Where should I take my B.Sc and is it right for me
Hi r/softwareengineer I'm a South African high-school graduate whith a 3.6 gpa with very good marks on math and physics and an IELTS 7.5 band score and I'm planning to study software engineering (or perhaps other cs related unedrgrad programs) abroad but I'm not sure where should I study or if it's even worth it.
The programs I've found are the following:
Program 01: Software Sngineering B.Sc at the shanghai jiaotong university in china which has a very competitive rank worldwide (top 50 I think) and will potentially offer me a fully covered scholarship with free student accommodation and a mandatory (not paid from what I’ve heard) 1 year internship which brings the total to 4 for graduation. It seems like a good program but I keep hearing people criticising china's treatment of international students in general so I'm kind of on edge.
Here are the modules: https://www.gjxy.zjut.edu.cn/ueditor/upload/file/20220913/1663049958311642.pdf
Program 02: B.Sc in applied computer science and AI in the university of Sapienza in italy which has a ranking of almost top 100 I think? It also offers a scholarship of up to 7500 euro/year (realistically I’d gert 5k or 4k i think) but the tuition of 1600 €/year (or around that number I couldn't find it anywhere) and the student accommodation both aren't covered.
Here are the modules: https://corsidilaurea.uniroma1.it/en/course/33502/study-plan
I choose SE because I've always been interested in programming and I really like to work with c# and gamedev is fun as a personal project but also I can't see myself working in any other field but I'm pretty much still a beginner since I never gave it proper time.
I also think a bachelor in software engineering can help me land a job quickly to afford a master’s degree and I don't want to bother my parents with help although we’re not poor.
What is my goal? To be able to graduate, work for 1 or 2 years in a decently payed position. Manage to pile up 30-40k euros and go study my master's in Canada then get a passport (which would make my life hella easier since our passports cant do anything) and perhaps a PhD in any specific field I like and move to the US for a couple of years or another high (enough) paying country.
So what do you guys think? Also what other countries do you think are good? I speak arabic French and English but I dont speak any italian or Chinese which is something I'll work on.
Thanks for lending me your time guys!
Posted Dec 9, 2025, 9:46 AM UTC