Choosing a University for International Masters Studies

Background

Many say that learning is continuous. Such learning could be either formal and informal, personal or interpersonal, or institutional. In the case of a searcher like me, aside from learning from everyday experience, I still value formal learning as it is the mainstream mode of learning and source of recognition in search for a better opportunity at this age so far. And, even if I have finished a non-thesis masters degree, I still desire for a more challenging level of academic pursuit and finally to quench my thirst for knowledge which at the back of my mind, appears to be vanity or a natural inclination of a human being in search for his own self.

I have had tried applying for admission to foreign schools in the past, and I have applied for work visas too. Both those have been entrusted to agencies but neither was successful. The contrary happened when I searched for work personally and also processed the working visa the Go Solo way.

My desire to learn and study abroad with the prospect of greater opportunity for work and life opportunity has never waned even if I had experienced refusals on visa applications and scammed in spite of a valid working visa.

Hence, this year, I decided to apply for admission to a university in Belgium the Go Solo way. I did this after comparing the relative cost, ease of personal processing, and availability of online information and communication with the target university. I am applying for masters studies so the values and information here apply to this level of study and for international, non-EEA students.

Here are the stages the I have been to:

A. Comparing the different universities in the first world countries

For many years, I have been researching about information for possible studies in the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (US), Canada (CA), Australia (AU), and the New Zealand (NZ). These are the countries that are very active in promoting the use of IELTS or TOEFL in their admission. I have also attended various institutions that help students study in those countries. In the end, I am always confronted with the issue of money. Yes, scholarships are available but those are mostly offered only once a student has been admitted to a school or has started studying in the host country. 

Another factor that I observe with those countries are, much like the others, it is difficult to process the papers on the applicant himself. Hence, due to difficulties, many prospective students fall prey to the agencies who process the admissions and visa processing on their behalf. Others even seek the assistance of lawyers in the host countries but with exorbitant fees without the promise of success.

Except for the US, all the other countries mentioned never recognize the evidence of your degree delivered entirely in English. You must take the IELTS exclusively and for some would consider other forms of tests like TOEFL, PTE, TOEIC, etc. Hence, applying to those countries are hardcore English testing dependent, to the point of shying potential students that could effectively contribute to the rich diversity of learning in the host country.

At the end of the road, I found myself considering Europe. Why not explore Europe? I started with Germany as there are many universities there that offer zero to minimal tuition fee, especially for prospective graduate students. But I found out that most of the programs there are offered in pure German so it really requires the student to know first their language. This opportunity to learn the language and master it is apt for younger students but at my age, I saw that I would not spare another year or perhaps go salary-less just to learn the language first before I can finally position myself into my graduate studies.

In fact, I observe that most of the universities in Europe offer free to a minimal cost of education. One really has to learn the language of the host country so that one can start the many program offerings. They also offer scholarships but like the English-dominant countries, most of them are granted when one is already studying in the host country.

In the end, I landed my search in Belgium. Internet sources inform that that is the heart of Europe. Actually, every country in Europe claims to be the center but since Belgium houses the many offices of the European Union, it can be politically and relatively considered as the heart of Europe.

Much like many European countries, Belgium also offers minimal cost of education. But the advantage that I saw is that, there are many graduate programs offered in English in each university there. Although I can feel the pressure of learning their own language, I still feel the ease of communication because many people in the country speak English, and I still feel the ease of processing because they accept evidence of proficiency in English from certification in the previous institutions attended such as in Letran and De La Salle University. I understand this because Belgium is not a hardcore English worshipper, it needs to use and propagate other languages in Europe. 

Hence, the final country of choice is in Belgium.

B. Searching for a suitable university in Belgium

1. Ranking

Ranking of THE, (April 2019)

I started searching for universities over the internet in early March 2019.  Many independent rankings make KU Leuven as the top, then the others would compete with the second and consecutive ranks. For example, Times Higher Education (THE) Study Portals rank UCLouvain as second while QS placed Ghent University to the same spot and UCLouvain as third (2018). The list differs for each entity and year of ranking.

I searched for this because I also believe that institutions belonging to the top of the list will provide better exposure, learning opportunity, networks, and prestige due to their years of existence and experience in providing quality education.

Ranking of QS for Belgium (April 2019)

2. Deadline of admissions

When I saw their admission calendars, most of the universities open their applications around November or December of the previous year. The school year 2019-2020, for example, we see VUB starting their admission process around November of 2018 and their deadline of admission is 1 April 2019. UCLouvain, however, stated its admission around December and the deadline of application is 30 April 2019. The school year starts in September 2019. KU Leuven starts admission processing at around November 2018 and the deadline is 1 March 2019 for English programs, and 1 February for Dutch programs. ULB has 30 April as its deadline for non-EEA.

It was the first week of March when I started my search so given the top universities' deadlines, I have to choose the ones with further deadlines because my documents still come from the Philippines. In my experience of LBC parcels, it takes around 4 days for documents to arrive here in Indonesia.

With the previous circumstances, I stuck to UCLouvain as a choice of school as it gives me two months more to prepare for my documents before the admission process ends.

3. Language

Belgium has dominantly two regions of speakers: the Dutch-speaking region called the Flemish/Flanders region and the French-speaking region or the Wallonia region. In terms of dominance in language use in universities, the German-speaking region is also added.

4. Program offerings in English

Universities in Belgium offer programs delivered in various languages. Most of the programs are offered both in Dutch and French, but in all universities, there are programs offered in English. There are also some programs offered in German, Italian, and Spanish.

5. Cost of studies/ Tuition fee for international student
As I compare the prices of Flanders and Wallonia in terms of non-EEA (international) students, most of the Wallonia universities offer higher cost of education compared to Flanders. One of the reasons is that most Flemish universities are subsidized by the government (called public universities).

Comparison non-EEA tuition fees in some Flanders and Wallonia universities (2019-2020)**

Flanders	Admission deadline	Admission/ processing Fee	Tuition fee EUR (19-20)	Wallonia	Admission deadline	Admission/ Processing Fee	Tuition fee EUR (19-20)
1. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven	1 Mar	75	3,500	1. Université catholique de Louvain	30 April	83.5	4,175
2. Vrije Universiteit Brussel	1 Apr	50	3,400	2. Université libre de Bruxelles	15 Feb - 30 Apr	*	4,175
3. Universiteit Gent	Online: 1 Oct-Feb Docs: 1 Mar	Free of charge	1,826.8	3. Université de Liège	30 April (18-19)	*	4,175
4. Universiteit Antwerpen	1 Apr	*	3,140	4. Université de Mons	30 Apr	*	4,175

*Not available          ** One year

6. Website informativeness, ease of communication and feedback

The website of each university offers a different arrangement of information. But one of the influential factors in the choice of school is the facility to search and availability of information on their website. UCLouvain offers a near-seamless step by step process during the registration. It also includes a FAQ page.

7. Scholarship

The websites also mention available scholarship for international students but most of them can be availed if one has been admitted to the university. One of the good websites to visit is this, http://www.studyinbelgium.be/en/programmes-de-bourses.

Finally, I have chosen UCLouvain as the university in Belgium where I will lodge my application for masters.