Have you just completed high-school and you are looking into starting your first degree? Or have you decided you want to further progress with your studies, and enrol into a Master's or a PhD? Studying abroad is a very enriching experience despite the challenges you might face. Being away from familiar grounds, rewards you with a ton of benefits, which will have a positive impact on your personal and professional growth. Here are five reasons why studying abroad might be the best decision you ever made!
Your CV will stand out
Studying abroad brings international fame to your CV. A candidate who has studied at an international university outside their home country will be sought-after by employers for various reasons. Studying abroad means that you have been exposed to new ways of learning and working, you can adapt to different environments, and you are keen to acquire new experiences and learn new things. All these are a booster for your resume, which shows a proactive personality with a wide range of personal and professional skills.
You will grow and glow
Being abroad is challenging because it implies living alone, away from your family and old friends, and from the lifestyle that you were used to. Now, you have to adapt to a new culture, build new habits, and create a new social network among many other things. But moving out from your parents' home at a young age, and even more so, moving to a different country, helps you become independent and mature — and helps you learn more about yourself. You are free to explore and learn from your mistakes, but you are also responsible for your actions. When living alone, you learn how to organise your life, be self-sufficient and self-reliant, and how to manage a budget. Welcome to adulthood!
You will earn a once-in-a-life-time experience
Being a student in a foreign country gives you the advantage of being able to explore a place with the fresh eyes of a tourist. Isn't that great? You can take day-trips to different parts of your host country or even cross the borders and spend a long weekend in a neighbouring country. Keep in mind that there are many students' discounts for the various tourist attractions, museums, and activities across the world. Studying in a foreign country will open your eyes to new things and will bring you closer to people who most likely have different beliefs and life stance. You may even decide to upgrade your language skills and exchange language lessons with your classmates!
You will build an international network
Being away from home will bring some moments of homesickness, nostalgia, and loneliness — especially if you are a newbie in student life abroad. However, you have to be patient and give yourself time to get used to the new lifestyle and make friends. Most probably, you will meet people from various backgrounds and of different nationalities, and you will spend time talking about your countries and understand each others' expressions, humour, and body language. The best part of building an international network is that you may make friends for life with whom you can travel around the world later on, or you can visit each others' home countries, and always stay in touch somehow. At the same time, you are also creating an international professional network, which might be put to good use in a few years from now.
You will create career opportunities
Last but not least, in light of all the above reasons, studying abroad broadens your horizons and gives you a variety of career opportunities. Given that you are already in another country, you can do your best to get a job there or you can return to your native country to job hunt. Employers are aware of the challenges faced by students abroad and of the skills those challenges harness — and they are fond of those skills. Also, through your already established international network, you may learn about opportunities in other countries and benefit from them.
