The 10 Study Abroad Tips To Memorize Before You Leave

Study Abroad Tips- Studying abroad is one of the most enriching experiences of student life. In today’s time to study abroad is not a very difficult task. It has become very affordable for most students to go abroad to study via agencies, university scholarships and fellowships, joint workshops, education fairs, loans etc.

The 10 Study Abroad Tips To Memorize Before You Leave:

Travelling itself is a learning process. One could travel for a small workshop or a winter semester or a full course. Either ways, the fact that one will travel, meet new people, experience diverse cultures and learn new traditions are all added bonuses to the education that one is going to attain.

These days visa process and formalities are not very taxing. They may take time but the procedures are fairly simple. Travelling maybe a great adventure, if done with proper planning and research. Going abroad is a huge step, and so, it requires for one to be responsible.

While travelling abroad to study, whether it is a short term course or long term, there are various things that one must be mindful of. Here we have listed  down 10 tips for you to memorize before you leave for abroad to study –

1. Know your Destination: It is vital that you become fully aware of your destination before landing there. You should know about the area where you will be staying, your neighbourhood, nearest grocery stores and medical centers, car rentals, public transport, route to and from your college to your residence etc. Study about the university you will be attending, check if they have any formalities that you must complete before joining. Find out about extra curricular activities, jobs and internship possibilities. Knowing about all these things before hand will help you organize, plan, pack and budget better.
2. What’s your budget? More often than not, travelling is expensive. It is important that you plan your budget way ahead and stick to it. Exchanging money can be expensive too. So make sure you study up of all the credit and debit card companies that are easily acceptable in your destination. It will also be helpful to get a general idea about prices of your daily needful things so you can budget and pack accordingly, depending on the duration of your stay. Always keep extra cash in hand.
3. Visiting other places: Usually when going abroad, students make plan to visit places other than the decided destination. It is better if you make a list of the places you would want to visit and study a bit about them before you leave. While this may not always be possible, but if one can then it would save money and make the trip easier. It is not always easy to know explore new places.
4.  Know the language: It is not necessary that you speak the language of your destination fluently. But it will only help you if you learned a bit of the language like key phrases, important questions, names of the foods, directions etc. If you are going to countries like US, UK, Australia and Canada, then you needn’t worry about the language, given your English is good. However in other countries like China, Germany, Italy etc it will be important for you to know the local language.
5. Be informed: It will help you immensely if you keep yourself informed about the local culture, tradition and every day life style of the neighbourhood that you will be living in. It will smooth your fitting in. Also make sure you are aware of the crime rates, weather conditions, environmental issues, socio-political issues etc of the place, so that you know where to put yourself.
6. Make copies: Make sure you make various copies of all the important documents such as your passport, visa, college application, acceptance letter, id etc. All do not keep all these copies in one place. Keep them in different places, but at easy access.
7. Have a friend: It would be a wonderful treat if you could have a friend at your destination. That may not always be possible, but it sure will make things a lot easier. It is not necessary that you have a fast friend, just someone good enpugh to give you the right information.
8. Carry a notebook: In this age of smart phones and millions of apps, to carry a notebook to note down important things sounds kind of old school. but remember, while your devices could power off, get stolen or stop working, a notebook remains loyal and usually does not attract much attention. So carry one and note down your important details, numbers, addresses etc into it.
9. File your trip: Remember that wherever you are going is not your country. Even with a good amount of research, you will be a stranger in the beginning. So make sure you have all your proof of travelling – your ticket, your registration, passport, visa etc – filed up and kept safely in case of any kind of emergency.
10. Stay Safe and have fun: Having fun should not be confused with being careless and irresponsible. To have fun and make the most of your trip, it is of utmost importance that you give your safety the highest priority.

So memorize these tips and have an amazing semester. Bon Voyage!