To extend on my previous blog post about graduate school, this blog post is the natural continuation of my own experience in pursuing graduate school. In writing my previous post, I focused more on my experience deciding whether or not to pursue graduate school in the first place; however, here I will reflect and describe my own experience actually applying, getting ready to go, and beginning this journey.

Once I had made up my mind to pursue a masters degree, it became time to narrow down which universities to actually apply for. In my case the masters programs at Chalmers University of Technology and University of Stuttgart were the universities to which I applied. I choose these universities primarily for the unique programs they each offer. If you are interested to know more about my process in narrowing down which universities to apply to, please check out my previous blog post.

Now you may ask why I choose universities ~8000km away (in Europe) from my home in Canada. The simple answer is that I wanted to have new experiences. However, I think this question actually deserves a longer answer. So here goes, my main motivation to study abroad for my masters degree was that I had reached a plateau where I was very comfortable interacting within the environment at the University of Alberta (where I did my bachelors degree). In other words, I was comfortable in my situation and was not growing or stretching my experiences in new and uncomfortable ways. I think this idea of seeking new situations which are not easy or comfortable is incredibly powerful as a way to grow one's character to become stronger, more resilient, and allow oneself to dream bigger.

With this in mind, I choose to apply for universities abroad to allow myself to step out of my comfort zone. Now I will not bore you with the tedious process of explaining exactly how I went about applying for these masters programs which is well documented in instructions on university websites. Also, this process of actually applying, especially in the context of applying abroad, can be highly individual and university specific. What I will say is that it is important to read all of the instructions from the university you are applying to and follow the instructions to the letter. Most universities receive many, many, many applications each year and only have finite resources to process all of these applications. So my advice is follow the instructions and make it easy for the university to approve your application.

But turning now to the part of the blog post which is probably the most interesting what types of experiences making studying abroad so attractive? Firstly, studying abroad requires you to live and study in a new country and culture. There are nuances in behaviour of the people in different parts of the world which are often hard to understand unless you live there. In my case, I was accepted to both universities I applied for but choose to go to Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. Partly the reason for my choice is that it was the more uncomfortable choice as the University of Stuttgart is in the city Stuttgart in Germany where I still have family. In other words, it would have been more comfortable knowing that I would have a safety net. By choosing to move to Sweden, I would have less of a safety net and was in line with my idea of seeking discomfort. Secondly, studying abroad requires you to meet new people and make new friends. Yes, this may seem daunting at first but almost one and a half years later I can assure you that you will make new friends and it is easier than you might think. Most if not all university graduate programs attract many international students who are all in the same situation of not knowing anyone. In this sense, it can be easier to make new friends as there are other students who also are looking to make new friends.

By now you might be thinking but what about the actual masters program and the knowledge and skills to be learned? This is to me the third point about studying abroad. By moving to a new country to study, it forces you to confront some of the ways of thinking from wherever you are from in whatever industry you are studying and gain knowledge about different ways of thinking. This in my view makes studying abroad a million times more interesting because it allows you to gain a deeper understanding and a larger variety in skills and tools within your field of study.

This has been my experience looking back on my almost one and a half year journey pursuing a masters degree in Structural Engineering and Building Technology at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. I hope this has given some insight into the benefits (as I see them) of studying abroad. Please leave a comment (through LinkedIN) to give your thoughts on studying abroad whether you have, are doing so right now, or are thinking of it. I hope you have enjoyed reading this.