How to Study in Sweden for Free (10 Steps)

Unfortunately for most countries, studying is expensive and could cost you a part of your lifetime fortune especially if you were pursuing higher education. You might be considering halting your education and being content about your current attainment, but hold your thoughts! Achieving your dreams will be hard but nothing is impossible with hard work, even with limited funds! One of the countries where you can get to study for free is Sweden.

Sweden is an economically rich country that’s why more and more people migrate or study here. Sadly, only a limited number of students were able to avail of these benefits so here are some tips for you to secure a spot.

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Steps to Study in Sweden for Free

1. Make sure that you have a good application

Of course, a good GPA, high test scores, and a good behavior background will always be great weapons when you start to send applications to universities and colleges in Sweden. These prove you worthy of a slot for their free-expense degrees. Having good academic standing and qualities tells a university that it is okay to invest in you because they will be expecting excellent outputs.

So, before looking into studying in Sweden, take good care of your academics from your previous studies. Also, always practice building a good reputation so that no one will question your behavior when applying for a certain university. This is a crucial step for students to be able to study in Sweden for free.

2. Get your application prepared in advance

“Early bird gets the worm.” This idiom very much applies to your situation when you plan to study in Sweden especially if you are an international student. Early preparation for your application means that you will be prioritized in the queue for getting interviews for scholarships or benefits. Early interviews mean higher chances of getting into that university. Always remember that there is competition in the outside world, so always be early to survive.

Also, preparing early for your application could gather you more data and information about the college you are applying to. This will be a great advantage because when you get interviewed, questions about the university might occur. To prepare for that, research before applying is a must.

3. Apply for Scholarships Offered by Universities in Sweden

University scholarships are what most students avail to help them ease their expenses in studying. Scholarships can come in form of academic, athletic, or artistic scholarships. This means that if you have the talent, more opportunities might show in your way.

On the other hand, some universities partner with countries that they think would be a great investment. Connections may be established so they attract international students by offering almost full scholarships when they do study in their country.

Getting scholarships from Swedish universities is by far the most common way of studying in Sweden for free. For example, Lund University and Blekinge Institute of Technology are universities that have several partners from different countries. They provide the most benefits an international student can get.

4. Look for Scholarships offered by your country

Scholarships could also be availed in your own country provided by your own government. You just have to patiently look for them across your government websites and hope to find a gold opportunity among them. Countries that have a partnership with any university in Sweden were most likely to have more government scholarships offered. Sending students to study in Sweden is a form of their trust and endowment they give to Sweden.

5. Apply for External Scholarships in Sweden

External Scholarships, especially from organizations in line with the degree you plan to study, can be a major help to you so that you can be able to study for free in Sweden. Some companies or even organizations help you in your academics by providing for your tuition fees and expenses in exchange for working for them after getting your degree.

Others, on the other hand, just wanted to help specific students that were doing good in their studies but short in money. Students who got help from private organizations were pursuing degrees with titles such as doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc.

6. Attend Affordable Universities in Sweden

However, when you could not find any scholarships, or if these were still not enough to pay for your expenses, find an affordable university. State universities in every country usually cost less than private universities with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.

In Sweden, the average cost of yearly tuition fees ranges from 8,000 USD to 15,000 USD. However, some universities offer payments that will cover a whole 4-year bachelor course from 25,000 USD to 39,000 USD. This alternative would be much more costly that’s why students often avail scholarships while studying at these universities.

Check out some of the Affordable Universities in Sweden for International Students.

7. Apply to Universities in Sweden

With your good application form and track record, all you need to do is to apply to different universities. Applying to more universities means a higher chance of getting accepted. You might get accepted by a university that offers free tuition fees in exchange for a better GPA, or a university that offers free tuition fees in exchange for joining their varsity, etc.

After getting accepted by multiple universities, choose the university that can offer the degree you want to pursue cheaper tuition fees, and good benefits for their students. In this way, you can still have options on choosing the degree you want to pursue and not just any degree that you could only afford.

Applying to universities in Sweden can be a difficult process, so we’ve prepared a guide on How to Study in Sweden for International Students. Check that article to get to know the application procedure.

8. Working part-time and full-time while studying

If those were still not enough to get you to study in Sweden for free because of the expenses, get yourself a job! Working while studying in Sweden is permitted by the country’s government and encouraged by universities, especially for international students. The country was aware that academic finances could be a heavy burden for all of its students. That’s why it is authorized to let students work, especially if the reason for working is education-related.

9. Lowering the cost of living in Sweden

Finally, even if you get accepted into any university covering most of your educational fees, you still have living expenses to deal with. On average, the monthly living expenses around the country were at 950 USD, exclusive of the housing rent.

Ways to lower these expenses were to find student apartments or dorms that can be shared so you can lower the rent. Other than that, you could look for stay-in jobs that not only offer free housing but also free meals. Even though they were difficult to find, once you got accepted into a job with those benefits, it will surely make you feel like you were studying for free in Sweden!

10. Apply one or more of the steps above

Using one or more ways above, you can definitely achieve your goal of studying for free in Sweden. The best way is to get a university or government scholarship and some of the other ways is to lower your cost of living and working while studying.

 

I hope that this article was helpful. If you are interested, visit the Europe Scholarships Page.