.webp)
.webp)
Study Abroad in Highschool
Studying abroad in high school was the highlight of my high school experience. I spent 3 months in Australia through the Round Square exchange program, and have stayed in touch with my host family ever since.
Round Square is just one of the many ways to study abroad. I would start off by asking your school if they have a program they endorse. Round Square was the program that my school participated in, but to participate you have to be from a Round Square school. There are a lot of programs like this, so your school advisors may be able to help. But, if your school doesn’t have a study abroad program, you can still apply by yourself!
A popular study abroad program is EF. For EF, most of their programs are for students between 14 and 18, and range from 6 months to 4 years. The programs are quite expensive though (high school study abroad tends to be quite expensive because they include supervision/a family, often food, and other expenses). But there are scholarships available for study abroad, so if the cost is too high you can still try to find scholarships to help support your study.
I recommend doing your study abroad in either grade 10, or as a gap year after high school (yes, you can do this!). By choosing one of these time periods, your grades and prerequisites will be less affected for applying for universities as you will have grade 11 and 12 to complete all graduation requirements and exams. I went in grade 10, and it didn’t affect my ability to apply for universities at all.
Study Abroad in University
If you aren’t able to study abroad in high school but are going on to higher education, University offers a lot more options for study abroad. Most universities will have a study abroad program they participate in with partner schools that you can apply for.
Studying abroad in university can also be a lot cheaper than studying abroad in university, considering you’re an adult and don’t need as much help managing the process nor supervision. Generally, you will pay the same tuition you normally would to your home university, but get to go to a partner university regardless of their tuition costs. Normally, being an international student means really expensive tuition costs, so study abroad is a great opportunity to study and live somewhere else without the extra cost. You can also apply for study abroad scholarships and grants, as well as take out student loans to help fund your studies. And while taking out loans shouldn’t be something you take lightly, it is an option (one I took).
You can generally study abroad for anywhere from one semester to two years, but make sure you check what courses are available and if they will be accepted for your degree. Oftentimes you will only be able to get general credits to transfer back, not any core courses required for your degree. So save any options you need to fulfill for your exchange and take your required credits either before or after exchange!
Study Abroad at Any Time!
You don’t need to be a full time student to study abroad! There are so many programs out there that either offer short term study programs you can do without a visa, or even programs that do sponsor visas.
A popular route is going to language school. You can generally qualify for a visa for language school and will be allowed to study in your country of choice for even years at a time. If you are interested in studying Japanese in Japan, check out GoGoNihon, a totally free service that helps you choose and apply for a school, and get your visa. But language learning isn’t your only option!
You can also sign up for certain activities and get a visa as long as you are not earning an income. For example, in Japan you can qualify for a ‘Cultural Activities’ visa, where you can learn things such as Tea Ceremony, Ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement) or Judo. You can find more information on this visa at this Ministry of Foreign Affairs web page. Or maybe you want to learn shoemaking or ceramics in Florence? Schools such as Accademia Riaci offer both short (from one week) and long term (up to one year) programs to let you study these and more in Italy!
The website Go Abroad is a great place to start when looking for programs, but there are so many out there so if you have a specific activity and place you want to do, get researching! Study abroad doesn’t have to be only for people in their teens and 20’s. It’s for everyone!
How to Study Abroad With No Money
The one thing about studying abroad, it can be really expensive. So here is my best advice to make it happen even if you have no money.
Do an exchange, not just study abroad.
If you’re in high school, cost is probably the biggest factor. One way to reduce the cost can be to do an exchange. In this situation, you either switch places with a student from somewhere else, or you go live with them for a period of time, and then they come live with you after. This generally eliminates the need to pay for room and board because your families essentially just agree to host each other’s son or daughter on a reciprocal exchange basis. Then all you have to pay for is your flights and spending money!
As mentioned above, I did this through Round Square in grade ten and had a great experience. So if this is something that interests you, look for an exchange instead of a study abroad!
Apply for scholarships or loans
Scholarships exist for study abroad at any age (not just university students!). Applying for scholarships can be time consuming, but if you are able to get one you could receive up to several thousand dollars that you don’t have to pay back. This article offers some good information on scholarships as a place to start, but also make sure to look into local options for your area, or for your specific destination because there’s a lot out there!
If you can’t get a scholarship and are a university student, you can also look into student loans. You do have to pay these back (with interest) but you are close to guaranteed to qualify as long as you are a student.
Work Abroad and Take Classes on the Side
If you can’t make a study abroad budget work, you can always work abroad instead! And then nothing is stopping you from also taking courses once you’re there. That’s what I did! I moved to Japan on a work visa, and then took Japanese language classes in the evenings. Check out some of the other ways to travel or work abroad in my article on How To Plan A Gap Year, or if you’re looking for Japan specifically, this article on How to Move to Japan!
My Top Recommended Countries to Study Abroad In
.webp)
This is a tough one! Studying abroad in any country is going to be an amazon experience, but if I had to choose, I would go to one of the below places (in no particular order):
- Spain
- France
- Italy
- Japan
- Canada
- Thailand
- Indonesia
- Costa Rica
Why? A general breakdown:
All of these countries are great options, from food to culture to natural scenery they all have that little something that makes me want to hop on a plane and hit up any of them at any time.
If I was going to Europe, I would go to Spain, France or Italy! Why? Because I did go to Spain and absolutely loved it! All of these countries are also not as expensive as some other European countries that are also popular to study in such as Denmark or Switzerland. They offer an opportunity to learn a new language, see gorgeous architecture, great access to the rest of Europe to travel while you’re there, and all have a lot of study abroad options from cultural studies to university or language! And as an added bonus they all have great wine, so what else do need?
If I was going to Asia, I would go to Japan, Thailand or Indonesia. All of these countries are really interesting cultures to visit, have great food, are relatively affordable to live for students, and offer either a great base to explore East Asia (Japan) or SE Asia and Australia (Thailand and Indonesia). They also offer the opportunity to learn a new language, and for those who want to learn English but many English speaking countries are cost prohibitive, Indonesia can be a great place to learn English at a fraction of the cost! Japan also has the cultural activities visa which is a great opportunity for students of any age.
If I was going to the America’s, I would go to Canada or Costa Rica! Canada (shameless plug for my home country) is a great place to study abroad and is a bit cheaper than studying in the United States due to the currency. I recommend studying in Vancouver or Montreal. Vancouver if you want to experience nature and Montreal is you want a European feel and great night life. If Vancouver is a bit pricey for the nature lovers (it's not cheap) you could also check out Kelowna or Calgary. And then I also recommend Costa Rica, particularly for anyone interested in nature studies. Costa Rica is very committed to protecting their biodiversity, making it a great place to study if this is your area of interest!
So what are you waiting for? I find the urge to travel and learn new things never really goes away, so save yourself the regret and see what you can do to make it happen!
Wander on friends✨
