4 Affordable Universities in Colombia for Foreign Students- In general, various universities in Colombia are affordable for foreign and international students. If you select a public university, which has a great image, you should expect to pay $1,000 or less per semester. For private owned institutions, which double the number of public universities in Colombia, your budget will have to go up. In this case, each semester may even cost up to $5,000. This will also depend on the course of study and the university, but there are many programs available at about $2,500. Colombian universities are also affiliates with many popular institutions of higher learning around the world. They have many exchange programs for foreign and international students. If you are applying to study there only for a semester or two, tuition could actually be free. Some of these exchange courses are free or extremely affordable
University of Antioquia
This university was established in 1803, it is a public university that has had high-quality accreditation for over nine years. According to a statistical ranking by the QS World University, University of Antioquia was the 15th best University in Latin America. This University is one of the biggest and the cheapest universities one can study in Colombia. The main campus has its location in Medellin, but they have many other campuses distributed around Antioquia region. These other campuses are located in Andes, Carmen de Viboral, Caucasia, Santa Fe de Antioquia, Amalfi, Segovia, Puerto Barrio, Envigado, Turbo and Sonsón. The university offers more than 90 undergraduate programs in their thirteen academic faculties. It also has four institutes, three corporations and over 200 research groups. As for tuition fees , this university is usually free for Colombian students. However, foreign students have to pay some fees, as In 2019, foreign students are required to pay 5,000,000 COP (that is about $1,500) per semester.
Pontifical Xavierian University
It was established in the year 1623, Pontifical Xavierian University is one of the oldest private institutions of higher learning in Colombia with a very good reputation. Its rank worldwide stands at 468 th position out of other universities in the world, and the 17th best in the Latin American Province. It has campuses in Bogota and Cali with about 18 faculties, 13 research institutes, and about 190 undergraduate and graduate academic programs.
Up to 21 of the undergraduate programs of this university have bagged top-quality institutional accreditation and many others are about receiving these accreditations.
Tuition fees for Pontifical Xavierian University depends on the major you are going for. Example, philosophy department tuition stands at 6,405,00 COP (around $2,000), while that of biology is at 9,015,000 COP (around $2,800), architecture’s tuition is 12,873,000 COP (around $4,000). These fees are paid per semester, as a result, Pontifical Xavierian University is graded as one of the cheapest and affordable universities in Columbia.
Del Rosario University
It was founded many years ago, in 1653, Del Rosario University is also a private university known for its high educational quality. In fact, up to 28 presidents of Colombia were once students of this school. The university is sited in Bogota and has 5 academic faculties and 3 schools.
In order to be a student here, besides submitting the required documents, credentials and getting your student visa, you’ll have to pass a test and be interviewed as well. They also offer exchange courses with the option of taking programs in English. As of the second semester of 2019, tuition fees of Del Rosario University ranges from 3,526,182 COP (around $1,100) to 13,535,000 COP (around $4,300). The only program excepted is medicine, whose tuition fees per semester are higher than others, as of 2019, Medicine tuition is 23,931,000 COP (around $7,500).
University of La Sabana
The University of La Sabana is also a private institution of higher learning that was established in 1979. It is ranked by QS World University as the 69th best in Latin America and is Located in Chía, close to Bogotá. This cheap university in Columbia has nine (9) academic faculties that offer about 24 undergraduate programs with, 58 specializations. It also has 41 master and doctoral programs. They have 51 research groups, a Media Production Center and a clinic
Prospective foreign students will have to provide a valid high school diploma certificate, get a student visa, submit the documents required, and pass the language proficiency test..Candidates will also have to be featured in an interview, and in the case of some faculties they will have to take an aptitute test.
Tuition fees will depend on the course. For example, any education program costs a tuition of 7,600,000 COP (around $2,500), while that of philosophy is 6,550,000 COP (around $2,000), and civil engineering tuition at 11,500,000 COP (around $3,600). As usual, Medicine is also the most costly program here, which is 20,900,000 COP (around $6,500). These fees aren’t annual tuition fees, but biannual.
End Notes
Studying in these Universities can ease you cost, you are also adviced to pending to choose a cheap accommodation, renting a one-bedroom apartment can cost about $200 and $350 per month, you can go for single rooms, they are much cheaper. Regarding food, you can get them at local markets as they are cheaper than supermarkets, or eat “del día” for lunch, this is a plate that is sold at many restaurants in Colombia, its cost stands at about $3, this menu also comes with soup, beans, salad, meat, rice and juice.
