How much does an international education cost?

You have already decided that studying English in another country is the ideal option, both to improve your performance with the language and to experience new experiences and opportunities, right? However, have you ever thought about how much an international education costs?

Answering that question can be harder than you think. Let’s consider two parts to this answer: one simple and one complex. The simple part is where you do a detailed research and have the price estimate of what you can spend on your international education. This answer, you will have practically when you finish reading this article.

The second part, the complex part, you will not be able to elaborate until you are, more or less, halfway through your overseas study. Perhaps, even after a few years after completion, it will still take you a while to get the exact answer from that investment. This is because the complex part is related to the experiences lived during the period of study in another country. It has to do with the impact of this international education on your professional and personal life.

In this article, we try to help you with the task of knowing how much an international education costs and evaluating if it is worth paying the price. Have doubts? Keep reading and check it out!

How much does an international education cost?

To get an idea of costs, you need to consider several issues. The first of these is the study destination. If you plan to travel to places where the value of the currency is much higher than the real, as is the case with the US dollar and the euro, your exchange expenses tend to be higher than they would be in countries in Oceania, for example.

Another very important factor is the program that you will carry out, since the costs vary greatly according to the type of course. Language courses are priced much lower than High School, Undergraduate and Graduate programs.

Thus, we will assume that you have chosen Oceania as a destination to study English. The next step is to define the time of your international education: 1 or 6 months? More time? It is essential to define this point to obtain a budget that is very faithful to your travel expectations. Then comes the choice of the city where you will live during your studies. This influences the price, as living in tourist locations is more expensive than living in rural areas.

You also need to think about the cost of living in your chosen destination. For example, in the Australian city of Melbourne, average student spending is between AU$1,450.00 and AU$1,700.00 per month, including general expenses for accommodation, transport, food and certain other personal expenses. The Australian government requires a student to show proof of having AU$1,653.00 per month of stay in the country.

If you consider an exchange program in Auckland, New Zealand, your expenses may be a little lower. There, the amount required by the government to enter the country is NZ$1,250.00 per month. This amount covers transport, housing, food, leisure and even small trips.

This is the minimum information in order to start calculating how much an exchange costs. According to the student’s lifestyle, values can change a lot. Let’s now check two options, for a 1 month and for 6 months, in the cities that we budgeted above.

Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne is an amazing city. Considered the cultural center of Australia, the capital of the state of Victoria has an excellent quality of life and is one of the most diverse places in the world. Living there during your exchange is a privilege you will love to have.

1month exchange

If you plan to spend 4 weeks studying in Melbourne, you will spend:

  • AU$ 1,260.00: English course at Greenwich English College with 25 hours per week;
  • AU$ 1,060.00: English course at the same school with 20 hours per week;
  • AU$ 1,700.00 monthly: transportation, accommodation and food.

This is an average high budget. You can implement measures that reduce your expenses during the exchange. One of them is to hire a course with accommodation included in a homestay, which offers breakfast and dinner.

6month exchange

The 6 month course presents more options to save. As you will spend a long period in the country, you will have the opportunity to save money on transport, food and the main thing: you will be able to work 40 hours a fortnight. The salary received will help with your expenses for staying in the country, making small trips and, if you want to save a little, renew your visa and take a new course there. Usually, the English school itself helps you find a job.

Another positive point is the possibility of renting a room and sharing the apartment with other students. This will considerably reduce your expense. In addition, adopt a healthier lifestyle and walk more or, who knows, use a bicycle as the main means of transport. Thus, you save money and can invest in discovering Australia’s natural beauties.

Another tip to spend less in the country is to cook at home instead of always eating out. This is a great way to keep your budget balanced. And, when going to the supermarket, invest in Home Brand products, that is, items from the establishment’s own brand. In Australia it pays a lot to invest in the purchase of these products, for the economy and the quality.

And the English course? If you want to study 25 hours a week, for 24 weeks at Greenwich English College, you will invest AU$6,800.00. If your course is 20 hours per week, at the same school, the cost will be AU$5,840.00.

Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city, surrounded by fantastic nature. It is a wonderful place to live and a must-visit destination for tourists.

1 month exchange

Those who are going to study for 4 weeks in New Zealand cannot work. So, it is best to take the opportunity to explore the city in the periods when you are not dedicating yourself to English. For the course, which must be paid for when you arrive in the country, you will invest NZ$1,658.00  for 25 hours of lessons per week, at Kaplan International English.

In addition, you will need approximately NZ$1,250.00 for accommodation and other expenses. It is certainly a fantastic experience, worth the investment.

6 month exchange

In New Zealand, it is also possible to work up to 20 hours per week if you are enrolled in a course of at least 14 weeks at a Category 1 school, or if you take a course from 24 weeks at a Category 2 school and have IELTS 5.0. With this option, saving is easier. For a 25-hour weekly course at Kaplan International English, your investment will be NZ$8,098.00.

We have already mentioned the ways in which it is possible to save in the previous topic. Therefore, you already know that, in a 6-month exchange program, you have the chance to experience the local culture and learn from them ways to make the routine more affordable.

An important detail is that we have not included the price of the tickets here, as they vary a lot according to promotions and the time of purchase. A suggestion is to start the quotation well before the scheduled date of your trip. The sooner you buy the tickets, the better the prices will be.

So far we’ve covered the simple part of the question: how much does an international education cost? Now it’s up to you to think about the complex part. How much does it cost to live a new culture? Meet people from different countries? Become fluent in a language? Conquer new job opportunities? Know new places? How much does it cost to have the opportunity to overcome your limits, to improve yourself? This is all offered in an international education and, only at the end, you will be able to have the answer.

Now, you are able to make a more realistic budget for your trip, as it has become easier to get an idea of how much an international education costs and how much you will need to save to invest in this journey.

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