Most international students hire a consultant or agent when applying to master’s programs abroad. The consultant picks the country, picks the school, handles the paperwork, and charges a fee. It works, but it also means you only see the options your consultant knows about or gets paid to recommend.
The problem is that the cheapest and best-fit programs are often in countries that consultants do not cover. If your agent specializes in Canada and Australia, you will never hear about Germany (zero tuition), Norway (zero tuition), or Italy (under $5,000 total). Those options only surface if you look for them yourself.
Here is how to do that without spending weeks on university websites.
The tuition gap most students do not know about
The median total tuition for a master’s degree in the US is about $62,000. In Australia, it is similar. Canada and the UK sit in the $15,000 to $35,000 range.
Then there is continental Europe:
– **Germany**: under $500 total at most public universities. The [DAAD](https://www.daad.de/en/study-and-research-in-germany/) lists over 1,800 English-taught master’s programs.
– **Norway**: zero tuition for all students, regardless of nationality. The [University of Oslo](https://www.uio.no/english/studies/admission/tuition-fees/) charges about $55 per semester.
– **France**: about $4,100 per year for non-EU students at public universities, per [Campus France](https://www.campusfrance.org/en/tuition-fees-France).
– **Italy**: $3,000 to $7,000 total on a sliding scale tied to family income.
– **Austria**: about $1,600 per year at public universities for non-EU students.
These are verified figures from official university pages, not estimates. The quality is real too. [ETH Zurich](https://ethz.ch/en/studies/financial/tuition-fees.html) charges about $1,600 per year and is ranked 7th globally.
What to compare before you apply
Immigration consultants usually focus on one or two countries. If you want to see the full picture, compare these fields across every program you are considering:
– **Total tuition in a common currency.** A program listed as EUR 3,770 in France and one listed as CAD 25,000 in Canada are hard to compare without conversion.
– **Visa and work permit rules** Germany gives graduates 18 months to find a job. Canada offers up to 3 years via the [PGWP](https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/after-graduation.html). The UK gives 2 years. These differences matter more than tuition if your goal is to immigrate.
– **GRE/GMAT/IELTS requirements** Most European programs skip the GRE entirely. Some accept proof of English from your undergraduate degree instead of IELTS.
– **Application deadlines** European deadlines are often later than North American ones (March vs. December/January), which gives you more time or a second chance.
– **Language of instruction** Germany and the Netherlands have the most English-taught options in non-English-speaking Europe.
How to run the search yourself
Doing this comparison manually across 10 or 20 programs in different countries and currencies takes hours. Every university website formats the information differently.
[GradsMatch](https://gradsmatch.com) covers 39,926 master’s programs across 27 countries with tuition converted to USD, test requirements, deadlines, and language of instruction all in one search. You can filter for “under $10,000 total, English-taught, deadline still open” and see what comes back across all countries at once.
It does not replace a consultant for visa paperwork or application logistics. But it does replace the part where a consultant tells you which countries to consider, because now you can see that yourself in 20 minutes.
The bottom line
The best program for you might be in a country you have never considered. The only way to know is to compare across borders before locking in. Start with the data, then hire a consultant for the paperwork if you need one.
*Antoine Pangas is the founder of [GradsMatch](https://gradsmatch.com), a free directory of 39,926 master’s programs across 27 countries.*
