Study Abroad for Engineering/Physics in Low Cost Countries

[BH Wiz]

Hello PF,
I am currently a first year engineer student, specifically mechanical engineering (BE), in Lebanon. For a while now, I have been thinking about studying abroad either in engineering (continuing my degree) or changing to a BS in physics (not the main point at the moment). My parents and I have two main concerns:
- The cost of living and learning abroad: I have tried to address this by searching for low (or free) tuition yet high quality universities such as those you might find and Germany and others.
- The language barrier: This is a matter I do not know how to address except to look at my brother who was able to learn Portuguese quite swiftly which made him capable of continuing his studies in Brazil (Aeronautics). Therefore, I think i should be able to do so myself (in any given language except Chinese i guess). I can fluently write and speak the following languages in decreasing order of fluency: Arabic(native), English, French.
So to my question which might include several parts:
-If i were to decide to leave for another country, which countries might have universities with good engineering programs for undergraduates yet a relatively low tuition fee (<$15k per year, 15k being a bit too high) and cost of living? That is if i were to remain in engineer.
-Same question for changing to physics.
-Would said universities have high standards for applicants (I am sort of a B-student)?
Thank you for your time.
P.S: Do point out if there are some further details you need me to provide in order for you to be able to answer more accurately.
Thanks Again.

 

[vinicius0197]

Why not Brazil too? We've got some really good engineering courses here. Most colleges here are subsidized by the government, and maybe you can get a scholarship.
The best one here is ITA (Instituto de Tecnologia da Aeronáutica), but it's an airforce college, so I don't know if they are open to foreigners...
However, you may find that the cost of living here in Brazil is relatively high...

Why don't you look for your brother? He may help you in this. Besides that, I am really impressed that he managed to speak portuguese. Even I, who am a native speaker, find it a difficult language to learn, specially for outsiders...

 

[BH Wiz]

Why not Brazil too? We've got some really good engineering courses here. Most colleges here are subsidized by the government, and maybe you can get a scholarship.
The best one here is ITA (Instituto de Tecnologia da Aeronáutica), but it's an airforce college, so I don't know if they are open to foreigners...
However, you may find that the cost of living here in Brazil is relatively high...

Why don't you look for your brother? He may help you in this. Besides that, I am really impressed that he managed to speak portuguese. Even I, who am a native speaker, find it a difficult language to learn, specially for outsiders...

This is an appropriate opportunity to point out that:
-My brother is studying at ITA.
-My parents are avoiding Brazil because of...wait for it...the cost of living. (They already are spending a lot on my brother so we're trying to find a cheaper alternative.)
Even so, I am discussing this issue with my brother but i also want to see what are my options elsewhere.
Thank you for your reply!

 

[vinicius0197]

Congratulations to your brother! ITA's selective process is tough, and he'll probably become a good engineer studying there. We use to say that ITA is for Brazil like MIT is for the US.

Sadly, I can only speak for Brazil. Wish you luck in your undergraduate ;)