Tips for studying abroad I

Higher education

Studying abroad is an option for those people interested in learning a language and to get to know a culture. There are several possibilities. In the framework of the European Union, university students are able to apply for an Erasmus programme. Sometimes third countries which don’t belong to the EU are also able to participate in the program.

It consists in spending a university year abroad. It may not be very expensive as every UE-Country offers scholarships for this program, but the scholarship rarely covers all the expenses of the students. Students, normally live in university dormitories together with the rest of the students. There is an international exchange department in every university, responsible for the follow up of each application, so it is quite easy for students to join it.

There are also a few negative points of this initiative:

1.       Not all the subjects may be recognized back in the home university (though the Bologne regulations are trying to change this point). So, some subjects may be repeated once the student is back.

2.       Foreign students tend to meet other foreign students too. So many times the relationship is not established with the local people but with other international students. This fact is partly positive, since young people learn a lot about other cultures, but it is also partly negative as they are not fully immersed in the country culture and language.
 
In the following link you will find further information about Erasmus:

http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/doc80_en.htm