How to choose the right university for international students? : We know how difficult it can be to choose the university to study at. If you are not sure which college you want to go to, especially when there are so many international options, there are some tricks that can help you make such an important decision.
How to choose the right university for international students?
Set your priorities
First of all, take a break from everything, leave Instagram notifications, WhatsApp messages and spend some time with yourself. Do an imagination exercise and try to figure out what you would like your life to look like in a few years and what you could do to get there?
The most important thing when choosing a university is to relate to your own priorities, dreams and preferences. Do you want to study at a university with tradition or at an innovative one? Do you want to work in the same country after college? How much does the size of a faculty matter? What about the location?
Check the course schedule and teachers
You may be surprised, but you should know that university rankings and rankings are not very useful when you want to choose which college to study at. If you want to study a certain field, it is more important to check in detail the program of the department you are interested in, what courses they offer, who are the professors who teach the chosen subject. And make a comparison between the courses for the same subject from several universities. For example, if you want to study business, you might find out that one faculty emphasizes sustainable business leadership, while another faculty has applied courses on international business management. There are details that can make your decision so easy!
Make sure the university offers the facilities and support services you are interested in
When you choose a university, you choose a second home. From the library, to the gym, accommodation options, academic assistance and support services for international students, all these details matter for your future experience. Whether you need a study group to study for exams or a library close to campus, on-campus or off-campus accommodation, do your research, contact the university and try to find out if your needs can be met at the university on which one will you choose?
Your lifestyle should match the location
Student life is not limited to courses, teachers and exams. When you choose the university you will attend, don’t forget to consider life outside the academic program. The lifestyle you will have as an international student depends a lot on where the university is located. Would you prefer the atmosphere of a calm and quiet city or the hustle and bustle of a metropolis? Are you the type that spends your free time in nature or do you prefer cinemas and meetings with friends in the city? How is public transport in the town where the university is located and what accommodation options are there? There are questions that could help you choose not only a college that looks good on paper, but the college that suits you and where you can feel in your element.
And yet don’t forget that it’s good to experiment. A completely different environment from home can help you evolve as a person and you can learn to adapt more easily to any type of situation.
The expense of living and tuition charges are within your budget
Of course, when choosing a college, the financial aspect is one of the most important factors. Your day-to-day expenses may vary by school and country.
Then, in addition to the tuition fee displayed on the university’s website, try to do some research on the price of rents in the area. It is good to know that in some countries the weekly rate is displayed, and other countries display the monthly rent rate. Contact the university and ask if there is accommodation on campus or if students benefit from special discounts. Apart from that, we recommend that you look online for supermarket prices in the area and do a calculation to figure out how much you should spend on food and other products each week.
Don’t forget to consider the student loan option and apply for scholarships and grants. We can help you with such information and give you some recommendations.
A good idea would be to get a part-time job as long as it does not affect your study time. Some universities offer job listings that are only available to their students.
Talk to students from your chosen university
Our recommendation would be to contact both the universities that interest you with a list of questions, but also to try to talk to the students at the respective universities. In addition to the standard information provided by the faculty, students can give you the most useful and practical advice. Whether you want to contact online or visit your chosen university(s), we can put you in touch with students and advisors from outside universities and arrange a face-to-face meeting on your university campus.
We know how overwhelming it can be to make such an important decision on your own. If you are still undecided, call us to talk or write to us. We have more than 1000 counseled children and all of them were admitted to the study programs they opted for.