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I am going to do a study abroad and now i have to fill out a form asking about my preferences regarding the size of the host family? What are some of the things that i need to be careful for? I want to tell them i don’t want to live with family have pet, because it will be smelly over the house, although i love cat, any suggestions please??

First of all, I hope you will have a good time ! Below are some things to consider regarding homestay families:

• The problem with cats and dogs is that 95% of the good home stay families have them. If they care about animals they tend to care about people too! Good families without pets are maybe 1-2 in every home stay program you might end up very far away from the school. If you really can’t live with a pet do say so, but otherwise consider the above.
• Don’t stay with a family that has small children (under 6). They won’t have time for you.
• Don’t stay with a family that takes more than 2-3 students at the same time. Its get too crowded and its likely that the family runs their home like a motel business. (Good money for them, not much fun for you).
• Ask for a family that is within easy traveling distance to your school. If at all possible: within walking distance.
• And if you are a woman make sure the family doesn’t have any teenage sons. It can get really awkward.

Your study abroad agency just recommended that you buy travel and health insurance but it sounds like an extra cost you aren’t too keen to pay. After all, you are young, healthy and fit !

Help is on its way

Your agent isn’t trying to sell you insurance to make more money, commissions on travel insurance packages are low or non existent. Your agent is simply trying to make sure that he can sleep at night.

There is no larger nightmare than dealing with a nasty accident in a foreign country. Even simple problems can be expensive: your luggage was stolen, or your portable computer got swiped.

But I already have medical insurance!

Check, check and check again please! In many countries people hold life insurance policies that have some kind of medical cover. But read the small print: in your own country you are likely benefiting from some kind of state support so the policy will only pay out a small amount, or have a limit. For example a US$ 1000 – US$ 8000 maximum.

A stay in a North American hospital can cost US$/CAD$ 3000 per DAY. If you have a nasty accident that requires operating the costs can go into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and insufficient cover could bankrupt your family.

Inadequacy insurance can be worse than no insurance!

Compulsory insurance

In Australia and New Zealand insurance is mandatory, you cannot study at a language school without insurance. You need to buy a government approved insurance package.

In Canada and the USA insurance is often optional (but some schools require that you buy their insurance).

In the UK you are covered under its National Health insurance scheme if you study for longer than 6 months (>26 weeks). Because so many foreign students were using the system (and thus using up a lot of money) hospital staff are now trained to spot students who study shorter than 6 months.

Checklist for a good policy

If you are buying an insurance package make sure its the right one! Does it cover going scuba diving? Snowboarding? Or your laptop being stolen on the way to school? These are not everyday problems at home, but you will encounter them overseas!

Standard travel insurance may not be sufficient, they are great for short stays (up to 2 weeks) but probably impossibly expensive for long stays. So find a package that can cover your whole length of studies.

• Are there any deductibles you need to be aware off? (Say: US$ 100 for a doctors visit that you need to cover by yourself)
• Is there sufficient cover to cover your i-phone, (i-pod), mobile phone or laptop computer being stolen?
• If you have any pre-existing conditions, are they covered?
• Can you family visit you in case of a serious accident? Are their flight expenses covered?
• In case of a family emergency at home it is possible to get a course fee refund?
• Does the insurance company provide 24 hours emergency services?
• Are you covered if you participate in school outing, sports competition or other activities?
• Is your insurance company present/familiar with the country you are traveling to?

We recommend that you buy insurance — but make sure you find the insurance product that matches your needs!

Image credit: Aaron Escobar

Kyle asked:

I’ll be in Sydney for 6 months. How much money do you suggest I bring? (for transportation, pubs, dining out, replacements of personal necessities like shampoo, etc) I already have a meal plan so I won’t need to buy groceries

First of all, Sydney is an expensive place to live. But you have a meal plan bought already so that should take care of your food.

You mention that you have a meal plan, so that probably means you have your accommodation covered. If not, check out some of the schools in Sydney to get an idea how much a week accommodation would costs. The best option is to book 2-3 weeks of homestay and then find a shared flat through the newspapers, bulletin boards or your classmates.

Excluding your accommodation & meals prepare at least AUD 1000 for each month. So 6 months would be around AUD 6000. Less is possible — but that means sitting on the beach more , and not going for drinks afterwards.

It is however quite easy to find a part-time job in Australia, and if you are on a student visa then you automatically have the right to work. So if you are able to find a part-time job for 20 hours a week, you should have most of your expenses covered.

Its summer and you have a little spare time — so what are some of the best ways to improve your English?

Be patient and go slowly

Learning a language is hard and the more impatient you are the harder it will be. So take a deep breath and tell yourself that you are not going to complete this within the next week, or month, no matter how hard you try.