Foreign Universities

This is something I have been thinking about for a while now. I have just finished yr 13 (also did german, and maths, phsyics and chemistry), but I didn't apply to any unis as i was unsure what I wanted to study. I was initially attracted to it because of the free or very low tuition fees, as having £50k of debt didnt appeal.

I have realised now that although it is 'affordable' to go to uni (due to how it's repaid) but however you look at it, you will have a lot of debt.

I looked at unis in denmark, sweden, germany, holland where courses are in english. But now I have found an amazing place using the website studyportals.com - it is in the italian dolomites, in south tyrol, where german and italian is spoken (used to be part of austria until WW1). The uni is called uniBZ - it's in a town called bolzano, or bozen in german. the bachelors are taught in ⅓ english, ⅓ german, ⅓ italian, and you only have to know 2 of the languages to B2 standard initially; you learn the 3rd as you go. There are loads of internationals so you wouldnt feel like the only one who didnt know the language.

It's quite a small uni - i think less than 5000 students. It just looks amazing - reading textbooks on the library balcony looking over the balcony to the snow covered mountains, skiing before lectures, having good pizza nearby!!!

The tuition is about €1500 a year, but i think you get a refund depending on your parents' income, and there are scholarships. It is the richest part of italy, with the highest quality of life in italy. student accomodation costs €290 a month (no idea how that compares to UK unis)

It seems in the UK that everyone is obsessed with rankings, or whether somewhere is part of the russel group. I am expecting to get As and A*s this year, so part of me is nervous of not going to somewhere prestigious. The italian place is by no means bad, and is well respected for having an international outlook and good quality of teaching. I personally think that in your case, if you wanted to study german, employers would be more impressed if you learnt it naturally in germany because it shows you are brave and willing to take on new opportunities.

That was a bit rambly - hoffe, es hilft!

Thank you for this, it was very helpful! I will definitely take a look at uniBZ - sounds really cool, and different. Do you reckon this is the place you've got your heart set on, or are there a few other universities you're considering?

I completely agree that it's the fees in the UK that are making me think so carefully about my decisions. Like you, I keep being told that the fees are paid off gradually, that I won't even notice the money coming out, but I can imagine that knowing in the back of my mind that I'm £70,000 upwards in debt could make me feel very bleak.

Did you do the AQA A2 German paper by any chance? I thought it was a terrible paper! When my teacher got hold of it and did it herself, she couldn't answer about 40% of the questions because they seemed to be so vague and odd, with more than one available answer in many cases. Will have to wait and see on results day.

Really appreciate your reply Joeboyshop I wish you lots of luck with your exam results and uni applications. Quite surprised to have found another German A Level student to be honest, we are an endangered species