Being an international student can be stressful at times – the culture shock, the dramatic differences in prices of products and services (when you need to up your spending game out of a sudden!), the vastly different educational practices and insane costs of travel back and forth to home. Ideally, being a university student would be a smooth sail filled with lots of studying, networking, partying, perhaps an internship and many good memories to cherish for times ahead. Alas, the case is that an international student often faces many difficulties along the way, which deliver valuable lessons for a lifetime, aiding one’s personal growth in certain ways. Yet, can’t you maybe get the best from both worlds? Corvinus International says YES!
What if we told you that half of the subjects of your concerns, such as finances and home sickness could nearly perish? The formula is finding the middle ground – or in this case, discovering the middle of Europe! If you are a citizen of a country in Central and Eastern Europe, staying in the region while leveling up your education can give you key advantages supporting you throughout your studies. Can’t wait to hear more? We thought so too!
1. Softer (but still present) culture shock – CEE region has its perk of similarity without killing the buzz of novelty!
While as a child you might’ve dreamed of studying in the far West or East, growing up you may have realized how difficult that can make your life for an uncertain while. Surely vastly different lands hide many treasures and unique cultures to embrace, but they also carry the hidden worries of every foreigner on a foreign territory, and as a “newborn adult” you now understand that. Public opinions, leisure time preferences, food choices and much, much more can be nothing like home. Traffic might be crazier, distances - bigger, weather - colder, people - more closed-off… and the list continues. Accepted values and manners in a given nation sometimes create a whole lot of trouble for a youngster than anticipated.
Here comes the good part: Hungary and many CEE countries share an array of things that will be similar – and will make your adjustment period much shorter! History, cultural influences and other shared resemblances can give you a stable point from which to learn new things about the given culture. Indeed, each country has its unique background, traditions and mindset – but don’t doubt that a bit of shared knowledge can serve you a long way! Plus, internationals at Corvinus from all around the world can be found in every classroom, so you will definitely feel the international atmosphere.
2. Cutting on living costs
Let’s be fair here – we all know what we’re going to talk about. The beauty of the CEE region is that it stays fair to pricing and comes off as much cheaper than a country like the UK, France or the Netherlands could ever be. That can make a student’s life much calmer – no need to worry about the next expensive meal, the €7 coffee or the €90 transportation monthly pass (we’re looking at you, Germany!). Plus, having more money at your disposal means more money for adventures, from exploring your new home to the fullest, to grabbing every opportunity to party and have some fun! Groceries are on 100% accessible prices and having a savings account doesn’t seem like a mission impossible anymore. Moreover, accommodation will also come into the picture as something that won’t strain your budget, as it does in many other countries across the globe!
3. Cheaper transportation home: flights, trains and buses all work wonders
No flight home? Sure, you can do with a 5-hour train trip. Might be long, but doesn’t put you into a situation where a cancelled or full flight means “no way home”. Plus, you will be hard-pressed finding a flight that will be so expensive to the point of being unaffordable. That can always happen with long distances, fares are never fair – but not when you’re close to home… Costs between a 4-hour long flight and a 1-hour one are vastly different, trust us on that!
4. No big time zone difference
Self-explanatory, but must be highlighted: no jetlag, no disturbing time differences, no late calls, no communication mishaps. Stay in touch comfortably at the right time and never bother to calculate the time at home for the n-th amount of time!
5. Having friends and family over more often than anyone could imagine
Some students’ families never even get to see where their beloved children studied. They blindly invested without having realistic ideas regarding the living conditions of their youngsters. Some cannot make it for graduation, after all, prices are high if we go further and further away from home. It might sound sad, but it is a true story for the majority of students. That is one considerable perk of having your future alma mater in the region – we are sure there is no student who wouldn’t like their parents seeing them throw the black cap on graduation day.
Persuaded into checking out universities in Hungary? Budapest and Corvinus can offer you a student experience and a career foundation like no other. Our admission has started – find out more here or apply now!
