How to Get into Grad School Abroad

Hello everyone! I’m happy to announce that I’ve been accepted into a graduate school abroad! 😀

Yes, after traveling for the past year, I will now move to Barcelona, Spain, to begin a graduate program in advanced English. 🇪🇸 ❤️

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Barcelona is a gateway to places full of magic and history, and all your pictures remind us of this. Thanks for such a beautiful pic, @cbezerraphotos ! The Park Güell looks awesome 😍 Remember that you can share your best pictures of the city with the hashtag #barcelonapicoftheweek and every Thursday we choose a new one. Have a great weekend! // Barcelona es una puerta a sitios llenos de magia e historia, y vuestras fotografias no dejan de recordarnoslo. Gracias por tan maravillosa foto, @cbezerraphotos ! El Park Güell luce espectacular 😍 Recordad que podéis compartir vuestras mejores fotos de la ciudad con el hashtag #barcelonapicoftheweek y cada jueves escogeremos una nueva. ¡Buen fin de semana!

A post shared by Visit Barcelona (@visitbarcelona) on Jul 29, 2016 at 4:26am PDT

Why Study in Spain?

Now, not only is Barcelona a gorgeous city with an ideal location, where I understand the language, the cost of studying in Europe is much cheaper than in the States, plus this program is perfect for my career as an ESL teacher, since it focuses on how non-native speakers learn English. It’s the winning combination! Simply flan-tastico! 😛

Now I created this post as a guide, to highlight the steps I took to get accepted into a university abroad. I also delve into how I obtained my foreign student visa, a process which will vary greatly depending on your nationality and the country where you plan to study. Anyway, without further ado, let’s begin!

Step 1: Find a Program

To find a master’s program abroad, I used the search engine, Masters Portal. The site allows you to search for programs by subject and location.

From there, you can narrow your search even further, by filtering items like preferred tuition fee and program duration, which is how I found my course. 😀

Then, once you click on a specific program, you’ll find out more important details, like the course outline and admission requirements. You can also find out information about the university, including its international ranking and reputation.

Step 2: Apply!

Now once I found a program, I needed to apply. To do this, I waited until the application period opened, then I submitted all the necessary documents digitally to the university. For my university in particular, I needed to submit an application form, academic transcripts, resume, reference letters, and a motivation letter about why I wanted to study this course. There was also a small fee to apply. Within one month, I had heard back from the university with my acceptance. 😀

Step 3: Secure a Student Visa

At this point I had to apply for a student visa, so I could legally live and study in Spain.

In my case in particular, as an American studying in Spain, I had to apply for a student visa at my nearest Spanish consulate, which is in Chicago. The application requirements were lengthy, and included an application form, medical certificate, proof of health insurance, proof of sufficient funds, and a legalized criminal background check with fingerprints. The process for obtaining these documents took around three weeks. Once I had submitted these documents at the Spanish consulate, I had to wait an additional four weeks for it to process. At least it gave me the chance to visit Chicago twice, to drop off my paperwork and pick up my visa.

Step 4: Prepare to Move Abroad

Now that I have my student visa, I am in the process of preparing to move to Spain. I am at home in the beautiful Midwest, where I am spending a few weeks of quality time with my family.

I’m also organizing everything I will need for the big move, plus I am beginning a new part-time online teaching job, to earn money to pay for my studies. At a later date, I plan to discuss in further detail about my experience with online teaching. Anyway, stay tuned for what’s to come, including my experience moving to Spain and studying at a foreign university. Until then! 😀