‘Every year more and more students from all over the world try to flood American and Canadian colleges and universities to gain more international experience and knowledge. However, there is no such movement from these countries in reverse, which is rather daunting statistics. We will try to understand how people from universities in Canada or US can use their time and effort and apply for the exchange programs that may become their lifetime adventure and what are pros and cons of that.
One of the most popular exchange programs is Erasmus Mundus. This is the program that brings students from all over the world together and opens opportunities to visit several universities in various countries for the period of six months to the period of one year. It is very easy to apply if your university is a part of this program. You need to have good GPA and recommendations from the professors. Do not forget that it also requires essay writing, so you need to be sincere and do your best to show your eagerness to go and study abroad. Some students in Canada and US pay for essay to skip the part of motivation letter and in the end, they do pass. Try to be as frank in your essay as possible and try not to use any American or Canadian essay writing service. If you are lucky enough, you can also get a scholarship in EUR, but be aware that dwelling is usually not included in the cost, so you will need to rent it from your own pocket. Anyway, this is a splendid opportunity to see Europe, Asia or Africa for free and find new friends.
Another source of the grants and scholarship which can help you go abroad can be found depending on the sphere of your studies. Basically, there is no difficulty in getting on an exchange program. Requirements to study abroad are the same in the majority of the cases:
- Your university needs to have an exchange program with any other university abroad;
- You need to have good GPA and recommendations for studies abroad;
- You need to apply for a visa and have no previous convictions in your home state and in your abroad state.
Depending on the program, you can be required to complete various tasks or to undergo the interview in order to prove that you are the best candidate to choose. Be aware that grant programs require writing research papers in order to obtain scholarships. Sometimes you will need to complete a language test of the country you are going to visit.
When thinking about studying in another country, you need to consider the following aspects.
First of all, you need to check the curriculum of your own university with abroad one. Some of the courses may differ, and your ESTC may not count when you come back. Be careful with that. If you have any hesitations about the name of the courses and discrepancies between them consult your dean`s office in order to avoid any problems in the future.
Secondly, check the sum of scholarship when coming to a foreign country. Remember that it will be paid in EUR or other currency which different from Canadian or American dollar. Take into consideration the price policy of the country you visit to know exactly if you will need to use any additional money for your trip.
Thirdly, please book you dwelling months before you go for the exchange program. The most common problem for all the exchange students is to find affordable flat or dormitory for the time of stay. Some of the countries that you may visit can be with the low level of English or not expat friendly, which can make your search more complicated. Try to monitor as many Facebook groups, rent online blogs as possible. You can also ask you abroad university to help you with this issue – generally, there are some kinds of communities there to help foreign colleges in relocation.
And the last, but not the least – learn more about the habits and traditions of the country you visit. There is no immunity for the international students if they violate the rules abroad. You need to stay tolerant of the hosting state and learn more about its history and people. Get involved in community work, go and meet new people. Do not use stereotypes when talking to people and be always smiley.
Exchange programs will help you to broaden your views and help you acquire unique and valuable experience which will be highly appreciated in any international corporation. Moreover, exchange programs can give an opportunity to get a double or even triple diploma in several sciences acknowledged by several states, which is not bad at all.’
