How to study abroad successfully?

The first thing students must do is determine the purpose of studying abroad. Many people think, just go abroad to study, then think about it from there. The purpose people often think of is to complete the course. That thinking is not entirely wrong, because when people do not know what abroad is, they cannot have a complete plan to implement it.

However, because there is no clear purpose for studying, many students do not know what to do next after finishing their studies. These people often struggle to find their next direction. If students clearly identify their purpose for studying abroad and spend time planning for that purpose, they have completed the first step of the journey. Many people change their purpose while studying abroad. But those who have prepared for a purpose will find it easier to move from one purpose to another.

After completing the first step, students should choose a country, school, and major that suits each individual and each purpose. Many people believe that studying abroad is good, any place, any major is better than studying in Vietnam. This point of view is not entirely correct. Foreign universities are also "mixed", many schools have lower quality than Vietnamese universities. Therefore, determining where to study and spend the best years of your youth there is extremely important. If you choose a bad place to study, you will have to spend a lot of effort to fix it.

Winning scholarships and participating in competitions are opportunities for new students to study abroad. Illustrative photo

After finding a suitable place and having the ability to study, students should enter the preparation stage for studying abroad. Studying abroad means facing a life away from family, being independent for all of your life in a completely strange environment. I have encountered many cases where I could not stay in my study environment and had to return to Vietnam after a few months abroad. The first important thing is to get used to the independent environment from when I was in Vietnam. Going to the market, cooking, washing dishes, sweeping the house... are things that anyone who studies abroad must do proficiently.

Depending on the country, students may have to learn to drive a car to get to school. Prepare and learn carefully about the language and culture of the country you are going to study. A lot of information about the city, school, and major is available on the internet, students should spend a lot of time to learn. Studying abroad often requires students to read a lot of books, very thick and completely in a foreign language. Practicing reading specialized foreign language books while in Vietnam is an extremely good preparation step. If studying in an English-speaking country, the websites www.coursera.org, www.edx.org have many free short courses that can help students get used to the way of studying when studying abroad.

Before thinking about studying abroad, you need to have a reason to think about it. Illustration photo

During their studies, regardless of the country, students often have the opportunity to work to earn extra money. Many students abroad choose to do manual labor such as washing dishes, mowing lawns, etc. to earn money to cover their living expenses. The best job for any student abroad is to intern at a company in the host country. The internship season for students is usually during the 3 months of the summer.

To get an internship from a company, students must research the company and apply for an internship 6 months to 1 year in advance. Finding an internship is quite difficult, but it is also the time when students can best develop their job-hunting skills, social skills, and professional skills. If students have done an internship while studying, employers will rate them much higher after they finish their studies. If possible, students should do internships all summers abroad.

There is an important point that many students and even working people have not realized the importance of, which is developing stress relief skills. Playing sports, practicing yoga, walking, and climbing are popular ways to relieve stress. Good stress relief skills will be very useful for solving complex problems. It is also an extremely necessary skill for students' future career development.

Hopefully, each student will be a good Vietnamese ambassador abroad. And no matter what you do or where you are after finishing your studies, you will bring your skills to contribute to building your homeland in one way or another..

Nguyen Nghia Tai