Study Abroad Packing List

Let’s imagine that you’ve been successfully accepted to the university of your dreams and preparing for your unforgettable study abroad experience. However, you can’t decide what to take with you to study abroad, considering the limited luggage allowance. As a student who studied abroad, I understand how important is it to get packed properly and be ready for the adventure. You are limited by an airline’s luggage restrictions which you have to check. You are going to live the full life for quite a long period of time with belongings packed in two suitcases! Someone who has faced such a problem would understand what I’m talking about. In this article, we’ll answer the question: What to pack for study abroad?

Documents

The most important thing in your study abroad packing list is your documents. Without them, you may face some difficulties. List of the most important documents you have to take with you to study abroad:

Foreign passport;

The invitation from the university;

Birth certificate;

Insurance policy;

Education document;

Language certificate;

Documents required by your institution;

Receipts for the course’s payment;

Copies of your Documents

I advise you to make copies of your documents which will come useful. When you arrive in the country of education you may be too busy to find where you can do it, so it’s strongly recommended to make copies and photographs of:

A copy of the passport;

Photographs for the student card;

Copy of your visa.

Clothes

Although you’ll want to pack your suitcase with all belongings, it isn’t possible. This means that you should include to your packing list only the most important belongings. As for clothes, take the most necessary things which are appropriate for all-season. Therefore it’s important that you take different clothes for winter and summer (at least a couple of essentials). Of course, before packing your suitcase, read about the climatic features of the country, a region where you’ll live. Make sure to take a few things on the way out (for restaurants, theaters, dating, sports), as well as a few convenient things. For example, you can not do without sneakers, sunglasses, in addition, it would not be bad to take along a roomy backpack. The following are just some things you have to take into account when packing your clothes:

What type of region are you going to study in? What type of weather is going to be in the location of your institution? You wouldn’t take a suntan cream with you to Iceland, right? So check the climate and weather in the place of your destination. Space in your suitcase is very precious to be filled with unnecessary items.

Liberal or conservative? If your study abroad destination is Dubai, your wearing style should be different from the one in Paris.

A big city or a small town? Are you going to study in a metropolis where you can find everything you need? Or is it a little campus in jungles with no shops around? So pay attention to that.

Personal Belongings

What can be worse than waking up in the morning and not having a toothpaste or toothbrush? So make sure that they are certainly somewhere in your suitcase. In addition to that, don’t forget shampoo, soap, comb, and razor. I don’t recommend you cram a bed linen and towels to your suitcase hence they take too much space. In a host family or dormitory, you’ll be given bedding sheets and towels. So, exclude these items from your packing list!

Don’t forget to take a few pens, pencils, a couple of notebooks and a laptop (for me the most important thing). Change money in advance, make sure you have small bills. Don’t exchange all your money at the airport because they have an unfavorable exchange rate. Better exchange a small amount of money that’ll be necessary on your first day and exchange the rest on another day.

One of the biggest problems I’ve faced in different countries was different types of plugs abroad. So make sure you’ve checked what kind of plugs are used in the country of your education and buy plug adapter if it’s necessary.

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To sum up, it isn’t possible to stuff all your life, interests and concomitant belongings in one or two suitcases. So you have to use every inch of your space very prudently. Try to be clairvoyant and pragmatic, pack your suitcase with the items which will be practically useful and indispensable during your study abroad period.

The decision to study abroad is a very important decision. To help students complete their application to foreign universities easily and consistently we’ve developed a new education ecosystem – Aplic.io. Just check the plenty of scholarships and programs from all over the world hosted on our platform! They expect your decision to study abroad!