Are you considering studying abroad? It might open up new opportunities for your personal and professional growth.

Your 2018 guide to study abroad

The Institute for International Education of Students (IES) prepared a survey on the long-term impact of study abroad, which investigates how the personal, professional, and academic lives of students changed after their studies abroad.

Here are some interesting findings:

95% of the surveyed students admitted that studying abroad served as a catalyst for increased maturity, 96% mentioned increased self-confidence, and 95% said it had a lasting impact on their worldview. Over 50% of the survey participants are still in contact with their international friends they met when studying abroad.

So if you want to study abroad, and you are looking for the right place to go, we got your covered.

Here are the best 2018 options that takes in consideration the top 5 country both in Europe and the rest of the world with their respective pros and cons.

Top 5 European study destinations

This ranking, published by study.eu takes into account three factors: the level of education, the cost and quality of life and the career prospects.

1. Germany

Pros: Germany is by far the safest choice with the highest research and teaching quality and availability of a wide range of courses in English-taught programmes, plus the tuition fees are low and some universities even offer free of charge programs. This happens because most German universities are funded by the government.

Universities also offer many scholarships which combined with the famous Teutonic efficiency and the reasonable living costs make a strong case for Germany.

Cons: in order to get the best opportunities you need to speak German, which isn’t the easiest language to learn.

2. The UK

Pros: it’s home to many of the most prestigious and internationally-acclaimed universities plus it scores highest when it comes to quality of life and the pursuit of an international career.

Cons: it’s very expensive to study here, both the tuition fees and the cost of living are the highest in Europe. If you’re European don’t forget the Brexit factor: the UK will leave the EU by 2019, this means that it’s gonna be harder and even more expensive for a fellow student from Europe to study here.

3. The Netherlands

Pros: this country offers one of the largest selections of courses on the continent, so you’ll have plenty of choice both in Bachelor and Master degrees programmes in English. With more than 112,000 students from around the world, it is a home to one of the largest communities of international students.

Also, large multinational companies have chosen the Netherlands as their headquarters and this makes it for a very good chance to immediately find a job after you graduate.

Cons: the average tuition fee for a EU student is around €2,000 per year while for non-EU students the cost goes up between €6,000 and €12,000.

4. France

Pros: for one of the top European destinations, education here is the priority so you’ll get the highest quality study programs taught in English with the advantage of low tuition fees and many opportunities to get scholarships.

Cons: the cost of living is very high, especially in Paris.

5. Sweden

Pros: Sweden offers plenty of choice with around a thousand degree programmes available in English and free of charge for the EU citizens, while others may have to pay up to €15,000.

Their universities are famous for adopting a more modern approach where students are encouraged to question and think creatively. Don’t forget that Swedes have one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Cons: the climate can be challenging with long freezing cold winters.

Top 5 global destinations to study abroad

Now after we looked at the most promising places to study in Europe, let’s have a look at opportunities to study abroad outside Europe.

This ranking was formed in partnership between US news, Y&R’s brand strategy firm, BAV Consulting, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

These are the 5 countries that got the highest score based on these four equally-weighted criteria: culturally accessible, fun, has many cultural attractions and would consider attending university there.

1. United Arab Emirates

Pros: it’s an exotic location with tons of courses distributed among their private universities where students are expected to be fluent in both Arabic and English. It would be a great advantage to learn some Arabic since it’s the language of the future, especially if you’re into construction and tourism.

Cons: there are some religious restrictions you must respect, like during the Ramadan celebrations Non-Muslims can’t drink, eat or smoke in public places in daylight hours.

2. Singapore

Pros: this tiny cosmopolitan city has made a name for itself as a world leader in research, innovation and entrepreneurship. Two of their universities are known internationally and their strongest suit is its pedagogic approach that provide a safe environment to nurture future global leaders.

Cons: most study programmes combine English with Malay/Mandarin/Tamil.

3. India

Pros: one of the largest education system in the world, India offers more opportunity in the Fulbright programs and, most importantly, tuition fees stay on average under €6,000.

The living cost is one of the most affordable and the country has the second largest English-speaking population in the world which makes it for a very popular choice, especially for students who pursue scientific research and engineering, technology and science studies.

Cons: although the costs are low, students are not permitted to work while studying, so you wanna do your math in advance, keeping in mind that the budget recommended per year is about €4,500.

4. Turkey

Pros: in the last decades the education system has been reformed in order to increasingly offer English-taught programs, especially in the tech department.

In fact, there are now 7 Turkish universities in the top 100, 3 of which in the top 10, according to The Times Higher Education BRICS & Emerging Economies Rankings 2014, while UNESCO credits the country to have hosted about 50,000 international students in 2014.

Cons: in this last couple of years the country has been subjected to growing political instability.

5. Romania

Pros: Romanian education system offers great research opportunities for international students and a wide range of both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in English and also in Romanian, French and German with the perks of low tuition fees that start from €2,000 and reach up to €5,000.

From the 2000’s universities opened up their doors to thousands of students from all over the world, 23.000 only in 2015 according to UNESCO, especially from other developing countries and were able to establish partnerships with prestigious universities worldwide.

Cons: if you choose to study in Bucharest just expect it to be “a little bit” more expensive than the rest of Romania.

The wrap up

Now that you are of the best options both in Europe and worldwide to study abroad, it eventually comes down to your choice.

You should pick the country that fits your career goals best. While you are making a decision with your head, make sure your heart is in it, too.

Don’t forget that you’ll have to live there, so give it the right consideration.

What do you think? How did you pick the right country to study? Share your thoughts with me by leaving a comment below!

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