Getting international education, we all know that the course tuition and living expenses are the most significant two parts of expenditure for abroad study. The higher ranking the university is, the higher study fees you may afford; the more developed metropolis the school is located in, the higher the living costs get. Nevertheless, there are still ways to cut expenses and save money. Let’s see how to reduce costs for abroad study.
1. Take language training in your home country
It is well known that being eligible to study abroad, you need firstly meet the requirements for English language proficiency. Some universities give conditional admission offers once you accept to take its language courses. It always goes like this: you read the language course for about one year, get satisfying academic performance and language scores, and continue to enroll in the university for degree courses. But the price for language courses is high. Learning a language in a foreign country is quite expensive, which greatly increases the costs of overseas education.
Yes, it is quite useful for students. It lowers the university entry thresholds, a natural pathway for students to enter an excellent university, while learning language and other essential pre-university subjects in a foreign country is quite expensive, which greatly increases the costs of overseas education. For those who come from an ordinary family with ordinary financial supports, you need to depend on yourself to reduce costs for abroad study.
Have English courses in your home country, improve your English proficiency, and reach the entry requirements for English tests before you go abroad so that you don’t need to take English courses after going abroad. Despite you do not have a rich dad, you have a strong self.
2. Part-time job after class
To reduce study costs, you can manage to get some allowance by contributing assistance in schools, such as working as a teacher’s assistant and office administrative assistant. Or, you can try to find a part-time job as a tutor. Just care about your safety. Or find an internship in society.
Selecting work-study programs is also a good way for international students to saving costs. For seeking such a program, you can consult an education service agency, from which you can find an experienced consultant to help you.
Part-time jobs can bring students both training and experience. You will get an insight into life in the “real” society, which will prepare you psychologically for future careers. Besides, the level of recognition at most workplaces is often much higher than what students are accustomed to at school. By working part-time, they can acquire a broad horizontal scope, hence making an earlier plan for future life.
3. Applying for scholarships
For university students, there are three levels of scholarship: governmental, local state, and institutional. The governmental level scholarship is a little bit hard to get since it is only for those who are quite excellent. You need to try it anyway. Besides, many universities will automatically issue such scholarships to students who have been accepted. You can go to the university student service center or to the official university website to check it and apply it.
Strong leadership capacity can make international students more competitive scholarship applicants, for universities are always seeking students who are going to be future leaders of the world. Show the unis the evidence of your leadership from an early age.
“Being the head or captain of your school, leading the school activities, or even setting up your entrepreneurship club. It shows your leadership potential.” Potential applicants will have demonstrated strong leadership and teamwork spirits via letters of recommendation from teachers who know them and consistently display excellent academic records.
4. Avoid popular cities and schools
Big cities mean great price tags. This is another example of a geographic decision you can make that will ultimately affect the bottom line. Avoiding hot cities and schools benefits you in financial costs. Outstanding talents flock together for popular schools, hence fiercer competition for admission and few opportunities for scholarships.
Hereafter, you are reminded of taking this method cautiously. The major and profession you chose have quite a profound impact on your future career and working area. You need to think about the major you plan to study. After all, the financial cost is a temporary thing while your prospective future is a lifelong affair.
5. One-time visa approval
Some applicants for studying abroad in Australia have been refused to get a visa due to inadequate preparation of visa application materials. It not only delays their studies but also costs more money for visa applications. For applicants, you should take their visa application seriously and strive to pass it once.
6. Pick an affordable course program
As you start finding and considering different program options, don’t delay too much energy and time in any program with high tuition fees, programs such as architecture, and fine arts. Instead, find a program on the cheaper end, or one of the best cheapest programs available.
Location plays a big role in program expenses. Choose a country with low expenses. Asian countries, particularly those in the southeast region, are among the cheapest to study. These include Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, etc.
How to find such a program that is both cheap and suitable for you? The course Finder of CatEight, could be a helpful tool for this. We recommend you to try this tool, it will help you find the right (and most affordable) program for yourself. Using it, you can compare different courses, in terms of regions, tuition, study duration, campus location, entry criteria, etc.
The above are the six ways on how to cut expenses for overseas education. We hope this article was helpful, and you will smoothly go through your university life and earn a bright future.
