Education has become the most important part of everyone’s life. It is said to be a life enhancer as well as it brings great respect for society.
An individual is said to be fit in this world only if he/she is well educated. And as the expectation and importance of education increases, students wish to pursue their education in foreign countries.
Why Study Abroad?
Have you ever got a doubt as to why people rush to study abroad?
Well, some experts say, making a decision of studying abroad is one of the wisest decision one can make during his student life. The experience you get through it will be very helpful and precious in your future encounters/endeavors.
Study abroad helps you in getting, an idea about the diversified culture you have never seen, make great connections, etc.
Reasons for Studying Abroad:
- Better social exposure
- Good educational methods
- Foreign language fluency
- Exposure to the latest trends in technology
- Overall better lifestyle.
- Impress your Future Employers
- Improve Your communication skills
- You can explore a new culture
- Become More Responsible
- Better Networking skills
- Different education style
Read this post to know about the pros and cons of studying abroad.
Different Education Levels:
- Pathway programs for providing additional help to students
- Graduation degree
- Post-graduation degree
- MBA (Master of Business Administration)
10 Best Countries to Study Abroad:
- USA
- UK
- Canada
- Germany
- Australia
- France
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Spain
Advantages and Disadvantages of Studying Abroad:
S.no | Advantages of Studying Abroad: | Disadvantages of Studying Abroad: |
1 | Advanced learning techniques | Very expensive |
2 | Developing independent lifestyle | Difficulty in communicating with people |
3 | Exposure to various cultured people | Chances of exposed to non-ethical things |
4 | Better job opportunities | Chances of exposed to non-ethical things |
5 | Good value in hometown | Chances of facing racism harassment |
6 | Chances of interacting with topmost successful people | Too many expectations |
7 | Payscale is very higher | University credits might not be valid or accepted everywhere |
9 | Pitching good investors to run a business | Chances of no favorable welcome in times of need |
10 | Brings a lot of change in mindset | No frequency in transport in all parts of the world |
11 | Time for lots of personal development | Very expensive on immediate travel bookings |
12 | Financial learning curve is higher | Partiality and discomfort for foreign students at times |
13 | Creating a wide cross-cultural network | Many regulations for migrated students |
Exploring the working lifestyle of foreign countries | More social pressure |
Advantages of Studying Abroad:
When asked what are the advantages of studying abroad, you can say that there are many positives of studying abroad. The following mentioned are few advantages of studying overseas.
1. Advanced learning techniques:
There are many foreign countries which offer new and better learning techniques to educate the present generation. Comparatively, these new learning techniques impress the present generation to take up studies in abroad.
There are many countries which also has good laboratories with world-class facilities which provide a good atmosphere for doing research.
Hence, taking up all these factors related to the learning process students gets motivated to study abroad than in hometown. This is the foremost studying overseas advantages.
2. Developing independent lifestyle:
Studying abroad does not only highlights the learning curve but also improves a self-sufficient attitude and also helps the student to develop an independent lifestyle.
For example, when a student gets educated in their hometown they do not get a chance to understand how to live a life independently and also dependence will make them feel very comfortable only in their circle. In this way, studying in abroad will help them know to adopt and live independently.
3. Good exposure to various cultured people:
When studying in hometown, students will get to the only origin of a particular group of the country.
Alternatively, when they take education abroad they tend to meet people from the various cultural background, people speaking a different language and totally a mixed culture of the environment. In this way, students studying in abroad will have good exposure to multicultural people.
4. Better job opportunities:
Because of the higher education standards in abroad and the advanced technology environment, students who study abroad have better job opportunities and higher job roles in their hometown. This is one of the major reason, parents wish to make their children study abroad.
5. Good value in hometown:
After-effects of studying abroad are innumerable, high and have lots of benefits in hometown. Like for example, students who studied in abroad get more respect and credibility than students studies in the hometown. For this reason, most of them chose to study in abroad.
6. Chances of interacting with topmost successful people in their field of study:
There are many universities in foreign countries that spend huge money to hire the most successful people in the field as guest lecturers or for part-time interaction with students.
This kind of exposure will surely motivate the parents to make the students study abroad to meet and grow with the most talented and successful people.
7. Payscale is very higher compared to education in hometown:
When comparing the pay scale of the students who are graduated from abroad with the students graduated from hometown there is a huge difference. Because of the practical knowledge, and better learning techniques in abroad, organizations believe it is worth to hire students from abroad with a good pay scale. These reasons surely add to the advantages of studying abroad.
8. Pitching good investors to run a business:
Many of the students always have a dream of running their own business or being an entrepreneur. In order to gain good attention from the investors, it is very much needed to pursue an education abroad.
Investors need some amount of assurance to invest and henceforth, a degree or a master degree from abroad will help the students to gain better attention from investors.
9. Brings a lot of change in mindset:
It is generally said that the environment which students grow contributes lots to the character build and the way of thinking.
Students who chose to study abroad are generally exposed to the various cultures of people and will have a good mindset in analyzing things. Hence, studying abroad will impact a good change in mindset.
10. Time for lots of personal development other than studies:
Studying abroad not only helps the student career-wise but also it gives them a good amount of time to develop their personal skills. It helps the student to explore the other side of the country which is fully adventurous and fun activities.
For example, studying in Switzerland will have lots of fun activities around like snowballing, river rafting, paragliding, etc. No matter wherever the place might be there is full of adventurous experience.
11. Financial learning curve is higher:
One of the most worthy advantages of studying abroad is developing independent skills to manage its own finances. Regardless, of any abroad program like scholarship, grant or personal source of income, the students get lots of opportunities to maintain and handle their own finances.
To add to it, whichever country it might be, students get an opportunity to understand and learn a new form of currency, pay their own bills, and total travel expenses etc. Henceforth, studying abroad is very beneficial in terms of developing skills for financial management without the support of family.
12. Creating a wide cross-cultural network:
Making friends happen in both foreign and hometown universities. But getting a chance to mingle with students coming from different countries is something noteworthy. Studying abroad will help students to create new professional contacts from the universities.
Generally, course contents are lighter than in hometown which helps the students to find new contacts by doing part-time, internship and volunteer activities.
13. Getting a chance of exploring the working lifestyle of foreign countries:
In most of the foreign countries, students get a chance to work part-time as the syllabus is not very heavy.
Moreover, due to the heavy expenses in study abroad program, students tend to explore new part-time job opportunities which help them meet the foreign county’s working lifestyle and traveling to different parts of the foreign land.
Disadvantages of Studying Abroad:
1. Very expensive:
There is a lot of expense involved in studying abroad compared to studying in hometown. Right from the travel expense, accommodation to the university fee structure, it is very expensive. This is one major reason students hesitate to take up education abroad.
2. Difficulty in communicating with people:
Communication is one of the major hurdles for most of the students studying abroad.
It is not about trouble between fellow mates but also, sometimes students might not understand what lectures speak and try to communicate. This sometimes might lead to depression among the students about the whole process of getting educated.
So, this is considered as one major hurdle of studying abroad.
3. Chances of exposed to non-ethical things:
All together studying in abroad gives lots of cultural shocks. This is because there is a mix of culture and people have a different lifestyle. This might not suit everyone, and sometimes student tends to adopt non-ethical things prevailing from different country people. This is also a reason for some students not choosing abroad for education.
4. Feeling of loneliness and homesick:
Not every student can only concentrate on studies when they leave abroad. As the environment is very new, new faces all around might cause homesickness and disturb. Because of unfamiliarity, students tend to avoid gatherings and choose to stay alone, this sometimes affects them to a greater extent. Henceforth, this is considered a disadvantage of studying abroad.
5. Chances of facing racism harassment:
This disadvantage might or might not be very common. But it is still prevailing in many parts of the world.
Few students around the world are still facing racism harassment in the university or the place they stay. As it cannot be taken very light racism attacks have stopped many students from choosing studies abroad.
6. Too many expectations:
It is a natural tendency among the organizations or the society to develop more expectations once they find your graduation from abroad. This sometimes turns out to be pressure and might make the student outperform than really what they can, in academics.
Hence, due to social pressure and more expectations, students get scared to chose to study abroad.
7. University credits might not be valid or accepted everywhere:
Every country has its own accredit rules. And it cannot be expected to be accepted in every country. There are lot many chances few universities accredit which are not accepted in all countries. This might cause a loss after knowing this later after graduation.
Hence, in order to avoid this kind of risks, people avoid choosing to study abroad.
8. Chances of no favorable welcome in times of need:
Students tend to suffer a lot as sometimes they don’t get some sort of help when in need.
For example, there are so many regulations for migrated students which are not applicable for natives. So, there is some sort of partiality and discomfort for foreign students in times of need.
Hence, parents hesitate to send to study in abroad to avoid such difficulties in their kid’s life.
9. No frequency in transport in all parts of the world:
Students studying abroad might have lots of commitment or emergencies to reach their hometown. And there are still countries who do not have frequent flights and also it might be very expensive on immediate travel bookings.
For this reason, students, as well as parents, tend to hesitate to choose to study in abroad.
How to Study Abroad: Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the frequent questions you get regarding how to study abroad.
1. Why do you need to study abroad?
2. Which country should I choose in the world?
3. What is the process to get started?
4. Any chance of financial aid to study abroad?
5. Duration of study abroad programs?
6. How to apply for a student visa?
7. Is it ok to work while studying abroad?
8. What is the best time to study abroad programs?
9. What are the basic requirements for study abroad programs?
10. Where will be my accommodation during the study abroad program?
11. What is the documentation needed to submit with the application?
12. Where to apply for study abroad scholarships?
13. How much does it cost to study abroad?
14. Should I have knowledge of the second language to study abroad?
15. Is an admissions interview mandatory?
16. What is the next step after getting a letter of acceptance?
Conclusion:
Even though there are lots of disadvantages listed, always studying abroad has more advantages than disadvantages. Always the positives of studying in abroad had outweighed the disadvantages. Nothing comes so easy.
Education abroad might have lots of disadvantages but still, all these negatives can be overcome by a positive outlook. Hope this post helps to bring clarity between the advantages and disadvantages of studying in abroad.