitcases, toileteries, and all other necessary things for travel and living in another country. If you are going to colder country you will have to buy all the winter clothes and shoes that you need to survive in colder country. Purchase the ticket in whichever mode of transportation you choose. If you are flying by plane then check the number of suitcases that is allowed. Most likely you will pack a lot of stuff for your travel.
6) Accommodation
Most of the Universities have international student offices or website that can help you find a room to stay. Universities dorms are good if you want to stay around will fellow students. It can be lot of fun. If you need more privacy you can book a room in a house close to the campus. Always stay close to the campus since that will help with commute and also reduce the cost of commute. You will most likely stay in a temporary accommodation like a hotel first few days till you find a more permanent accommodation. Talk to your university folks to find out more about
this. Once you have done all the above, you most likely are set to study and live in another country. Make lot of friends, travel and enjoy a lot while you study since these will the memorable part of your life.
