A Guide to Studying in Asia

Living abroad around people with different cultures can teach us many things about humanity. Those who have never lived in a foreign country are susceptible to have prejudices against other races. And that personality trait can impair one’s development.

However, among all cultures, why should you consider Asia? Globally, China has gained international recognition as an economic giant. According to the World Bank, China’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is worth $12.3 billion. And that stat is only second to America. The third place is also held by another country from Asia, Japan, with GDP worth $4.8 billion. And in the list, India, South Korea, and Singapore deserve the honorable mention.

Choosing the Destination Country

Before we discuss top selected colleges, we have to consider the destination country first. You have to look far into the future, and then you will see that in less than a decade, people who have the experience of staying in one of the high GDP Asian countries will get the upper hand in job competition. Those who are deemed as well informed about dealing with Asians will be most needed in all industry sectors.

By considering the factor above, we can infer that there are four important Asian languages in the world: Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Korean. As for the Chinese language, you may experience too many difficulties if you go directly to Beijing or Taiwan since English is not widely spoken. And thus, your best option will be a country like Singapore and Hong Kong. People there come from different ethnicities, and they know the importance of being a multilingual person. Therefore if you want to learn new languages, you can find plenty of credible language courses in those two countries.

Calculating the Life Cost

Daily Mail ranked the life cost of living in cities all over the world. Hong Kong ranked the fifth, at $3,200 per month, and Singapore ranked the eighth, at $2,900 per month. However, you can cut down that number in several ways:

1. Get a Good Deal on Your Stay

Try to visit the country of your choice to get a quick and precise estimation of your stay. For instance, you are planning to study in Singapore. And in that case, it will be best if you seek information about the rent cost in high-end areas. Make the price there as the extreme point of life cost estimation. And then, you should locate where the low-cost area is. From that point, you can get the average life cost calculation.

2. Learn to Cook Like the Locals

Being adaptive is the key to survival. If you want to study in Asia, you will have to get accustomed to lots of spicy foods because they are the only ones widely available. Also, you should learn the local cooking style and menus. If you can cook using local ingredients, you can save a significant amount of money.

3. The Transportation

Some areas are not accessible like the others. You should pick a place that has a reasonable price and location. Make sure that you can go to the city’s center without difficulties.

The Top Universities

The top five universities in Asia are National University of Singapore, Tsinghua University, University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. But you have to be remarkably genius to get into those universities because the entrance exams are designed to filter people with average competence. Besides, if you do not speak Chinese, it counts as a disadvantage too.