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Caribbean Students Studying Abroad

Choosing where to study and how to pay, scholarships and visas, the first term and first winter abroad, money from home, staying well, and the decision to stay on or come home, for Caribbean students and their parents.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Then open the Marketplace in the app, search for Caribbean Students Studying Abroad, and click Install. It goes into your own files, and works offline from then on.

What it installs.

1

Pillar

1

Area

50

Projects

200

Starter tasks

🌴 Caribbean Life & Diaspora

Caribbean Students Studying Abroad

Studying abroad as a Caribbean student: choosing universities, scholarships, visas, accommodation, money from home, homesickness and coming back.

  1. Study abroad goals and destination shortlist
  2. Full cost of study in two currencies
  3. Family agreement on money, contact and expectations
  4. Application and visa documents folder
  5. How CSEC and CAPE results count abroad
  6. University shortlist scored on the same criteria
  7. Application and scholarship deadline calendar
  8. Regional campus or overseas university comparison
  9. Personal statement and scholarship essays
  10. Scholarship search across home, host and university
  11. Scholarship interview practice
  12. Reading a bonded scholarship contract
  13. Comparing offers and accepting a place
  14. Student visa application and proof of funds
  15. Paying fees and deposits from home
  16. Student accommodation and guarantor arrangements
  17. Health cover, immunisations and a doctor abroad
  18. Final fortnight before departure
  19. First seventy-two hours after landing
  20. Student emergency plan and contacts
  21. Bank account, phone plan and local credit history
  22. First ninety days on campus
  23. Student monthly budget and spending review
  24. Allowance from home and exchange-rate timing
  25. Weekly call home across time zones
  26. Visa conditions and expiry dates routine
  27. Weekly study plan and coursework deadline board
  28. Grades and scholarship conditions each term
  29. Homesickness and wellbeing check-in
  30. Academic writing, referencing and asking for help
  31. First winter survival plan
  32. Finding the Caribbean community on and near campus
  33. Handling culture shock, accents and racism
  34. Deciding where to spend Christmas and summer breaks
  35. Part-time jobs and internships within visa rules
  36. Recovery plan after a failed module
  37. Changing course or university without losing funding
  38. First end-of-year exams abroad
  39. Parent's first visit to campus
  40. Graduation day with family travelling in
  41. Supporting your student from a distance
  42. Mature student abroad with a partner or children
  43. Student athlete on a sports scholarship
  44. Disability and health support at university abroad
  45. Studying in a language other than English
  46. Masters and PhD funding applications
  47. Caribbean-focused dissertation and fieldwork
  48. Staying on after graduation or coming home
  49. Degree recognition and professional registration back home
  50. Job search back home while still abroad

Where it starts.

Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.

Study abroad goals and destination shortlist

Before anyone opens an application portal, it helps to know why you want to study abroad, at what level, and which two or three countries fit the course, the budget and the family's comfort with distance.

First tasks

  • Write three sentences on why you want to study abroad
  • List the courses you would apply for in order of interest
  • Note the main pros and cons of the UK, US, Canada and one other country for that course
  • Pick two or three destinations and share the brief with your family

Full cost of study in two currencies

Tuition is only part of the bill: international fees, accommodation, flights, visa charges, health cover, a winter wardrobe and three or four years of living costs can double the headline figure. Working the total out in both the host currency and your home currency, with a buffer for exchange-rate movement, tells the family early whether the plan needs a scholarship, a loan or a cheaper destination.

First tasks

  • Find the international tuition fee for one course in each country
  • Add accommodation, living, flight, visa and insurance costs per year
  • Convert each total to home currency and add a ten percent buffer
  • Share the totals with whoever is paying and note what gap remains

Family agreement on money, contact and expectations

Parents, grandparents and sometimes an aunt in New York or Toronto may all be chipping in, and unspoken assumptions about who pays what are the most common source of strain in the first year. A short written agreement covers the monthly allowance, what happens if grades slip, how often you will talk and whether you are expected to come home after graduating.

First tasks

  • List everyone who has offered to help pay and how much
  • Hold one family conversation about money, contact and coming home
  • Write the agreement on one page and send it to everyone involved
  • Put the after-first-term review date in the family calendar

Make it yours.

Install Caribbean Students Studying Abroad, then tell Aurum the date you're aiming for. It checks whether the plan fits the weeks you actually have.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Blueprints are general information to help you organise your own work. They are not medical, financial, legal or other professional advice. See the Terms.