So, I was considering doing a exchange program to Canada. But then, there’s this problem.
I did a search and found out the price of doing a exchange program was 20.000 CAD a year. Which is R$ 77.320 (my country’s money).
But my parents’ money is, like, R$7.000.
Do exchange programs accept paying in installments?
Brazil (R$ right?) used to have a lot of programs to send students to foreign countries, but around 10 years ago the numbers dwindled.
I don’t see many Brazilian undergrads anymore, some grads, but mostly post-docs.
If you shared your field and education level, I could point you to a more precise direction.
But for education, your best bets are:
- Check the exchange programs with your current university, they have partnership with other universities around the world and you probably can pay cheaper with local currency.
- The higher your degree, it is easier to come. Despite what we see on the news about people denying science, and we are losing a bunch of researches to the EU, it is still better to find high education positions here than undergrad or lower. Also, you might be able to get paid, either as TA, researcher or just apply for a coop. That might offset your costs a bit.
Payment here is different, you pay by period X number of curses (Fall term, Winter Term, Spring/Summer) - some places in Europe it would be called semester) not by year, so that 20.000 CAD a year would be split in at least 2 periods. The university puts that so it is easier for you to plan your life. There is no monthly instalments payment like in some countries, but students can apply for awards, support, loans, etc… Check your university of choice for this information.
As others said, you need to take in account other costs too, from the visa process (a student visa will take longer and be pricier than a visitors visa), to housing and food. Some universities offer housing and food at a smaller cost than doing it all by yourself.
From your other comment in the thread, it sounds like you just want to leave the country for a while to experience life somewhere else.
Commonwealth countries and some places in Europe offer an easy to get work visa for under 30 years old. Check if you qualify for those. Usually, those visas lasts for a year, and you can renew if you meet some criteria.
Remember that the $20,000 is for tuition. You are also going to need food, housing and transportation, which, depending on which school you attend, could almost double those expenses.
Installments are available, as is the option to work for the institution and have that money offset some of the costs.
Also note that for 2026, Canada has significantly shrunk the number of open slots for exchange students over previous years; it’s not even a guarantee you’ll get the student visa you’d need to attend.
Also consider COL in the city the university is in. Living in, for example, Halifax, is going to be a lot cheaper than living in Toronto.
Well, sucks. Guess I’m stuck at my country then.
They can be, yes. At least in Ontario.
