Is Doing a Bachelor’s Degree Abroad Worth It for Students?
Sitting on my counselor chair, I am always asked this question by curious parents of kids who are pursuing their 10th, 11th, or 12th grade, basically high school. My answer to this question always in return is always a question. I ask them, “Do you want your child to have a wide exposure?” If the answer is Yes to this, then studying abroad is the right fit for you.
Studying abroad is an exercise you do for your kid to work on several parts of their growth. Yes, it comes with sending your kid away, it costs you more than your home country, and it surely requires more effort for you and your family. But a worthy option to bring out the best in your child.
Key Benefits of Studying a Bachelor’s Degree Abroad
- Practical Education
An undergraduate degree abroad provides you with an education that is truly updated with the latest advances and features. It’s not based on bookish knowledge and theory only. It gives a wide paradigm and ways to understand the concept in reality. The assessment is also in ways where you learn the fundamentals better and are not judged simply on a written exam.
- Well-Structured Course
A student post 12th is surely very naïve to decide their career ahead. University abroad understands this and hence keeps the first year very basic and exposes them to all aspects. They can study engineering, and they can also do dance along with it. They can choose engineering and decide on a specialization later. A student pursuing an undergraduate degree can choose one major and a minor. Hence, a young student can slowly develop their understanding and develop their course.
- Networking
You are going to provide your child with the widest and extensive cohort and network. Just imagine your child sharing the class with a European, African, American, etc. The child is just not going to make friends with people across the globe, but also learn different cultures, food, music, and lifestyles. Hence, their understanding is going to be beyond the normal education that you would provide them here.
- Self-Esteem and Confidence
A child staying with family always, knowingly or unknowingly, gets pampered a lot. All his chores are basically done or executed by his parents or help in the family. Hence, this becomes luxury. Once you send a kid abroad, he learns a lot of things. He learns to cook, do laundry, clean the room, manage assignments, and many more. So, at the end, you would be proud to see your child so capable of taking care of himself completely. And you would be comfortable that he can lead his life ahead.
So the above points probably will motivate any parent who is reading it. It is a choice you make as a parent for a very promising career for your child.
What Are The Challenges of Studying Abroad
- Cost
It is expensive than education in India, no doubt, but scholarships and assistantships are widely available to international students. I have seen in my experience of the last 10 years that UG students get much more offered as financial perks as compared to master’s students.
Hence, the cost of living can be reduced by working part-time, and scholarships can help in reducing the tuition cost. Typical cost of education in primary countries like the USA, UK, Australia, or Canada would range from 6 Lakhs per year to 20Lakhs per year. This depends on various factors of the university, like reputation, private or public, course, etc.
Hence, we can fit the university according to the choice of the parent. The living cost typically is 6 lakhs to 7 lakhs, which student happily remove on their own. Parent should not feel guilty or bad that their kid is going to work there, as this is a very pivotal part of their learning abroad. It is a good thing to know how to pay the bills on your own rather than being spoon-fed longer till they become hell dependent on you.
- Distance
Some parents, especially mothers, are concerned about sending their little ones far. Yes, this can be daunting, not having them around. But this little bargain is better than rotting your child here in some small-time school and killing his/her caliber.
I do not mean to demean Indian education, but I have to be true to myself that there are very few good schools that provide quality. And then the competition is way too high out here, as loads of applicants are compared to the number of available positions. So in this bargain, you get everything you dreamt of providing your child and nurturing him to be the best and nothing less.
How Education Street Helps
We at Education Street strive to find the right fit for your child, looking at their abilities and interests. Also, try for scholarships and assistantships to reduce costs for parents. So if you also have this option in mind to send your child abroad, you may knock on our doors; we have offices in Mumbai.
Author – Ankita Thakker
Founder / Counselor (Education Street)
OR Call: 9820418067/ 022-25681775
