Post: #1

I am interested in going back to school and have been researching studying in a Norwegian university for the past month. I plan on finishing it up and posting my findings here, as well as let this thread serve as an opportunity for anyone else that has information to share.

Norway has been offering educational opportunities at their universities for as low as 400-600 a semester depending on your focus. In addition to studying, you are permitted to work 20 hours a week on the visa you receive.

More information at:

http://www.studyinnorway.no/FAQ

Post: #2

Actually the entire tuition in Norway is free and paid for by the government. Norwegians are also given a stipend to help with food and living expenses, so as a non-Norwegian you will not be able to get that but the tuition is free. Maybe the 400-600 you quoted is for books or the like? If you are hoping to study as an undergraduate, you have to accept the fact that it isn't possible to do so in English. There are many masters courses in English, but almost no undergraduate degrees.

Norwegian is a germanic language similar to English, and after living there one year and being fairly disciplined with myself I have reached a high conversational level, probably enough to get into university. But that year cost over 20,000 out of pocket in living costs, this being the most expensive country in the world. If you do try to learn Norwegian though, be prepared to pretend you don't speak English or some other outlandish technique to avoid the inevitable response in English from the 99.9% of Norwegians who speak basically fluent English. In my year there I traveled around the entire country, and only met a handful of people who didn't speak any English, and only a few of those were around my age (20) and one of them was blind. Granted there may have been a few more because I started just addressing older people in Norwegian as their English was bad. Basically, English is universally spoken which makes learning their language a real difficulty. Norway is a really great place though.

Post: #3

School may be free or inexpensive but Norway is one of the most expensive countries I have been too.
Other than having a few nice girls, I can't understand why you would make that move.

Post: #4

I'm not too knowledgeable about Norway but if you're looking to study in Western Europe without spending a huge amount in fees, consider Dutch and Belgium universities, which charge around 1000 Euros per year.

Post: #5

Ethan Amarante, can you share more info on this? 1000 euros per year if you are a non EU citizen is a bargain.

Post: #6

I live in one of the big cities with a uni. A lot of foreigners do an exchange thing from their native country. That way most of them get scholarships from their school. Varies from uni to uni of course. I was hanging out with two french chics. One was getting $1000 US a month, while the other hardly got anything, just because they went to different uni's.

Personally I wouldn't study in Norway. Most Norwegian students get a solid scholarship(stipend) from the government, but they still have to get a part-time job just to survive.

Bergen(rains like 300 days a year), Trondheim(shitty cold all the time) and Oslo(gets really cold in the winter) have a decent student life. Stavanger has a fairly new uni, but not a great student life.

If I was to chose from Scandinavia, I probably would do Copenhagen. In Norway I would chose Bergen.

I might study something from next year. No way in hell I would do it in Norway though.

Post: #7

(06-18-2014 09:36 PM)TravellerJay Wrote:  Ethan Amarante, can you share more info on this? 1000 euros per year if you are a non EU citizen is a bargain.

Sorry, I'm exposing my slightly Euro-centric worldview there.

You can expect to pay significantly more if you you're not an EU citizen - around 9000 Euros in the Netherlands. However, fees in Belgium can be much more reasonable, for example, around 2000 to 4000 at some universities.

Post: #8

Are you aware that a beer will cost you up to $12 ($8 in the shop)?
A bottle of water from the shop $6
Carton of milk $5
Steak from the supermarket $30 - $45 ($60+ in restaurant)
Rent will still be $1000 per month (If you are keen to stay with 12 Swedish guys)
Recreational activities consist of anything that is free.

Sure studying is cheap. But you pay for it by living a boring life.

I am actually moving next week (after living here for 3 years) because I can't handle how shit it is.

Post: #9

(06-20-2014 05:49 AM)spalex Wrote:  Are you aware that a beer will cost you up to $12 ($8 in the shop)?
A bottle of water from the shop $6
Carton of milk $5
Steak from the supermarket $30 - $45 ($60+ in restaurant)
Rent will still be $1000 per month (If you are keen to stay with 12 Swedish guys)
Recreational activities consist of anything that is free.

Sure studying is cheap. But you pay for it by living a boring life.

I am actually moving next week (after living here for 3 years) because I can't handle how shit it is.

The higher cost of living in Norway is more or less in line with its high GDP per capita.



Source

That, coupled with Norway's social-democratic economic system, should mean that, if your visa allows you to work, you should be able to earn plenty of money to get by.

Post: #10

(06-20-2014 07:23 AM)Ethan Amarante Wrote:  

(06-20-2014 05:49 AM)spalex Wrote:  Are you aware that a beer will cost you up to $12 ($8 in the shop)?
A bottle of water from the shop $6
Carton of milk $5
Steak from the supermarket $30 - $45 ($60+ in restaurant)
Rent will still be $1000 per month (If you are keen to stay with 12 Swedish guys)
Recreational activities consist of anything that is free.

Sure studying is cheap. But you pay for it by living a boring life.

I am actually moving next week (after living here for 3 years) because I can't handle how shit it is.

The higher cost of living in Norway is more or less in line with its high GDP per capita.



Source

That, coupled with Norway's social-democratic economic system, should mean that, if your visa allows you to work, you should be able to earn plenty of money to get by.

From personal experience I don't find that to be true.
I saved triple the amount of money per month working in Australia and I saved double working in the UK.

Post: #11

spalex has a hard on for Norway. Check out his posts. No amount of data or reason will change his tune. His experience = reality.

Post: #12

(06-20-2014 07:39 AM)spalex Wrote:  

(06-20-2014 07:23 AM)Ethan Amarante Wrote:  

(06-20-2014 05:49 AM)spalex Wrote:  Are you aware that a beer will cost you up to $12 ($8 in the shop)?
A bottle of water from the shop $6
Carton of milk $5
Steak from the supermarket $30 - $45 ($60+ in restaurant)
Rent will still be $1000 per month (If you are keen to stay with 12 Swedish guys)
Recreational activities consist of anything that is free.

Sure studying is cheap. But you pay for it by living a boring life.

I am actually moving next week (after living here for 3 years) because I can't handle how shit it is.

The higher cost of living in Norway is more or less in line with its high GDP per capita.



Source

That, coupled with Norway's social-democratic economic system, should mean that, if your visa allows you to work, you should be able to earn plenty of money to get by.

From personal experience I don't find that to be true.
I saved triple the amount of money per month working in Australia and I saved double working in the UK.

I must have no made myself clear.

What I'm saying is that although the cost of living in Norway is higher, the average person has significantly more money than in most other Western countries (GDP/capital is a simple measure of how much money the average person has).

So it isn't surprising you earned plenty of money in Norway despite the high cost of living.

Post: #13

Norway is great if you live there. But if you're there as a tourist, woe to you!

Post: #14

(06-20-2014 08:44 AM)Ethan Amarante Wrote:  

(06-20-2014 07:39 AM)spalex Wrote:  

(06-20-2014 07:23 AM)Ethan Amarante Wrote:  

(06-20-2014 05:49 AM)spalex Wrote:  Are you aware that a beer will cost you up to $12 ($8 in the shop)?
A bottle of water from the shop $6
Carton of milk $5
Steak from the supermarket $30 - $45 ($60+ in restaurant)
Rent will still be $1000 per month (If you are keen to stay with 12 Swedish guys)
Recreational activities consist of anything that is free.

Sure studying is cheap. But you pay for it by living a boring life.

I am actually moving next week (after living here for 3 years) because I can't handle how shit it is.

The higher cost of living in Norway is more or less in line with its high GDP per capita.





That, coupled with Norway's social-democratic economic system, should mean that, if your visa allows you to work, you should be able to earn plenty of money to get by.

From personal experience I don't find that to be true.
I saved triple the amount of money per month working in Australia and I saved double working in the UK.

I must have no made myself clear.

What I'm saying is that although the cost of living in Norway is higher, the average person has significantly more money than in most other Western countries (GDP/capital is a simple measure of how much money the average person has).

So it isn't surprising you earned plenty of money in Norway despite the high cost of living.

Yeah I get what you are saying.
But in reality, it is not nearly as good as it sounds.

What makes it worse is that the Norwegian people use this as an excuse to make themselves sound like they are better than everyone.
I probably hear a sentence start with "Yeah but you know we are so rich..." at least once per day.

I always have to but in and bring the local to tears when I hear this.
I say "Rich? The bank owns your house (and in some cases car), you drive a 10 year old Opel, your kids don't go to a special school, you save 10% of your salary if you are lucky, you haven't been out for a meal in weeks.... What makes you think you are rich?!"

Another thing I have to add when explaining why moving to Norway is a terrible idea is that you will be able to save 10-15% of your salary. Sounds pretty standard for most places.
But if you live anywhere else, you will still be able to go out for meals at restaurants more than once a week, go drinking once a week, eat steak, casually have a beer and do recreational activities.
To do any of that in Norway you would need to take out a load from the bank!
It generates the most boring culture I have ever experienced.

I joke that there is more freedom in North Korea.

Quick upside to all of this is that it means the only standard social activity for people to do is sport / working out.
Which means I have to go to the gym at 5am so its not filled with dickheads just standing around and not lifting. BUT more importantly it means that everyone is in shape.
Seriously I see like 3 fat people per week, and that it!

Post: #15

Now that the dollar has risen and the kroner has dropped due to the oil market studying in Norway is way cheaper than when we were discussing this a couple years ago. I'm planning on starting my bachelors degree in Bergen in the fall having passed the Norwegian language test for foreigners last October

Post: #16

How cheap is Norway nowadays?

Post: #17

Norway has a sky high cost of living that may cancel out any savings (an awful hot dog in a 7-11 style place but not as good in Oslo costs $10 - rent is equivalent to London). All of the Scandinavian countries seem to have an ability to make the basics of life as back breakingly expensive as possible, regardless of the dollar exchange rate and their economies' current condition.

I'd take a look at Canada, especially in their cities where things are not so expensive such as in Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and parts of the Maritimes.