Copenhagen? (or "Looking a gifthorse in the mouth")

Applying to College
1

<p>Here's the deal: for ages I've been on these boards exclaiming how much I want to study abroad in SWEDEN.</p>

<p>Well, it looks like I missed my chance to even apply (I think most schools in Sweden have Jan 15 as the application cut-off). I'm a little disappointed, and my study abroad counselour is still waiting on a few schools (Stockholm, Lund, Linkoping) to see if they can give me any hope, both timely and financially. I doubt it.</p>

<p>To add to the grim outlook, she's giving me an ultimatum- my school's application is due March 23rd. She's going on a weeklong conference starting this Tuesday and obviously won't be in next week for SPRING BREAK. Which means I have to start an application soon.</p>

<p>She's trying to get me to abandon Sweden for Denmark- our school has an agreement with a school in Copenhagen, which means easier communication, better financial aid, better chance of me going period.</p>

<p>Now, I really would hate to abandon all hope on Sweden...this was my last chance, but I don't have the money and I sort of blew it. </p>

<p>Question is- should I go to Copenhagen? I mean, if it's affordable or even free, yeah, why not? But if I'm going to spend a lot of time and money on it, it seems sort of a bad idea to jump headlong into a country I have no interest in. I'm really interested in Swedish culture, and while it's all Scandanavian to some, I'm sure some Swedes will tell you their countries are mighty different. At the same time- I'll probably never get a chance to study in a foreign country in an affordable way ever again in my life.</p>

<p>Thoughts? don't just say "GO WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY?!". I'd LOVE to hear from natives of these two countries. I'm sure I could visit Sweden while in Denmark, but I'd like to know what Copenhagen has to offer, or if anyone has been in a similar situation to mine.</p>

<p>So please, don't just help me out. I'd really like to open a discussion on the bigger topic here- which is essentially a second choice COUNTRY (and you thought safety colleges were a big decision).</p>

<p>(P.S.- I hope I'm not coming off as spoiled- my family actually isn't well off, and I should be thankful of going ANYWHERE affordably. it's just that I specifically was interested in Sweden, so, for instance, ANY OTHER COUNTRY isn't really my choice or aim...I don't want this to be a huge waste of money and negative experience, and to dash in to something I wasn't interested in to begin with.)</p>

2

<p>GO WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY??</p>

<p>With that said, I used to live in Copenhagen. Granted it was when I was 3-6 years old, so I don’t remember as well as I wish I could. I do know that, I would do anything to live there again. Not just for the aebleskivers and the bicycles and the Little Mermaid. When we lived there, over summer we visited the rest of the European countries. The photos we have are amazing. It’s very beautiful there (though my mom says it gets pretty gloomy in the winter). and if you like sweden you can visit on the holidays. Tivoli is pretty cool too. Plus, Denmark was ranked the happiest country in the world.</p>

3

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Copenhagen is lovely especially in the summer - you can swim in the waters round the city centre and there are loads of great bars and cafes. If the school in question is Copenhagen University then it has some excellent departments and enjoys a very good reputation in Europe. Honestly it’s 35 minutes on the train to Sweden (Malmo) or about 1 hour to Lund, so you’d have no difficulty getting to know Sweden.</p>

4

<p>Copenhagen is not Stockholm. I get that. And if you don’t have much of a desire to go there, try and do a little more research. You don’t want to commit a year to something you’re not very excited about.</p>

<p>Check out this article about study abroad from today’s examiner.com: [College</a> Guidance Examiner](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/czqpf2]College”>Examiner is back - Examiner.com) </p>

<p>There must be other programs for Sweden, right? There’s probably dozens of them. Different programs may have later application deadlines. Check it out.</p>

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<p>35 min to Malmo ain’t bad. How long is it to Stockholm? I imagine quite a bit more time.</p>

<p>More importantly, how do none EU members shift around from one country to another, especially on a VISA for a specific country?</p>

<p>And just as a side note: this isn’t a year long, just a semester. I’m going to be a senior next year and I have a ton of electives I need to take to fill out my requirements, so this is a very non-restrictive choice in that way.</p>

<p>But see, my study abroad counselor (and the whole department keeps you at a good distance due to the many many applicants they deal with) is telling me time is running out- I only have about 2 weeks until my school has it’s deadline to apply for a program. She’s pushing Denmark on me because our school already has an agreement with Copenhagen- thus, easier by nature. I’ve searched many many schools and the whole Swedish system confuses me, and my office is relying on me to explain the whole thing to THEM. It’s also a very rich country, therefore $$$$. </p>

<p>I’m sure I’d have a blast in Denmark; Copenhagen looks like a fun and beautiful town. But you see, I specifically wanted to see Swedish landscape/culture/language- it’s a fascination of mine. So I don’t want to go to Denmark just so i can take the train to Sweden every free moment, though if it comes down to it, i’d still be getting the best of both worlds.</p>

<p><em>Still- this is where I’m appealing to any Swedes out there. Know where a poor boy from America can still squeeze into your wonderful looking country?</em></p>

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<p>You’d be on a Schengen visa which allows free travel throughout the Schengen zone. Denmark and Sweden are both Schengen members so there’s no border controls between the two. It is quite a long train trip to Stockholm, about 5 hours I think, but there are some airlines offering cheap flights (Copenhagen is the Scandanavian hub airport so it is quite easy to find good deals).
Sweden is not cheap (not quite as bad as Norway but still painful), Copenhagen isn’t so bad in comparison so if money is an issue it might make sense to be based there and use the money saved for travel in Sweden.</p>

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<p>You seem to know a ton about this. How pricey is this Visa? I know Visas can be mighty pricey and DIFFICULT to get. Maybe we can continue talking through a PM or email?</p>

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<p>Sorry, I’m European so know a bit about Sweden and Denmark from going there for work but prices for visas for Americans is beyond my knowledge - don’t think it’s either expensive or hard to get a student visa though. Basically though you’d get whatever visa (dependent on length of stay) you’d need for your stay in Copenhagen and the residence permit they give you for the duration of your course, then acts as permission to travel throughout the schengen area without extra visas.</p>

9

<p>OK, so I decided to go with DIS. Now here’s the problem- I only have a very limited amount of time to finish this very long application- and it looks like all told my costs will amount to about $20,000. Here’s the other problem- I have NO MONEY. I’m quite strapped financially- just covering the $350 application fee is a bit of a killer. If I have to pay that, for a passport, Visa- that’s upwards of $700 out of my pocket. I’d need to get A LOT of financial aid (note: to cover EVERYTHING), and if I DON’T- well, then I don’t go to Denmark AND I’m out 7 or 8 hundred dollars. Not good.</p>

<p>My study abroad office is giving me no answers on the money front- it’s a big big gamble. I don’t know what to do.</p>

<p>Has anyone poor out there done DIS before?</p>

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<p>I was wondering if the program was DIS! They have great blogs by study abroad students on their website, and some of their study tracks have included study tours to southern Sweden. I’ve heard Denmark (like a lot of European countries) makes a light wallet. You can get work study, though it’s not much. $400, it looks like. And according to the website the visa is $220. (All that info is included here: [DIS</a> - Financial & Practical: Tuition & Fees 2009/2010](<a href=“http://www.dis.dk/Financial/CompFee1.php]DIS”>http://www.dis.dk/Financial/CompFee1.php))
It looks like a worthwhile program, and I don’t think you’d regret going. The financial issue is tough. I know I’ve seen outside scholarships specifically for students studying abroad listed through websites like FastWeb. I don’t know anything about the application dates, but scholarships like the Gilman or Rotary might be able to help you. Here’s a link to a list of links:[Study</a> Abroad Scholarships, Study Abroad Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.studyabroad.com/forum/financial_aid.html]Study”>Federal Financial Aid Options for Study Abroad)</p>

<p>Hope this isn’t all redundant to you!</p>

11

<p>Well, since I live in Sweden i obviously have to say you should go there.</p>

<p>Our application deadline isn’t until april 15th… but that’s for swedish students though.</p>

<p>HOWEVER, Copenhagen is absolutely beautiful.</p>

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<p>Exactly what do you have to pay, btw?
The 20 000 is that for room and board or something else?
because as far as I know, tutition, at least in sweden, is free for internationals.</p>

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<p>Well, I know tuit is free in Sweden…but now I’m going to Denmark (supposedly). And yeah, the deadline for international students passed on most Swedish schools.</p>

<p>The visa price is also killing me. I saw on some website being listed as $40, then the DIS packet I got said $145 and now apparently someone here says $220. I expect it to be up to 400 by tommorow.</p>

14

<p>Can I get some thoughts on this?</p>

<p>Me and my family do not have a lot of money, but they’re throwing so many non-refundable fees at me. If I pay all these fees, and don’t get enough aid (and therefore have to pay thousands I don’t have out of pocket), then I won’t be able to go AND be out the 1500 bucks of non-refundable fees.</p>

<p>Anyone do DIS or similar programs (around 15 grand for everything) and also have a family provider that makes less than 50 thousand? I’m really scared I’ll go through all these fees and visas and such and then NOT have enough aids and loans to do this thing. It’s a real gamble.</p>

<p>My loan office only said they’d “budget” me accordingly, busting up my loans to cover my situation, but they remained vague and can’t tell me anything until it comes down to it.</p>

<p>Arrgghghhh. Anyone ever have to pay application fees and deposits and then get screwed over in aids and scholarships? This happened to me with NYU and I DONT want it to happen again.</p>

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<p>I would recommend the Denmark program. You will have the access to Sweden if you want from Copenhagen while also enjoying Danish culture. Plus, I heard Copenhagen is a beautiful city</p>