Do you have dreams of traveling? Studying abroad? There are thousands of colleges in the U.S. that offer abroad programs, but if you’re anything like me, the idea of spending just one semester, maybe a year, wasn’t enough. I wanted to live and study for four years abroad, and that’s exactly what I did. There are other options out there than just in-state college. 

HOW

There are a bunch of different ways to find colleges abroad and apply, but you’re probably going to want help. Go to Study Across The Pond (ATP). From there, it’ll ask you what continent you’re from and you’ll go to the United States, and it’ll take you to a new webpage. You can look around and see why you should study in the UK (Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Sign up to find out more, and within a few days, an advisor will reach out to you. 

Your advisor will help you with research for a university, provide finance information, go through the visa application as well as helping you with transcripts and essays to increase your chance of being accepted. Your advisor will send a list of colleges based on your preferences and what you’d like to study and you’ll research those. Compile a list of FIVE universities you’d like to go to and then head over to UCAS. 

UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) is the equivalent of SCOIR or the Common App. It’s a hub where you can send one essay and your transcripts to each of the five colleges. 

From there you’ll make your personal essay. You’ll write your essay and then email it back to your advisor who will give you feedback. You will also need a letter of recommendation from a teacher, counselor, a boss, etc, as long as it’s not family or a friend. Your advisor will send a template that your chosen person can follow and WHY you would succeed at traveling abroad.   

Talk with your high school counselor about your transcripts; you’ll have to fill out a permission form if you aren’t 18 for your official transcripts and have them sent DIRECTLY to your advisor. 

You will also need to fill out the application for Across the Pond. It’s tedious but you’ll also need your school history of every class you took and the final grade you earned. Once you have your essay, transcripts, and portfolios if needed, your advisor will send it through UCAS. 

You’ll hear back from your offers from a week to a few months after you send in your application. You’ll receive an email that your UCAS hub changed and you’ll see your offer. It tells you whether or not you got a conditional offer or unconditional offer (if you are offered a place; if you aren’t, it’ll say decline). If you get an unconditional offer, that means you are without a doubt accepted. If you get a conditional offer, that means there are things the university will need from you. I had conditional offers that asked if I have an ACT score of a certain degree, that I get a certain score on an AP test, etc. Once you complete those, you’ll be accepted.  

FINANCES

Studying abroad sounds like it would be expensive. When all is said and done, it’s actually cheaper to go and study abroad than it would be to study in-state. Since you’d be an international student, it will be more expensive. It also depends on where you study. If you study in London, it’ll be more expensive than a rural university. That being said, you can apply for a FAFSA for your college, if they offer it. Most do so when you begin your FAFSA application; A) do it as soon as you can when it opens, and B) put in the code of the abroad school. You won’t hear anything until April 1 because that’s when the new school year starts to roll over. So don’t panic. There will be a deposit you have to pay, usually by the end of June. I won’t lie, it’s a lot. Mine is 3,000 British pounds, that converted to US currency is about $3,500. You can get this waived if you apply for FAFSA, but won’t find out until April 1. You can also do loans and win scholarships. The university will have a tab where you can find scholarships, just filter that you are an international student. A lot of universities will give you a scholarship just for being an international student. I’m getting 2,000 pounds for each year I go. That’s 8,000 pounds I get for just going. 

• My tuition is 16,400 pounds which equates to about $19,000-20,000 if the exchange rate is high without the scholarship and aid but doesn’t include housing. 
• The most expensive housing for my university is around 150 pounds for a 36 week (one school year) contract. 

WHY 

There are a lot of pros for studying abroad.

• We live in a globalized world. You are going to stand out in any interview or internship you come across. 
• Tuition is cheaper. It always sounds like it would cost a fortune but you might actually save money for an adventure of a lifetime.
• You can work on a student visa. When you get your visa you’re able to work up to 20 hours a week. It’s a part time job but you’ll be a full time student. Europe also pays a better minimum wage than occupations in the US.
• You get to experience a different culture. It’s important to expand your world view and there’s no better place to do that than being out in the world. 
• If you study abroad in Scotland, bus fare is free for everyone under the age of 22. It sounds crazy but you can take a bus anywhere for free. 
• Plane tickets are cheaper. You can go from country to country with a cheap plane ticket. There are also tons of apps and organizations to get it for even cheaper. 

VISAS

*There will be an update on this*

I’m still going through the visa process myself. It’s VERY important that when you are accepted you don’t immediately get your visa. You can only apply for a visa when you are within 180 days of YOUR program’s start date and received your CAS (Confirmation of Status) which means that visa guidance will not come out until around May.