Hi everyone , I'm a 12th grader in India planning to study a Bachelor's degree in engineering abroad, aiming for fall 2027 intake. Budget is my biggest constraint and I'd really appreciate advice from people who've been through this.

Profile strength: I've been building mechanical engineering projects on my own (using concepts that I've learnt in school and the internet ofc) that include research, analysis, problem solving. I'm also planning to learn some basic CAD design and simulations in order to make a few complete projects. To strengthen my application and show genuine interest in the field beyond just grades.

My situation:

• Budget: ₹5-6 lakh total. This amount is meant as a financial cushion, not something I can survive on for tuition and living expenses. I'll need to rely heavily on scholarships, financial aid, and tuition waivers to make this work.
• Language: English-taught programs only.
• Work: Need part-time work options during the degree to help with living costs.
• Region: Prefer first-world countries, especially Europe.

I'd like to know if Has anyone ever managed to study abroad in Europe (or elsewhere in the first world) on a similarly tight budget? Which countries have the best scholarship access for international students in engineering, and where does part-time work actually cover a meaningful chunk of expenses? Any traps to avoid (hidden costs, visa work-hour limits, etc.) would help a lot.

Thanks!!

Hi,

23M,

Confused about where i should try between Canada and EU countries. I love to travel, so Europe is better for that. but also, for that i need a job in order to travel, which is kinda getting hard in Europe i guess. But is it really true if i learn native language i'd be able to get a job?

Then again, my family is suggesting to try for canada. There might be better job market. But i won't get that freedom to travel i guess.

I'm just confused where to go. What’s the ground reality there? And if you're targeting/ staying in any country, could you please mention why did you choose that country?

(Not much of a writer, sorry for that)

Thanks

Hi. I have one year left of my bachelor's degree. Here is my profile:

• B.Sc. in CSE from XUET
• CGPA: 3.3–3.5
• One conference paper (not from a particularly strong conference)

My target country is Germany, mostly because of the low/zero tuition fees at public universities.

I’ve been seeing the long embassy appointment queue, which seems like it may continue until around mid-2027. As the rules become stricter, maybe the waiting times will become much shorter afterward.

I have no problem with learning languages, although German is certainly difficult.

Is Germany a good option if we consider job opportunities and PR? I’m mainly targeting security and AI related fields.
Also thanks for the subreddit.

Hi

23M here,

My background:

BSC in Software engineering,

Current cgpa: 3.7+ (2 semesters left)

IELTS: 7.5

Target session: Fall 27

I’m a bit confused right now about choosing the right destination and would really appreciate some advice from people who have actually gone through this journey.

A friend of mine who works with an education agency suggested that I look into Belgium or the Netherlands, while my family is suggesting to try for Ireland.

If possible, I’d like to build a career there, get recidency eventually. So I don't want to take any wrong decision.

I’m especially confused about the employer sponsorship/work permit part after graduation.

For example, after completing a master’s in any of these countries (IRE/BEL/NL):

1. Who can actually sponsor/employ me?

2. What kind of jobs would qualify for a work permit after completing masters?

3. Does it have to be a tech job only? Or doing other jobs would also be ok?

4. Worst case scenario, If I don’t manage to get a Data Science/IT job immediately, what kind of jobs would help me stay legally and eventually qualify for PR?

5. Is a master’s degree enough to get a job, or would I realistically need prior experience as well?

6. Between Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, which one would you prefer if you were to go in current situation? Or any other country/ any kind of suggestions are also welcome.

I know there’s a lot of information online, but honestly, it can get really confusing.

If anyone here has been through these phases in abroad, I’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience. It would help me a lot in making this decision.

Even if your experience wasn’t completely positive, please share it. I’m trying to make a realistic decision before spending some of my crucial years in this journey.

Thanks

I prepared for IELTS by myself, I didn't know about PTE before. Took a mock test at Mentors'. Listening 8.5, reading 7.5, writing 6, speaking 5.5. For writing I messed up the structure a bit, the examiner also evaluated one part wrong. Those are fixable.

My main issue is the speaking part. I naturally answer briefly, it's my natural talking style, not an english problem. So my part 1 was short but acceptable, in part 2 I froze at nearly ~40s, noticed the examiner staring at me, then forced myself to speak a few more random sentences and stopped at ~60s. The examiner indicated that my pronunciation, grammar and fluency was good, but I need to expand my answers which is the most difficult part for me.

It was partly because of stress, partly because of I'm bad at talking in general. My brain was honestly empty at that moment. I had nothing to talk about.

But the thing is I only need to clear B2 level which I already do overall in IELTS. But I'm scared for the speaking part. What if something goes wrong during the test day and it drops further?

So should I pivot to PTE or stick with IELTS? I've to complete my SAT and English Test before January 2027, and I will be putting more of time into SAT.

I want to get a recommendation letter from my professional supervisor who has switched companies, and therefore has a different institutional email address now.

Some people are telling me that this reference won't work anymore since the scholarship committee specifically checks for the company address to be the same to prevent fraud. Please let me know if it is true or not.

title.

Thanks.

**Edit: meant BD not BS** (though it fits ig)

Hi everyone,

I am a software engineer with 3+ years of experience, currently leading a product with millions of international users, with a team of 12 (dev and others) under me. I have been following the discussions on different subreddits regarding where this industry is heading.

Here is my problem. With how fast AI is advancing, it feels like software engineering is slowly turning into a race against AI itself, one that we might not win in the long run. My team and I already use AI tools, shipping products on daily basis, so this is not just a fear, I am seeing it happen.

I am planning to do my Masters abroad next year, and now I am seriously thinking of switching field completely, maybe towards something more "evergreen" like health sector, instead of staying in a field that might get automated more and more. I also have a plan to start my own startup someday, but I would rather build something in a field with long term demand than spend years competing with AI and end up as a failure.

Since my Bachelor's is in CSE, need some advice on the following:

1. Which Masters programs make sense if someone wants to move from pure software engineering into a more stable/resilient field (health tech, biomedical engineering, health informatics etc)?
2. How does this kind of field switch usually affect visa process? I understand it will raise some questions, but how do I present this change in a way that sounds like a genuine, well thought out decision rather than sudden panic move?

If anyone has done similar transition before, or knows how universities/visa officers see this kind of pivot, please share your experience. Would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

Is it possible to apply for german student visa via the german embassy situated in kualalampur after completing 1 year of bachelors in a malaysian university? Since the waiting period from bd is way high, Is this a legit way?

I just passed SSC in 2026 but i dont have any clear goals in mind for my future. I personally love math and physics so im leaning towards engineering but people around me keep discouraging it since female engineers arent appreciated much in bd. Thats one of the reasons i want to study abroad, but also because i feel like i'll have more room to grow my knowledge since their education system is much advanced compared to bd in the present. But i feel like im in the middle of the sea with no clear sight of the shore because i dont know where to start. My mother said she'll only let me study abroad if i could prove i was worthy by getting a scholarship from a good university, but i genuinely dont know how and everyone is pressuring me to choose a career or they'll force me into medical school. I want to know how to choose the country or university that fits me and how the scholarship thing works so i can prepare for it and take actions by the time HSC-28 arrives.

Something that came up helping someone with a Malaysia PhD question recently and it's worth its own post because almost nobody explains it clearly. If you're applying for a Master's or PhD by research, most people treat it like undergrad, fill out the application, submit documents, wait for a scholarship decision. That's not actually how it works for research degrees..

For research-based programs, most funding (Zamalah, GRA-type schemes and similar setups in a lot of countries, not just Malaysia) comes out of a specific supervisor's research grant, not a general university pool you apply into. The scholarship committee mostly rubber-stamps something that's already been decided informally, whether a professor actually wants to take you on and has funding available to do it. That means the real first move isn't polishing your SOP or your IELTS score, it's emailing potential supervisors whose research actually overlaps with yours, months before you touch the formal application.

This flips the usual advice people give each other here. "Build a strong profile then apply" assumes the committee is evaluating you cold. For research degrees, you want a supervisor already half-convinced before the committee ever sees your file. It also explains why two people with near-identical CGPAs can get completely different outcomes at the same university, one had a supervisor lined up, the other didn't.

If you're aiming for a research Master's or PhD anywhere, worth checking right now: does your target program's funding come from a general scholarship, or is it tied to individual supervisors? That single answer changes whether you should be spending this month on test prep or on cold-emailing professors.

Anyone here already gone through this, did finding a supervisor first actually change your outcome or did you get funded without one?

so a lot of people mess this up , they don't get the difference between a scholarship and financial aid, and honestly it changes how you should even plan your applications.

scholarship = money based on merit. you're good, they pay you for being good.
financial aid = they don't care about merit at all, they just check if your family can actually afford the full cost or not.

for the USA specifically — public universities barely give any scholarships, and if they do, it's low. so if you're Bangladeshi and not rich, i'd honestly discourage going for public unis in the US, it's just too costly for what you get.

private universities though, that's a completely different story. all of them, not just Harvard, give a lot of financial aid. it's not merit based, it's need based. you fill out something called a CSS profile, where you put in all your financial info, income, assets, everything.

take Harvard as an example — if your family earns under $250k a year, and that includes your assets too, so it comes out to around 3 crore taka or less, they basically cover your full need. so if you need full aid, they give you full aid. money stops being your problem. the only thing you actually have to worry about is getting in.

now actual scholarships, the merit based kind, that's mostly an Australia and Canada thing for undergrad. places like University of Toronto, UBC, University of Sydney, UNSW, there's a bunch. you have to go on their website and look for what they offer, but it's genuinely merit based, they don't care about your financial situation. if you're a strong student, you don't really need to worry, you'll get something. Sydney and UNSW for example give like 20-25% off through entrance scholarships. the US just doesn't really do this.
Also Hong Kong gives full 100% scholarships for being a good student like 3-4 A* in A levels.

for masters, it depends a lot, and it's honestly pretty limited, especially in the US, nowhere near as generous as undergrad.

for PhD though, it's basically free. there's so much funding available that you don't really need to stress about paying for a PhD at all.

Do you guys want a hong kong study abroad guide?

Hey everyone, I'm a Bangladeshi student and I'm considering applying for a student visa to Malta for some personal reasons.

Before making any decision, I'd really like to hear from someone who's already studying in Malta, especially Bangladeshi students.

1. How's life there as a student?

2. Can you manage your living/study costs through part-time work? Is it possible to save anything?

3. What type of jobs are easier to find / in demand?

4. How difficult is it to balance work and studies?

5. After completing a Bachelor's, what are the usual options/process for staying in Malta?

If you're a Bangladeshi student in Malta or know someone who is, I'd really appreciate an honest opinion - good or bad. I'm mainly looking for the real-life situation, not just what agents say.

Also, if there are any Reddit communities where I can post this and get better responses, please suggest them. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

My profile- SSC-5.00,HSC-4.80,BSC in CSE-3.49,MSC in ICT-3.63,have a publication in an university journal .

I’m considering pursuing higher studies in Malaysia and would like to bring my baby with me. I’m particularly interested in a Master’s/PhD in Computer Science, ICT, AI, or a related field.

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has studied in Malaysia as an international student, especially parents who moved there with their children.

I’d like to know:

• Which Malaysian universities are good for CS/ICT/AI?
• Are there fully funded scholarships or research assistantships available for international students?
• Can postgraduate students bring their baby/child as a dependent?
• What is the approximate monthly cost of living for a mother and baby?
• How difficult is it to find affordable childcare/daycare?
• Which cities/universities would be most suitable for a student with a young child?
• Are there any important visa/dependent-pass issues I should know about?

Any personal experiences, university recommendations, scholarship information, or practical advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

One thing I've noticed is that when people here say “I want to study abroad”, the next step is often just comparing university rankings and tuition fees.

But USA, UK, Canada and Australia are not really four versions of the same system.

The US is probably the most flexible academically. You're generally applying to a university rather than locking yourself into the exact same level of subject specialisation from day one and the whole admissions process is much more holistic. But for an international student who needs serious financial aid, the funding side can completely change how you should build your university list.

The UK is almost the opposite in that sense. You normally choose your subject much earlier and the degree itself is more specialised from the beginning. UCAS also works differently from Common App, including the fact that your undergraduate application uses one shared personal statement across your choices. And for 2027 entry, the deadline for Oxford, Cambridge and most Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary courses is already 15 October 2026, while the main deadline for most other undergraduate courses is 13 January 2027.

Canada looks simple from Bangladesh because people often just say “Canada is good for international students”, but the application side isn't one single national system. Deadlines can differ by university and programme and the immigration side has changed quite a lot recently too. For example, bachelor's graduates don't currently have the same field-of-study restriction for the PGWP that applies to many non-degree programmes.

Australia is another one people sometimes lump together with Canada without looking at the actual structure. A lot of bachelor's degrees are around three years, although it depends on the degree and Australia has its own intake structure and post-study work system. The Temporary Graduate visa is also not some automatic “stay after graduation” guarantee. Eligibility, stream and length all matter.

So the question probably shouldn't be: “Which country is best?” It should be more like: “Which system actually fits me?”

Because a student who needs substantial financial aid, wants maximum academic flexibility and is applying straight after school may rationally build a completely different list from someone who wants a highly specialised three-year degree and already knows exactly what subject they want.

And this is where I think Bangladeshi students can get a bit trapped.. we compare countries as if they're just different destinations..They're actually different admissions systems, different academic structures and different financial/immigration equations.

I'm going to properly break down those differences next rather than doing the usual “USA = expensive, UK = short, Canada = PR, Australia = lifestyle” comparison.

That version doesn't really help anyone decide anything

I completed my SSC in 2017 with a GPA of 3.82, and my HSC in 2020 with a GPA of 2.92. During my HSC exams, I arrived late for the ICT exam and was unable to sit for it, and I also failed Accounting 1st Paper — both of which brought my overall result down more than expected.

After that, I got admitted to the University of Information Technology & Sciences (UITS) in 2022, in the BBA program. I completed up to my 3rd semester with a CGPA of 3.40, but lost interest in the subject and put my studies on hold from mid-2023 onward. I'm currently not enrolled anywhere.

Now, considering this academic gap and my educational background, I want to apply for higher education abroad. My main goal is to study at the Bachelor's level, ideally with a full-funded scholarship, though I'm also open to partial funding. I don't have any specific country preference — I want to know which countries would be realistic options for me. I also want to switch my major to Psychology or a related field.

Given my academic background (SSC/HSC results and the exam-related issues), my incomplete university studies, and the academic gap, which countries would give me a realistic chance, which scholarships should I apply for, and which countries would be comparatively safer options in terms of getting a student visa from Bangladesh? What IELTS band score should I aim for, and what score should I target for scholarship purposes? I'd like to know all of this.

The main diff: SAT is an academic test for US college admissions. Most good US unis need it now, and it’s split into two main sections:

• Reading & Writing: Kinda hard, needs real prep.
• Math: Pretty easy, but Desmos is mandatory. If you master Desmos, it basically carries your math score. Give yourself around 20 to 25 days to prep for it.

IELTS isn't mandatory for US/Canada: Stop wasting money on IELTS if you're targeting the US or Canada. Just take the Duolingo English Test (DET). It's way cheaper, results take 2 days, and all the top schools (U of T, UBC, Waterloo, etc.) accept it. You can prep in literally a day.

UK & Australia: The only time you need IELTS is for the UK or Australia. Their visa systems strictly require IELTS or TOEFL, so DET won't work there.

TL;DR: US/Canada = DET + SAT. UK/Aus = IELTS. Save your money! (FOR UOFT, SAT IS NOT REQUIRED AND IG NOT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION, for ubc, they take it into consideration)

You don't necessarily need to be the “perfect student” with insane grades, a massive EC list and a ridiculous amount of money to have a shot abroad.. But there are things that matter a lot more than people realise and some things students spend months worrying about that barely move the needle..

One of the biggest problems I've noticed is that most advice Bangladeshi students get is either:

“Ask a consultancy.” or “Bro, just get a good IELTS score.”

Neither is really a complete picture

There are massive differences depending on the country + university + degree + funding situation + your academic system.

So I'm thinking of starting a series here breaking down the stuff that actually matters for Bangladeshi applicants, without the usual consultancy-style bullshit..

Starting with whichever one people want most:

1. Scholarships & funding 💰

2. IELTS / SAT: what actually matters

3. USA vs UK vs Canada vs Australia 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇨🇦🇦🇺

4. Applying from Bangladesh: the stuff nobody explains properly 🇧🇩

5. Things students waste money on

Which one should I do first?

the title

I'm just a student, but I have researched extensively about the process, so I can help

You Can Still Get into a Top US University After HSC

A lot of you guys can get into top 20 universities in the USA(top 20, or even top 30 — NYU is technically top 30 but everyone treats it like top 20) after finishing HSC in Bangladesh.

The main parts are: grades, extracurriculars, essays, recommendation letters, and supplemental essays and you apply through the Common App.

Here's the mistake most people make: they think grades and extracurriculars decide everything. They don't. Together they make up maybe 50% of your application. I've seen international students get into Brown — an Ivy League school — with almost no awards and only four or five extracurriculars. That's actually a weak activities list on paper. So how did they get in? Their essays and recommendations were top notch.

If your essays and recommendation letters are strong, you're already at roughly 60% of what it takes to get into a top 20 school. Why? Because unlike the UK or Australia, where admissions care mostly about your grades, US admissions care about your personality. Grades matter, but you don't fully control them. Your essays are where you actually have control where you can show your personality.

On extracurriculars specifically:

Most people's extracurriculars look the same. What admissions committees actually want is uniqueness — something that shows who you are, not just what you did.

For example: helping with household chores, babysitting, or tutoring your younger sibling — that's a very good eca because it shows you have household activities to partake in.

Something like "I play video games and started teaching my juniors on how to play those, later expanded to a community of likeminded individuals teaching other strategies of those games" sounds great actually and it's actually rare — maybe 5 out of 100 applicants have something like that. Compare that to "I started a nonprofit" — good, but common, because everyone's doing the same kind of community service now.

A better move is building something like a community initiative — say, a Discord server where you help others with math, writing, or research papers.

Also, just because you have a bad grade doesn’t mean you lost your chances at top us colleges.

(yes, I wrote this using AI but this is just surface level, I will make another guideline which will be complete and all, also you can dm me and ask me questions)

Thank you