FAQ

This popular service, for Bachelor’ and Master’s prospects, is the cream of the crop. We use our expertise in creating a customized list of 3-5 programs just for you - based on the details of a comprehensive intake form you submit that digs deep into your needs, preferences, area(s) of study, budget, educational background, and on. Every Best Fit List includes:

• Details and links to each program
• Tuition, admissions, concentration options
• Course and degree requirements
• Internship & study abroad opportunities
• Geographic & campus information
• Housing info & considerations
• Application advice & potential issues
• Post-graduate employment information.
• and more!

Our BFL offering essentially allows us to pull the weight if you’re uninterested or unable to do the research, are in a time-crunch, or just need extra reinforcement when considering and choosing programs in Europe. 

Lifetime members get one free Best Fit List service for one student.

Since we run thorough research for each student, including personality profiles and budgeting considerations, each list takes 21 days (3 weeks) or less to deliver. You will receive instant access to a comprehensive intake form, and you'll get an email if we have additional questions. After that, you'll get an email with final delivery of your list.

Yes! You can order your first list, or even additional lists, after signing up for a monthly or yearly membership. If you sign up for a lifetime membership, you get one Best Fit List included for one student. Exciting! 

Each Best Fit List is billed on a per student basis. You can order additional lists for additional students upon signing up or after signing up.

This is a member-only resource that lets you ask any question and get it publicly answered at the end of the month in a Q&A blog post.

Questions submitted before the 15th of every month will be answered publicly at the end of the month in a Q&A blog post. All members will be notified via email. 

Please note, not all questions may be answered. We are not able to make specific country, city, school, or program recommendations here, nor provide financial or career advice. 

For more personalized recommendations, we recommend the Best Fit List or a One-on-One consultation. Both are available in your member Dashboard on our website.

Please submit one question at a time. For additional questions, click on Submit Another or refresh the page.

Your access and benefits are valid for as long as you are a member. If you cancel renewal, your access and benefits, including access to the Facebook group, are valid up until the expiration date of your membership, which is usually 1 or 12 months after you signed up, depending on your payment plan.

After you sign up for a membership, you'll receive an email with a link to the Facebook group. Simply request to join the group and you'll be prompted to enter the email you used to sign up. Alternatively, you can also sign up for the group in the My Account section on our website - from there, click Community. Your request will be promptly approved and you'll now be a part of the Facebook community. Help is plentiful, with parents and students from all over the country providing instant feedback on your most pressing questions.

No, you can join the call from a phone using the Google Meet app or call in using the number from the calendar invite.

For added support and reassurance, you can book a 45-minute 1:1 consultation call with Beyond the States Chief College Advisor, Kristin Hamaker. You can discuss any pressing questions, and glean from her expert guidance. Calls are held via Google Meet. 

 Looking for a 1:1 with one of our student ambassadors in Europe? We’re currently shaping this offering, which is similar to the calls with Kristin. Stay tuned for an announcement on this! 

Availability will vary based on Kristin's schedule. You can see her availability using the booking link.

For those who aren't members (yet!), go here to book your consultation. For members, click My Account in the top menu of our site's page, and book your discounted add-on consultation from there. 

Calls will be held via Google Meet. To join the call, you'll need a computer with a working internet browser with microphone and video permissions. You can also join the call from the phone if you have Google Meet installed. If all else fails, you'll have numbers available on the calendar invite that you can call. You can reschedule the call directly from the calendar invite we send you, so long as it's not within the same day. Otherwise, this will be considered a non-refundable no-show.

Absolutely, as long as you're within the same family group. Bring your mom, dad, daughter, son, or anyone else involved in your decision-making. You can add more people to the call by clicking 'Add guests' in the booking link. They don't have to be on the same computer or phone to join.

You can reschedule as long as you're not changing the date on the day of the booking. Otherwise, this will be considered a no-show.

We're working on onboarding previous Beyond the States customers that attended college in Europe. They'll be available for one-on-one calls similar to the calls with Kristin, except this time you'll be hearing from a student that has/is getting a degree in Europe. Sit tight for an announcement!

Yes, your call will be 1:1 with Kristin Hamaker.

Kristin can help you contextualize the entire journey and provide valuable insights that'll keep you from making common mistakes. With this in mind, it's important you run as much research as possible before hopping on the call. Ideally you'll have a number of programs already selected and would like further insights on which one is worth paying attention to. She can otherwise help you with filter selection and run searches with you during the call. Looking for a 1:1 with one of our student ambassadors in Europe? We’re currently shaping this offering, which is similar to the calls with Kristin. Stay tuned for an announcement on this! 

These are self-paced video courses with full transcriptions available.

We offer two self-paced Masterclasses:

• On Your Mark – At the end of this six week course, you should have an understanding of why you want to study in Europe (beyond cost) as well as how to explore any remaining concerns. You'll cement knowledge of areas of study that align with your interests, preferably those that combine more than one interest area. Get an understanding of the strengths you already have as well as those you need cultivate in order to succeed as an international student.
• Get Set – This 3-week Masterclass covers European university application terms, timelines, and processes that U.S. students and high school counselors may not be familiar with. It will help you determine what you need to apply, how to gather those items, how to be sure those items meet the university specifications, a timeline for each of the European schools you'll apply to, and how to write a motivation letter.

Yes! You can unlock add-ons at any time after signing up.

We recommend you start off with the Mini-Courses to get the lay of the land. Once you've committed to a program or a college, take the Masterclass(es) so you ensure you conquer the admissions process successfully.

We offer 5 self-paced Mini-Courses:

• Choosing a University – This 4-part course helps you determine your own criteria for choosing a program and school. We cover quantifiable criteria around budget, admissions requirements, and fields of study. We also discuss what to look for (and red flags) in schools, programs, locations, and student life.
• Admissions in Europe – This popular 4-part course helps you understand Europe’s entirely different admissions process. We go through the differing admissions requirements of different countries, address potential obstacles, headaches, and solutions, and walk through the motivation letter and CV.
• How to Choose a Major – This 3-part course is helpful even if you’re pretty clear about what you want to study. Through lessons and exercises, you’ll learn how your unique interests translate into the different study areas in Europe, and which programs you’re most aligned with.
• All About the Netherlands – This is a popular 7-lesson course due to the notable number and range of English-taught college degree options in the Netherlands. Covers basic and specific information about the Dutch universities, academic life, student life, housing, admissions, and financial considerations.
• Business Programs – 4 lessons cover the similarities and differences of business programs at research universities, universities of applied science, and business schools. Learn about accreditation, admissions, and specific programs with unique offerings.

Yes, while friends, social media, or online portals can be helpful, their information can be limited or biased. Our self-paced Mini-Courses and Masterclasses provide a deep dive into topics with action steps to complete along the way, guiding you through the often confusing European college landscape so you can avoid frustration and disappointment.

Not necessarily. We would hope that students would get exposure to the various alternatives through high school, but we know that counselors are often over- worked and for various reasons do not seek this information out on their own. Most of our student members, and those who have gone on to study in Europe, claim that they were not supported by their high school counselors on the topic of college abroad, but they were also not surprised by this.

Yes! Not only are the programs taught entirely in English, but all out-of-class and homework materials are in English as well. Keep in mind too, that for the most part, the level of English proficiency is generally high in each of the countries represented in our database. Thankfully, you'll be surrounded by international students that are all in the same boat as you.

Agriculture, Architecture and Related Services, Biological and Physical Sciences, Business and Economics, Communications and Journalism, Computer Science, Information Science, and Technology, Education and Child Development, Engineering and Engineering Technology, Environmental Studies and Earth Sciences, Erasmus Mundus Program, Health Sciences, Humanities, Human Services, Liberal Arts, Math and Statistics, Social Science, Transportation, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and Design, and Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure.

Each expands into more specific areas of study, of which there are 212 in total.

With 3200+ Bachelor's and 8000+ Master's programs, we're sure you'll find the one ideal program for you or your family member, and beyond the database we have a treasure trove of guiding resources, including our personalized Best Fit List service and 1:1 Consultations with BTS Chief college advisor, Kristin Hamaker . 

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If you can't find your ideal degree, please reach out to us for personalized search guidance as part of your Find Your Ideal Degree™ Guarantee. Bear in mind, there are no refunds on memberships or add-ons, but we will provide extra help to ensure you get what you're looking for.

The database includes English-taught programs from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

We don't include the UK in our database and materials. Our database and resources strictly reflect accredited, English-taught schools across continental Europe and in Ireland. Our passion at Beyond the States is to provide American families with solutions to the problems we face in the US, be it the cost, expectations for admissions, undergraduate experience, or employment issues after graduation. 

UK schools don't necessarily qualify for our mission since they often have similarly high-tuition costs to the US, similarly flawed admissions processes, and fewer post-college opportunities due to Brexit. Read more in this blog post we did on the subject. 

Head over to your member Dashboard from the top menu on our site, and tap on Unlock add-ons.

Your access and benefits are valid for as long as you are a member. If you cancel renewal, your access and benefits, including access to the Facebook group, are valid up until the expiration date of your membership, which is usually 1 or 12 months after you signed up, depending on your payment plan.

Yes, a membership to Beyond the States gives you unlimited access to the database and renews monthly and yearly, depending on which membership plan you purchased.

Due to the nature of our product, we are unable to offer refunds under any circumstances.

With 3200+ Bachelor's and 8000+ Master's programs, we're sure you'll find the one ideal program for you or your family members, and we're happy to guide your most pressing questions with our Monthly Q&A's. If you can't find your ideal degree, please reach out to us for personalized search guidance as part of your Find Your Ideal Degree™ Guarantee. Bear in mind, there are no refunds on memberships or add-ons, but we will provide extra help to ensure you get what you're looking for.

We'll be using our expertise to offer changes and suggestions, but we won't be rewriting it entirely.

The motivation letter is a document that is sometimes required during the admissions process. It asks you to describe your competence as well as your personal motivations for pursuing a particular area of study at a specific university.

A motivation letter that slaps will swoon admissions faculty, so you need to ensure it leaves a lasting impression. But with so little resources available online, how will you know what they're looking for? What type of wording resonates well with European colleges? And how will you make sure your motivation letter is memorable enough for quick approval by the degree of your choice? This is where we come in. Having gone through the process ourselves and speaking to admissions experts from dozens of schools, we know how to tailor your motivation letter for admissions success.

Tap the 'Unlock add-ons' from your member Dashboard on our site, and click on your plan to select the corresponding feature. Once paid, you'll be invited to submit your motivation letter for review.

Yes, each Motivation Letter Review includes one round of revisions via email. Additional revision rounds require you to add an additional motivation letter review to your account.