Pros and Cons of Studying Abroad – Lifestyle Examples Included

Education is one of the best things in life. Don’t deprive yourself of that gift of life. True to this day, it is one of the great keys to a successful and fulfilling life. Upon completing it, a lot of opportunities will be waiting for you. It is challenging, no doubt. But the rewards you get from it will be immeasurable. It will enable you to transform your life and that of others as well. So, if you could afford the best education, amp it up a little more and why not study abroad?

Here, we’ll tell you the pros and cons of doing so to help you get a springboard. We’ll focus on the most essential and start with the pros, followed by the cons.

Pros

Widen your perspective by being exposed to other cultures

Among the greatest advantages of studying abroad is being able to learn about different cultures. Not only that, but you will also be able to experience it. It will lead to a better perspective about the differences and richness of other cultures. It will give you a deeper outlook about your identity and others as well making you respect and appreciate not just yourself but others too. You will experience and try different foods, arts, music and you will become aware of the different customs.

Expand your network

Studying abroad enables you to forge a strong connection with other people from different nations. You will become a global citizen and become more respectful to people coming from different countries. Expanding your network is a chance to establish ties early on to future great leaders and meet excellent educators and learners. This is helpful not only in your career but also in learning to interact with other people and building relationships that last throughout your lifetime.

Strengthen your independence and real-life learning

Being abroad while undertaking great challenges provides you plenty of opportunities to become a full-fledged adult. When you are an international student, there will be no one else that you can rely on, except yourself. You’ll have to think about your food and bills. You will have to embrace other responsibilities that might not be related directly to your studies. This allows you to grow up and learn more practical and real-life skills especially time management.

Learn and practice a different language

Among the most rewarding skills that you can gain when you have studied abroad is language proficiency. If the language in the country where you will be studying is different from yours, you will have real-life practice and learning of that foreign language. It will speed up your learning and you effectively gain the skill.

Cons

Emotionally and psychologically challenging

There will be times you will feel lonely and sad. Completing an education is challenging enough and sometimes you will wish that you are with your loved ones and family to get moral support from. This can lead to emotional and social breakdown. Once these two hit you, you will find yourself in a difficult situation where it’s hard to focus and be at your best.

Hopefully, this only lasts for a short time and at the beginning of your studies. So, make some friends.

Experience culture shocks

For every opportunity, there comes a great difficulty to overcome. If studying abroad gives you the chance to expose yourself to other cultures, it also can pose an equally challenging hurdle overcome: culture shocks.

Seeing different ways how people deal with their day-to-day life may – at first – be hard to accept. But soon, you will realize that it’s part of the beauty of cultural differences and other people from different nations will see you differently too. Later on, you’ll be able to accept that it’s not a very bad thing at all.

It can be costly

Among the biggest impediment that you will be faced when you are studying abroad is the cost. Generally speaking, it’s more expensive as you will have to incur costs that aren’t even directly related to your studies. It can be house-related bills, such as hydro, electric, and even rent.

There will be a lot of financial burdens, not to mention that from time to time, you will also have to spend on your leisure and entertainment-related activities.

In addition to that, the tuition for education in a foreign country is often more expensive. Good thing, the greatest and the best universities abroad have generous international scholarship programs that you can benefit from that may include housing and stipend.