ווי צו שיקן אַ קינד צו לערנען אין אויסלאנד און נישט באַקומען צעבראכן

“The rich have their quirks,” you say. And with this phrase you will clip the wings of your dream. After all, studying abroad does not necessarily cost millions and is not necessarily inaccessible to mere mortals. Sergey Sander, author of the Global mobility project, and Natalia Strain, the founder of the Russian-British educational company Paradise, London, have compiled instructions on how to get to the goal step by step – a prestigious university abroad.

“A trial will allow you to cope with all the difficulties – an approach thanks to which not only a student, but also a schoolchild will be able to conquer a Western university. Those who have embarked on the path of the trial will not have to burn bridges, take desperate risks and radically change their lives in an instant. Changes will have to be approached in stages, by trial and error, ”our experts explain.

Bold cross on studying abroad often pose difficulties with the choice of a university. Even in Russia, every third student is dissatisfied with their university, abroad the chances of getting screwed up are even greater – in the United States alone, more than 4000 educational institutions will have to be sorted out. One of the principles of the trial approach will help here – start small. For example, dedicate your upcoming vacation to choosing a university. Universities regularly hold open days, and the University of Cambridge organizes tours of its colleges. This is a great chance to get acquainted with the professors, future classmates, the atmosphere of the university and the country. In addition, you will understand how ready your child is to go on a solo voyage abroad. Just plan a tour of universities at least two years before admission – the same Oxford ends accepting applications for the next academic year in October.

Education in the best universities in the world is impossible without a brilliant command of a foreign language, especially English. It will be useful not only in English-speaking countries, but also in universities in Germany, France, even Holland. This means that the student just needs to get a certificate of conquering linguistic peaks. Most likely, these will be TOEFL or IELTS certificates. Choose a language course in the country of future students (special services, for example, Linguatrip or Global Dialog will help with this), and your child will receive not only the coveted pass to the university, but will also understand from his own experience whether the chosen country, culture and future fellow students are in tune with him …

Another way to go to study abroad is to participate in an international exchange program. This practice has proven itself well in secondary education. In Russia there are special companies for the selection of programs for adolescents (for example, StarAcademy), and schools often offer them, including in the regions. So, the exchange program with the German gymnasium. Likhtver is at the school in Ivanovo, and at the school in Rocca di Papa near Rome – with an educational institution in the village of Tuymazy in Bashkortostan. Education will not hit the wallet, while it will allow you to test the readiness to study abroad already at the university level. And by the way, this is a great way to get acquainted with the culture and life of the country, because the students live with local families.

To study abroad, you should not wait for the future student to come of age – start as early as possible, before the child is 15 years old. By the way, in British boarding schools (or boarding schools), schoolchildren are expected from the age of 10. The British boarding school is a pass to the best universities in the world, and a way to try on the overseas standard of study and Western values. Often, future students and their parents do not understand that education here is not a comfortable bus, but a bicycle, where you have to pedal yourself, and not everyone likes it. Do not despair if something went wrong, education can be continued in Russia. In addition, home schooling options are available, for example, you do not have to take documents from school, but simply switch to correspondence courses or external studies. By the way, the western school helps teenagers to find themselves and their place in life, Russian schoolchildren have a hard time with this. The boarding house will give you a chance to try yourself in a variety of things – from flying an airplane to starting a business.

Admission to a university can be not only knowledge, but also success in sports. They are especially appreciated in the States, attaching no less importance to records than to estimates and a fat wallet. We receive a certificate in Russia and go to study overseas under the High School Diploma program. Training lasts a year, and during this time it is important to prove yourself in order to receive a scholarship. True, they will have to compete with the graduates of the same UK boarding schools. For example, tennis virtuosos from the British Repton are waiting for full Harvard scholarships, not to mention the students of the Millfield Island sports school, whose graduates can count on scholarships from US universities for a variety of sports.

It’s never too late to try

Didn’t take the height of a foreign university after school? You can also try while studying at a Russian university – in Germany, for example, a course or two of training under your belt will be one of the conditions for admission. Alternatively, you can graduate from a bachelor’s degree at home, and go abroad for a master’s degree. By the way, it makes sense to take a closer look at Germany – tuition prices here are symbolic (no more than a thousand euros per semester), and the choice of master’s programs is extremely wide. In other cases, scholarships will help – for example, the British Chevening or the US Fulbright. For those who like it hot, there is the Erasmus Mundus program – its participants can count on studying at several foreign universities in turn.