Hi! My name is Clara Barros, and I am a 19-year-old student from Brazil. I’m currently studing Architecture at Universitá Degli Studi di Ferrara in Italy. This is the story of my journey!

Background

I was born in Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo, but I have spent most of my life in Valinhos, also in the interior of São Paulo. I have always attended private schools that focus on the Brazilian curriculum, with the goal of preparing students for admission to Brazilian universities in the future. Initially, I was one of those students following this path: I originally attended PUC-Campinas, a private university in Brazil, where I studied Architecture and Urbanism under the Brazilian curriculum.

Why Italy

Firstly, my family is Italian, and growing up, my grandmother often spoke dearly about Italy, as she was deeply in love with the country. Together with this, in 2017, my parents began the process of obtaining Italian citizenship, which sparked my interest in studying there. At the time, I was in high school, and I started researching how I could pursue my studies in Italy. However, when I graduated high school, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, which interrupted my plans. Given the instability of the situation, I decided to stay in Brazil and begin my university studies here. In 2020, I was admitted to PUC-Campinas, and since my father had attended the same university, I felt an "emotional connection" to it and decided to continue my studies there.

I spent three wonderful years at PUC, but at the turn of 2021 into 2022, two of my closest cousins, with whom I practically grew up, decided to move to Italy. When they announced their decision at a family barbecue, it sparked back my desire to study abroad, especially in Italy, and I decided to transfer.

The transfer process

The transfer process isn’t easy, and I knew that. However, I was determined, and since I had researched how to study in Italy a few years earlier, I had some idea of where to start. However, much of the information I found was outdated, and there was still a lot I didn't know. However, I had one clear goal: to transfer all my credits from PUC to an Italian university.

The transfer process to Italian universities is different from that of American universities, as they primarily focus on your credits. The hardest part was gathering all the syllabi and course plans from my three and a half years at PUC, translating them, and sending them to universities in Italy. This was difficult because each document had to be validated by the Italian consulate to confirm that they were legitimate and consistent with the Italian education system. I had to go through this process for every course and credit I had earned at university.

My GPA wasn’t a major factor in the consideration process, as the most important aspect was the transfer of credits. However, I had a solid GPA of 8.0 on a scale of 10. I also had to send my high school diploma translated. Extracurricular activities weren’t a significant factor either, as they tend to be more important in American universities.

I didn't have any help with this process; my family and I did it all on our own. We navigated the complexities of the internet and researched everything we could. It wasn’t easy, but the hard work paid off. Another challenge is that the process for international students is very difficult. Fortunately, having Italian citizenship made it much easier for me. Many aspects of the documentation process were simplified because of my citizenship, and I’m grateful for that!

The path to the University of Ferrara

Honestly, the Università degli Studi di Ferrara wasn’t my first choice, nor my second! Initially, I really wanted to study at Sapienza Università di Roma, mostly because it was in Rome, my favorite city in the world. However, they didn’t offer a transfer process, so I began researching Politecnico di Milano, as it is the top university in Italy for Architecture, and many renowned architects have studied there. And I was partially accepted! However, I had enrolled in their English-language program, and they required a proficiency test that I didn't have. Unfortunately, the time frame to take the test was too short, and I wasn’t able to complete it in time.

Because of this situation, I was very frustrated and considered giving up. But then I decided to apply to the Università di Bologna, and I became excited again. I told myself I would only apply there, but my mom stopped me and said, “Clara, you’ll regret it if you don’t apply to other universities. Please, apply to more.” She gave me a list of universities, and I chose a few others to apply to. That’s when I saw the Università degli Studi di Ferrara, and being a big fan of Ferrari, I decided to apply there as a joke because of the name. In the end, I applied to three universities: Università di Bologna, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, and Università degli Studi di Brescia. I was accepted to all of them.

The University of Bologna was my first acceptance, and I went there to study, but I was very disappointed. The city was mostly inhabited by students, so on weekends, it felt very empty and lonely as everyone went home. It was also quite small. The university wasn’t what I had imagined either. On top of that, they didn’t accept some of my credits, and I would have to repeat a year of my course. Feeling discouraged, I decided to call the University of Ferrara to see if they would accept all of my credits, as I didn’t want to redo anything. The staff at Ferrara were very kind and explained that they would accept all my credits. In fact, many of the courses I needed to take were already covered because the workload in Brazil is much higher than in Italy. The next day, I went there and enrolled, and it turned out to be the best decision I could have made!

Costs

The cost of the transfer process was very high, around 6,000 reais (about 1,000 USD) just to translate all the documents. The college tuition here is also very different. It is based on your family’s income, so if your family earns less than 30,000 euros, you don’t have to pay anything.

University in Brazil vs. Italy

There were many differences. Firstly, the social life. In Brazil, I was very active; I was part of student associations and attended all the parties. But in Italy, it was more difficult because I had never lived alone before, and Italians can be quite reserved. However, I also understood their perspective—it’s challenging to accept an international student three years after the program has started, If I were in their position, I wouldn’t have been proactive in helping someone adjust either, because it’s not something that’s common for anyone.

The academic experience was also difficult. Even though I had studied more in Brazil, it felt easier for me there. In Italy, some aspects are still very theoretical, which makes it harder to fully understand the material and classes. On top of this, I wasn’t accustomed to the language. I had worked since my first year of college in Brazil, but in Italy, this isn’t common, so people focus more on the theoretical side of things, which was hard for me to accept at first.

Life in Italy

I’ve now adjusted quite well to life in Italy. During my first year, I lived in a student residence, which made it easier to connect with others and make friends. I’m also now a part of BRASA, the Brazilian Student Association.

Future Path

In the future, I really want to explore a different side of Architecture. In old European countries—like France or Italy, they mostly don’t build anything new due to limited space. I’m particularly interested in the civil engineering and construction aspects of Architecture, so I plan to travel to other countries like the USA or England to expand my knowledge in these areas as well!