Getting out of Ottawa to learn in another country is an appealing opportunity for many students. Countless exchange programs exist at Carleton University and beyond, enticing students to explore the world outside of their classrooms.
Carleton’s International Student Services Office (ISSO) website states that Carleton annually partners with 170 institutions in over 30 countries to provide both incoming and outgoing students with the opportunity to study abroad.
But is studying abroad a worthwhile experience? And can it be affordable for the average student?
International opportunities aside from exchange
Chau Hoang, the exchange partnership administrator with the ISSO, said some degree programs at Carleton have an exchange requirement. This includes students enrolled in international business and global and international studies.
But she said students in other programs still have the opportunity to earn credits toward their degree at Carleton while studying on exchange, and for every student, studying abroad has its benefits.
“It’s an opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture, and perhaps even brush up or learn another language if the courses are offered in a language other than English,” she said.
But exchange isn’t the only international opportunity available to Carleton students, according to Hoang.
Carleton students have opportunities to intern abroad through various programs, complete study tours in China and India, or participate in the Alternative Spring Break program to gain international experiences, the ISSO website states.
Another option for students interested in going on exchange is participating in one of the summer language or research opportunities offered in China, India, France, or Germany through one of Carleton’s partner institutions.
Hoang said these programs also offer scholarships, but students pay tuition fees to the host university instead of Carleton.
What financial aid is available?
For many Canadian students interested in going on exchange, the high financial costs can be a deciding factor, according to the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE).
CBIE recently reported that 80 per cent of students from Canadian post-secondary institutions required some form of financial assistance when going on exchange.
Hoang said Carleton students who go on exchange to a partner institution pay domestic tuition fees to Carleton, rather than international student tuition, which can reduce some costs.
“There is a financial responsibility . . . Understandably it may not be affordable for everyone,” she said. “Costs would include their airfare, living expenses, sometimes their student visas if they need to get one.”
She added that some host institutions provide incoming exchange students with scholarships to ease the financial burden.
Kassa Small, a fifth-year architecture student at Carleton, participated in a study abroad program in Turkey at the Istanbul Technical Institute during the 2014-15 academic year. He said paying tuition fees to Carleton helped make the experience less costly.
“Paying for exchange is very accessible since you aren’t paying more in tuition,” Small said. “I found it cheaper to live abroad versus in Ottawa as well, so if anything it was less costly.”
Small said airfare makes up the most significant portion of the costs associated with travelling abroad.
Students who are eligible for the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) can still receive some funding when leaving the province to go on a short-term exchange, which can help make studying abroad accessible for students eligible to receive this funding, the Government of Ontario website states.
The ISSO also offers information on their website about grants to outgoing and incoming exchange students each year, as well as budgeting workshops.
Alison Sandstrom, a fifth-year journalism student, went on exchange to France during the 2014-15 academic year through the Ontario-Rhône-Alpes Student Exchange program. She said her decision to study abroad was influenced by the financial aid granted by the program.
“The scholarship was one of the main reasons I chose to go to Lyon as opposed to somewhere else in France,” Sandstrom said. “It was around $3,000 for the whole year, so while it helped, it certainly didn’t pay for my exchange.”
But Sandstrom said Carleton doesn’t do enough to accommodate the financial burden of going on exchange.
Small also said that he does not believe there are many grant or award opportunities for outgoing exchange students from Carleton, and if there are, they are hard to find.
Students who are citizens of the European Union can receive grants through the Erasmus Programme to help cover some of the costs associated with studying abroad in another EU country, according to the Erasmus website.
Sandstrom said she met many students who are part of the Erasmus Programme on her exchange.
“There’s not nearly enough funding [for Canadian students],” she said.
Canada currently does not have a similar program to Erasmus, according to Mark Robinson, the manager of financial aid at Carleton.
He added the financial aid provided by Carleton is just awards based on high program performance.
For international students, the costs can be even higher.
According to Lily Akagbosu, a third-year psychology student and the program co-ordinator at the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA)’s International Student Centre, the fees for incoming international students are already very high, which can be a big limitation when thinking about going on a short exchange elsewhere.
“As an international student, my fees are already quite expensive,” she said. “If fees were more affordable, I think more students would go on exchange.”
Is studying abroad worthwhile?
“I hate to say it, but my mom was right when she told me it wouldn’t be worth it to go abroad,” Small said. “I could have just traveled there.”
He said his exchange experience was partly negative due to the different standard of education he received in Turkey.
“The education I got didn’t meet what I have in Canada and actually just set me back,” Small said. “I worked to pay for this experience and there wasn’t much help in terms of grants. Although it was within reach, it is still a lot of money to be paying so you want to ensure you’re getting the best education.”
He added that he doesn’t recommend students go on exchange, and would not plan on doing it again.
Universities Canada also reported that 97 per cent of universities offer international experience programs, but only 3.1 per cent of students took advantage of these opportunities in the 2012-13 academic year.
So should you go on exchange?
Sandstrom said paying for exchange is a worry for many students. The 2016 Academia Group survey found that 70 per cent of Canadian students would go on exchange if the cost was made more affordable.
Hoang said students should think twice and evaluate the affordability of studying abroad to decide if it’s an option for them.
“If finance is a concern then I would caution the student as to whether this is a good decision for them . . . We don’t want to put a student in a position that won’t be good for them,” Hoang said. “There are some scholarships available, but they are quite limited.”
Recent journalism graduate Evan Przesiecki said studying abroad is worthwhile.
Przesiecki studied in the Netherlands and Denmark during the 2014-15 academic year, and said it was “definitely an amazing experience.”
“If I could, I would do it all over again,” he said.
He added that he focused on budgeting before his travels instead of looking for awards or grants.
“It took a lot of discipline during my first few years of university, but I never drank, I didn’t eat out,” Przesiecki said. “My vice was travel . . . It’s all about prioritizing what’s important to you.”
– Graphics by Christophe Young
