Emigration and Sweden

[Sima Zhao]

Hi!
I'm 17 and I live in Portugal.
Right now my country is through a bad fase. I like my country, but I don't see a bright future working and studying here. So I'm thinking of emigrating and I've been collecting data about countries and universities.
I was thinking of going to the UK if I wanted to become a Chemestry Researcher or Professor. But I have so many options I can't decide.
And I met a swedish girl and we've been talking a lot about this. Sweden has great possibilities, for every field that I have in mind! From gaming, cooking, football, army and top class education and universities.
I know many of you are from Sweden, and those who are could you please tell me a bit about Sweden, and those who studied at a university how it is? How is imigration on Sweden?

[Teng Fanglan]

You can always begin by coming here to study.

http://www.migrationsverket.se/info/studera_en.html
Has about everything you need to know =)

I was a student at Stockholm University, and it's a great place to study. I have friends at universities in Great Britain and France, and according to them, Sweden is a far better place to study. We have a more student-friendly environment, and students actually have a lot of influence when it comes to their studies.

It's also free for Swedish citizens, and we can apply for allowances from CSN.

If you wish to become a Swedish citizen, I suggest you look at:
http://www.migrationsverket.se/info/medborgare_en.html

[Han Sui]

I can't vouch for Swedish higher education, but as a current Biochemistry student in the UK I would suggest that you also take a good look at UK universities. There are good reasons why many UK universities are ranked so highly in the world tables, and in my (admittedly biased) opinion it provides the greatest option for higher education in Europe.

However the fees are ridiculous, especially for foreign students. And I've heard good things about Scandinavian unis in general, so that should definitely be worth a look. Also, despite my earlier point on the world uni rankings, try not to pay them too much heed. All of the ranking systems by major publications are flawed and often biased, so it's always best to take a look for yourself rather than rely on them too heavily.

[Sima Zhao]

Thanks for the link Kameara

And Han Sui before Sweden I thought a lot about moving to the UK, I like it there. I too would say that the UK has the highest level of education. But money is a problem and I just see Sweden as a better option.
Although the language barrier will be difficult for me.

[Zhao Cen]

Thanks for the link Kameara

And Han Sui before Sweden I thought a lot about moving to the UK, I like it there. I too would say that the UK has the highest level of education. But money is a problem and I just see Sweden as a better option.
Although the language barrier will be difficult for me.

About the language barrier I would say it is a minor matter. Sure it will be a bit harder in the beginning but most people in Sweden and Norway for that matter speak passable English. Dependent on what fields you study some of your courses might also be in English or at least have English textbooks.

[Sima Zhao]

About the language barrier I would say it is a minor matter. Sure it will be a bit harder in the beginning but most people in Sweden and Norway for that matter speak passable English. Dependent on what fields you study some of your courses might also be in English or at least have English textbooks.

The problem is that my native language is Portuguese, it's a latin language.
But Swedish isn't. English was very easy for me, because of the Internet and games!
And it has the same alphabet, but Swedish doesn't.
Even french for me was really difficult

[Noob On Steroid]

About the language barrier I would say it is a minor matter. Sure it will be a bit harder in the beginning but most people in Sweden and Norway for that matter speak passable English. Dependent on what fields you study some of your courses might also be in English or at least have English textbooks.

Language barriers are never a minor matter. Sure, your classes will be in English, or have English textbooks, but you'll always be "that foreigner" if you only master English. If you're planning on getting your entire degree in a foreign country (more than one year, as opposed to 6 month or one year exchange programs), you should be willing to learn the language, and take into account it'll take a decent effort to do so. If you're planning on staying after you got your degree, learning the language is a no-brainer.

That being said: when you're surrounded by a language, it's easier to learn it. So don't get all stressed out because it was hard to learn French (in high school?), because once you get dumped in a country, you'll pick up the basics pretty fast. I speak basic Portuguese because I worked in Brazil for 2 years. I'm terrible with languages, but picking up Portuguese was surprisingly easy (because I didn't really have a choice, hardly anyone speaks English over there ).

Keep in mind that doing this, will mean you have to say goodbye to your friends and family (and coming back once and a while is never the same). Not everyone is willing/able to do that.

[Teng Fanglan]

I'd say it will be fairly easy to study in Sweden even if you don't know a single word of swedish yet. Depending on your field of study, some (or all) literature will be in english.

The only difference between swedish and english when it comes to the alphabet is the "åäö". Not a huge deal I've had people from Spain in my classes, and they did just fine after just a short while in Sweden =)

There are also programmes for foreign students, and courses as well.

[Sima Zhao]

Thanks for the help! 
For now the studies are first, when I finish them then I'll think of living there or not

[Alex.1578]

I'm currently studying at KTH in Stockholm (although not chemistry). All lectures and some literature are in swedish while on a bachelor level. I've been told that almost all lectures and literature will be in english when on masters level and above.

Feel free to ask questions about the school or studying in sweden in general (what more there is to be told).

[Sima Zhao]

Thanks for the support and the information Alex
What's KTH? And are you Swedish?

[Noob On Steroid]

KTH is "Kungliga Tekniska högskolan", or Royal Institute of Technology (literal translation is actually "Royal Technical College").

[Alex.1578]

Thanks for the support and the information Alex
What's KTH? And are you Swedish?

KTH accounts for one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education capacity at university level. And yes, i'm Swedish