I had been wanting to study abroad but always dismissed the idea to myself, it must cost more than I would be willing to spend. The thought lingered in my brain however, and eventually I decided to just read about it a little, just to see. I discovered many study abroad opportunities available, but they can be quite pricey! For example a semester program at the University of Westminster in London is $24,950 for a four month stay. A two-week program in Germany costs around $5,000. However, I was determined to take myself on an international adventure, so I figured out a more non-traditional route on my own.Depending on where you are from, and where you would like to travel, there are a number of different regulations and requirements which vary from country to country, and also between different universities. In my case, I traveled from a non-European Union country (USA) to a European Union country (Austria), and attended the University of Vienna, so be sure to research and be aware of the specifics at the university you would like to attend.
Being a resident of a non-EU country, I had a few additional challenges to figure out. All non-EU students wishing to study in Austria for less than 6 months are required to obtain a visa, so I began looking at options. A visa-C allows a person to stay inside Austria, or any other Schengen country, for a maximum of 90 days.(may not be required if your country's passport allows you into the EU without a visa, ie, a U.S. passport) A visa D allows a person to stay longer than 90 days, but to a maximum of 6 months. A visa D is a good option for someone who only wants to stay for one semester. I thought maybe I'd like to stay for two semesters, so I kept searching for options. I found that Austria offers a residence permit which allows a person to stay in Austria for up to one year if they are accepted as a valid student or researcher. That sounded good to me, now I needed to become an official student to meet the requirements.
Costs
Not wanting to pay the large fees required to go through one of the popular student exchange companies, I tried to figure something else out. I had decided I wanted to study abroad very spontaneously, and so I had missed the deadlines for any chance at a scholarship. (Make sure to plan ahead and start researching options and requirements early!) The University of Vienna allows some students to attend as a Non-degree student, which requires the student not be enrolled in a degree specific program, and since I was not yet a student, I was not on any degree-track there. Non-degree students are often people who simply want to learn for their own self interests, or for several non-degree secondary school certificates. So I applied to the University of Vienna as a non-degree student, and was accepted! Instead of going through a traditional exchange program like the large majority of international students do, I actually applied to and enrolled at my target university. My student residence permit required a letter from a University confirming enrollment, and I was unsure whether or not a non-degree student would be accepted as a valid student, but the University wrote the letter, and the Austrian consulate accepted it! Now, I fit the requirements as an official student to the Austrian consulate and was granted a residence permit which allowed me to stay for one year.
Credits Should Count
Once I was set up, I made sure to contact the university where I would be sending the transcripts once I had finished. I found the courses I wanted to take in Vienna, and sent the syllabus and class information to my home university to ensure they met the requirements and would satisfy the credits I needed. In my case, every course was accepted by my home university, and everything went smoothly, but make sure to verify each course with the university.
My tuition fees were the same as any other EU student, which was less than $1000 for an entire semester(closer to $700). I found an apartment to rent for less than $500 a month, but I'll use $500 a month as it makes for easy math. As an example, the 4 month foreign exchange stay in Westminster University, London, was about $25,000. For four months of rent I paid $2000, plus another thousand for tuition and fees. I was up to only $3000 of expenses after my largest costs were taken care of(tuition and housing). The two week stay in Germany would have already cost me a lot more than this! Obviously there are other expenses such as food, but you need food whether you travel or not.
Conclusion
I hope this helps any of you to reach your goal of studying abroad, it was an incredible experience for me. My friend, who did the same thing and helped me through some of the process, is offering a class on how to do all of this on PassionClass. You can sign up at the link above. I certainly didn't take the traditional route of foreign exchange, but by directly enrolling at the university as a non-degree student, I was able to qualify for a residence permit in Austria. This allowed me to travel anywhere in the EU freely, and I had a fantastic time traveling and experiencing so many new things, without having to pay a foreign exchange company.
