Introduction to Study Abroad for Bachelors(Mainly overview of countries and financial aid)
Myth: Only Rich Students Can Afford to Study Abroad for a bachelor’s degree
Reality: Many elite private universities and liberal arts colleges, especially in the US, offer need-based financial aid. If you’re a qualified middle class Indian student and get admitted studying abroad can often be completely free which includes tuition and living expenses!
🗽 Studying in the USA
These are some universities and liberal arts colleges that provide substantial financial aid which makes them accessible to qualified middle class students. If admitted, you could study for free (including living costs) with universities potentially even paying for your single round trip flight, health insurance and providing your free electronic gadgets (usually one laptop with some budget limits set by each univ)
- Amherst College
- Bryn Mawr College
- Brown University
- Berea College
- Bowdoin College
- Colgate University
- Carleton College
- Columbia University
- Colby College
- Cornell University
- Dartmouth College
- Davidson College
- Duke University
- Grinnell College
- Haverford College
- Harvard University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Lafayette College
- Lehigh University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Northwestern University
- Pomona College
- Princeton University
- Rice University
- Smith College
- Stanford University
- Swarthmore College
- Tufts University
- University of Chicago
- University of Pennsylvania
- Vassar College
- Vanderbilt University
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Washington and Lee University
- Wellesley College
- Wesleyan University
- Williams College
I think Ben has done a good job compiling information about all universities and liberal arts colleges in the US, with details on the average financial aid they provide to international students, their locations, acceptance rates, crime rates in the surrounding areas, and the local weather: Link
What About Canada?
Canadian universities are not free for most international students. While some diploma mills offer cheaper programs, I strongly discourage applying to them.
Introduction to Study abroad in Europe
Germany: All Public Universities (about 50% of all universities in Germany) except the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, do not charge tuition fee. Although housing, food, living expenses are still paid by students
France also has a similar story with its Public Universities Like Germany with the only catch that the tuition fee is approx. €2,770 per year
Italy: Same as Germany the Public Universities charge zero tuition fee and it is literally free. The student requires to be from a financially week background. After assessment of the student's profile, Italian government gives them scholarships. Once the scholarship is approved, the education becomes completely FREE
Nordic Countries like Norway used to be free till 2023, but the government has decided now to charge heavy tuition fee on international students.
UK, Ireland, Netherlands are not free and unaffordable for a lot of students.
Spain: Same as France, the Public Universities charge tuition fee of €1000-2000/Yr
What is the catch in all these European countries and why not most people go for these options?
You need to speak/write/read local languages (German,French,Italian,Spanish) and you cannot survive in these countries with English(only).
Ultimately going abroad depends on several factors and everyone should evaluate its pros and cons on their own contextual basis. In my life I have mostly seen people going to study abroad for one or more than one of these reasons:
- Purely for Education Quality
- Career Opportunities
- Immigration
Fun Fact: Research was conducted on 2010 batch of IITs, and it was found that 90% of Top 10 JEE Rankers and 38% of Top 1000 JEE Rankers are now working in abroad. The reasons for that are mostly concentrated around the above 3 points.