Thinking about completing my studies in Poland, perhaps for a permanent stay. [CANADA/M/17]

Hey!

I'm a teenager currently living in Quebec, Canada. If you don't know what that is, it's the French speaking, whiny (does that make me half Polish?) and infamous part of Canada. Life is pretty good here, can't complain. Finished high school last year, right now studying Industrial Design in a technical school. Lasts three years, after that, I can either go directly in the job market, or at University.

About 10 months ago, I started taking interest in Poland. It really started to fascinate me for just about everything : it's rich history, cryptic language, traditional culture and so many more things (special bonus for amazing women and great alcohol culture). I've always had the wild thought of moving out of the country for more advanced studies, and Poland started to become a really attractive place to go study at. A few months later, I wanted to have some contact with the Polish people, and signed up on some penpal website. Eventually, I became good friends with this girl from Poland. Was around May, since then we've become extremely close.

Booking a trip with her right now for a month in Poland this summer, and I absolutely can't wait!

So that's my situation. I'd really love to complete my studies at University there and get a degree, and if things go right, perhaps stay there for the rest of my life. I just have some general questions about it, and also would like to hear your opinion about the whole thing.

1. Is Poland a good country to study in overall for academic outlooks? Will a degree from there, providing I come back to Canada, be worth much?

2. If I stayed in Poland, would skills like being completely fluent in French and English, help for anything in terms of a job search in general? And how bad would an inferior level of fluency in Polish impact me?

3. How easy is it to sustain yourself as a student there? I have some 15-20 thousand dollars saved for University, but a lot of it would go towards tuition, and I can't hope living from only that money in Poland for three years.

4. Except that Canada has higher standards of living, are there any reasons you can cite as for why I should not stay in Poland after university if I manage to land a land a job there?

5. What are some reasons to convinve me to stay there that I wouldn't think about?

6. How are the outlooks for entrepreneurship?

That's all for now, if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask! Thanks in advance for replies!

Not really. Poland doesn't have so world-recognized universities as the North America has. It doesn't mean the level of education is low, but I think a Canadian diploma will be worth more.


They will do, but Polish is important in Poland, as it's quite a unified country, with no many foreigners. And it's not an easy language to learn.


Poland is a cheap country to live in - if you have money earned outside. Unfortunately, as you are from Canada, not from the EU, our public universities (which are virtually only ones that count here, forget about the private ones, diplomas of most of them are worthless even in Poland) will charge the whole tuition fee from you - which normally, in case of Polish citizens, is covered by the state and the university education is for us free of charge.

At my university (Lodz University of Technology) the tuition fee for the studens from outside of the EU is 4000 euro/year + 200 euro for the application. Pretty much (although there are always some foreign students who pay it).

About the cost of living, you can find it on the internet, but having the source of money in Canada it will definitly not be expensive for you. But if you want to earn money in the country where you study and spend them there, Germany would be effectively cheaper.


I wouldn't choose Poland as a place for study on your place, for the reasons I have already mentioned. It doesn't mean that Poland is a bad country. If you come, either for the studies, or for purely touristic reasons, you will definitely be welcome :)


I don't really know...


There is no much cooperation between the science and the industry, it's also a weakness of the Polish higher education system. Although it's beginning to change.

If you speak French as a mother tongue, it might be a good idea to check France. They have some much more recognized universities. And it's also in Europe. Not so far away from Poland.

If you intend to study in Poland with the budget you've already quoted here I bet it's going to be fine for you. As someone who studies here, I can tell you that $20,000 for 3 years will be more than enough(though your life lifestyle really matters). There is a school here in Poland where you can study for free for the first year as an International Student then pay 2400 EUR for the subsiquent years. It could be a good boaster in your case.


That puts you in a keen position to secure a job even whiles in school(In case you're considering a part-time job). You will have no problem securing a job in Poland even after graduation, and trust me, you don't need Polish to find a job with knowledge of the above mentioned languages (Polish is extremely important in your social life though).

I am giving you an honest advice; if you are interested in studying in Poland or living here, then do it ;). Else you're going to regret that you didn't take a chance. I am an international Student here in Poland and I'm enjoying every bit of it. I know most Poles don't like their own country. If they happen to stumble upon this thread, they will give you every farcical reason not to come here. GO FOR IT!!!