When you receive your admission letter, everything feels possible.

You imagine lecture halls, new friendships, a new country, and a new chapter of your life. Your family is proud. You prepare your documents, your visa, and your flight.

But very quickly, one question replaces the excitement:

Where are you going to live?

For many international students in Europe, housing becomes the first real obstacle. Not the visa. Not the language. Not even the academic pressure.

Housing.

And the stress around it is rarely discussed honestly.

Admission Is Not Accommodation

Universities evaluate you academically. They confirm that you are qualified to study.

But admission does not mean you have somewhere to sleep.

If you are a scholarship holder, you often have access to student residences or structured housing. There is a system. There are rules. There is some predictability.

If you are not a scholarship holder, you enter the private market.

And that reality can be harsh.

High deposits.
Agency fees.
Requests for local guarantors.
Distrust toward foreign students.

Some students arrive thinking they will “figure it out” once they land.

That decision can be dangerous.

When Students Arrive Without Housing

One student once told me about his first weeks in Europe.

He arrived without secured accommodation. He thought he would find something quickly.

He did not.

For several nights, he slept in a train station.

He did not tell his family. He did not want them to worry.

During the day, he looked for rooms. At night, he stayed in public spaces because he had nowhere else to go.

Another time, when I was working as a tutor at the university and also responsible for the student residence, I came across a similar case.

A student had arrived without a scholarship and without housing. He ended up sleeping at the station.

In that particular situation, the administration showed flexibility. They managed to find him a room temporarily.

But that was not guaranteed. It was an exception.

These stories are not common in official reports. But they exist.

And they reveal something important: mobility without preparation can quickly become survival.

I Saw What “Desperation Housing” Looks Like

I once stayed overnight in an apartment filled with international students who were not scholarship holders.

It was technically a two-room apartment.

In reality, it was a large sleeping space with more than six bunk beds squeezed together. Very little privacy. Very little space.

They were all paying a high rent.

Not for comfort. For access. For a place to exist legally in the city.

That night stayed with me.

Because it showed how far the reality can be from the dream.

When Housing Becomes a Business

Housing for international students has become a profitable market.

Some landlords overcrowd apartments to maximize income. Some agencies charge high service fees. Some intermediaries disappear when problems arise.

You are new. You are under pressure. You are trying to start your academic life.

And suddenly, you are negotiating contracts and deposits instead of preparing for classes.

The Scam Layer

On top of high prices, there are scams.

Fake listings. Fake landlords. Requests for money before arrival.

I personally received offers asking me to transfer deposits after being shown videos of apartments. Everything looked real.

But many students are not so cautious.

They send the money. The person disappears.

Desperation makes people vulnerable. And some people build entire systems around that vulnerability.

The Scholarship Illusion of Permanent Stability

Even scholarships are not permanent protection. They come with conditions.

• You must complete a minimum number of credits.
• You must pass exams within defined timeframes.
• Renewal depends on academic performance.

If you fall behind, the consequences are not only academic.

If your residence contract is linked to your scholarship or your official study duration, you may have to leave.

I have seen students who still had exams left to pass but could no longer stay in the residence because they had exceeded the allowed duration.

No extensions. No flexibility.

Some of them had nowhere to go.

They moved into overcrowded private apartments with other students in the same situation. All of them are trying to finish their degrees. All of them are carrying academic pressure and housing insecurity at the same time.

Housing affects academic performance. Academic performance affects housing.

It becomes a cycle that is very hard to escape.

Stability Is Not a Luxury

As a scholarship holder, I had relative stability in student residence housing. It was not luxurious. But it allowed me to focus.

That stability was not something I fully appreciated at the time. Now I do.

Because I have seen what happens when that foundation is missing.

I have seen students sleep in stations. I have seen students squeezed into overcrowded apartments. I have seen students lose housing because they needed more time to graduate.

International mobility is often described as ambition and courage.

But without housing stability, ambition turns into anxiety very quickly.

A Final Reflection

If you are preparing to study abroad, do not treat housing as a secondary detail.

• Do not assume you will “find something” after arrival.
• Do not assume a scholarship automatically guarantees long-term stability.
• Plan your accommodation before you travel.
• Understand the conditions of your funding.
• Prepare financially for unexpected delays.

Because the real challenge is not getting accepted. The real challenge is building enough stability to finish what you started.

Next week, I will share Part II of my own experience, including the mistakes I almost made and what they taught me.

Ismaël Dadis Adam
Founder, IDA International Mobility Consulting