<p>Me: State university of New York student, 3.5 GPA, International Relations major
Languages I speak: French
My dilemma: I'm halfway through my IR studies, but I need something new. I've traveled abroad before and loved it, so I'm willing to take a gamble. I'd like to transfer somewhere abroad that is inexpensive (as inexpensive as it can get). I've been researching schools in the Czech Republic and Hungary, as well as Greece, Italy, France, and even former Yugoslav countries (Serbia, Croatia). Does anyone have any guidance for me? I've been googling and googling but to no avail.
Thanks!</p>
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<p>Most universities in other countries do not accept transfer students. It is most likely that you would have to enroll as a first year student. A good way to find out about universities in the countries you are interested in, is to contact the individual consulates and ask to speak with the officer in charge of education and/or cultural exchange. To find consulate websites (or just their address and phone number) try googling consulate+country or embassy+country.</p>
<p>Rather than transferring abroad, you might want to consider doing a semester or year abroad. If you arrange it through your current university, the credits should be applicable to your degree program. Some students prefer to organize their programs independently. If you do that, your credits might not be applicable at your home university, but you would have more options. Since you have experience traveling abroad, you may prefer the do-it-yourself plan.</p>
<p>One big barrier to university-level studies in the countries you mention would be your lack of fluency in the language of instruction. Why don’t you look into semester or year programs of language and culture study in those countries? You wouldn’t be in a university per se, but you would be out of your everyday environment. </p>
<p>Take a look at the Study Abroad Forum for some more ideas</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/study-abroad/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/study-abroad/</a></p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
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<p>I second happymomof1 on the language issue. I’ve been to Europe, and most universities’ programmes are in the national language, so without proficiency I doubt you will be able to cope with courseload if you were successful in transferring. Study abroad programs will be able to accomodate your lack of fluency; I remember reading a post by someone studying abroad in Italy who took English-medium classes and Italian language classes.</p>
<p>In considering English-medium university programs, the American Universities abroad (e.g. American University in Paris) come to mind. However, I’m not sure about the fees.</p>
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<p>I doubt you can transfer to a European school from a US school, simply because European universities that I know do not accept transfer students. However, they do accept students entering as first-years even if they have another college degree. It’s common for many people to have double degrees in different fields. There are even first-year students at the age of 30-40 enrolled in regular classes, not in programs such as Columbia’s School of General Studies which comes in my mind. In my opinion, you should finish your US college, then apply to a European university and get a second degree, instead of giving up your current college years. Your first degree is not an issue at all. And since the Bologna system, most degrees are currently earned in 3 years in Europe.</p>
<p>Regarding the language barrier, I know that in some Romanian universities there are sections of courses taught in English or French. They are designed for students who plan to study abroad some day; or for international students like you who don’t speak Romanian. But there is also the possibility of studying Romanian as a Second language for a year, and then go on to study whatever in normal Romanian colleges. I don’t know if this applies to other countries as well, but you should look for such programs in any country you are interested.</p>
<p>Since you said you speak French, have you checked the University of Lausanne in Switzerland? I don’t know anything about it, except it’s said to be a good university.</p>
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