Student case study · Norway
Binita, from Nuwakot to Oslo
Master's in Global Health, August 2025 intake
Came to us because Norway was "free". It wasn't. She went anyway, for a programme that matched her work in Nepal.
- Nurse
- Cost reality
- After bachelor's
- Starting point
- BSc Nursing, 70%
- English
- IELTS Academic 7.0
- Study gap
- 3 years after her bachelor's, district hospital and maternal health NGO
- Paid for by
- Husband's salary from Qatar, savings and an education loan
- First call to visa
- 319 days
Where Binita started
Binita had worked for 3 years as a nurse at a district hospital in Nuwakot and then with a maternal health NGO. A relative told her Norway's universities were free, so she came in asking only about Norway.
What we found
We told her on the first call: Norwegian public universities have charged non-EU students since autumn 2023. Then we showed her the full cost next to two cheaper options.
She still chose Oslo, because its global health programme focused on exactly the maternal health work she wanted to return to Nepal to do. With the cost known, her husband and she planned the loan together before she applied.
Step by step, with dates
15 Aug 2024
First counselling. Norway's tuition explained; 3 options costed.
30 Sep 2024
IELTS: 7.0.
28 Nov 2024
Application submitted with NGO and hospital experience letters.
15 Apr 2025
Admitted in Oslo.
9 May 2025
NOC; tuition paid; living funds deposited.
12 May 2025
Study permit applied for online.
30 Jun 2025
Permit granted, 319 days after the first call.
9 Aug 2025
Flies to Oslo.
The result
Binita is in her second year, with fieldwork planned in Nepal for her thesis on antenatal care in rural districts. She works as a care assistant at weekends.
In Binita's words
I came for free education and found out there was no such thing. I stayed for the right course.
If your profile looks like this
- 1
Check the current tuition rules before choosing a country; Norway's changed in 2023. See Norway costs.
- 2
A global health master's makes most sense if you know what you'll do with it. Her NGO work made her statement.
- 3
Compare at least two countries for public health. See public health and nursing abroad.
