Today, it's increasingly common for people to venture abroad for various reasons like leisure, health purposes, employment, family relocation and pursuing education opportunities. Whether it’s undergraduate, postgraduate diploma, Masters or PhD program you wish to pursue, engaging in overseas education has significant advantages for students, such as global networking opportunities, enhanced educational standards, better living conditions,  and a myriad of other prospects.

In essence, studying in foreign countries introduces students to diverse cultures, passions, and viewpoints, this is why it demands thorough investigation, careful planning, and of course, detailed packing to ensure a smooth and stress-less experience.

One key aspect you'll need to sort while embarking on your study abroad is packing your bag. A number of students are confused on how not to leave certain items unpacked; here are tips to make that process hassle free. Let me run through this with you.

Create a checklist

Knowing what to pack saves you from a lot of frenzy. You’ll be leaving for a new territory so it’s normal to try to pack everything you’re afraid you may need. First, understand that you can’t pack everything or you’ll overshoot your flight’s prescribed bag weight so you need to create a checklist of items you need, in their order of priority. Truth is, you can't pack all you want, only take what you essentially need.

Pack in advance

Procrastination often gets the best part of most students so they find themselves packing a day before or even later, like a night before. Chances are, more odds are against you if you pack that way; you’ll end up forgetting items you never even thought possible. The safe period to pack is about two weeks before your departure. That way, you’ll have ample time to remember and fix in any item you may have forgotten

Pack methodologically

In life, almost everything that works has to be systematic. If it’s haphazard, its longevity or workability will certainly be at stake. Chances are, you’ll pack more non-essential items than essential ones; that is, you’ll end up doing emotional packing. So, put in mind your travel duration and work on practicality and packing light than fashion. I know you love certain items in your possession but you can pack them in storage units for it to be way-billed to you much later if you choose to fully relocate to your study country. Also, note banned items, both the ones prescribed by the flight agency you’ll be using and the ones stipulated by the country you’ll be landing. You don't want to be caught with anything considered inappropriate by your host country

Ascertain weight prescriptions

It’s always funny to see certain scenarios at embassies where travelers have to pack and offset their luggage of unwanted items, I think that gives off a sign of unpreparedness. Before your flight is due, check the stipulated luggage weight you’ll be allowed to bring. With most international flights, you’ll often be given the 1PC or 2PC acronym. 1PC means you’ll be allowed to bring only a piece of baggage weighing 23kg, or 2 PC which is 2 pieces of baggage, each weighing 23kg. Most allow hand luggage separate from these specified ones. You’ll pay extra for a little over the weight allowed, even if it’s just 1kg extra baggage; some will not even allow you to pay, you’ll just have to out-rightly offload it.

Tagging your luggage

As essential as packing your luggage is, tagging it is also important. Although there’s only a 0.001% that the airline will misplace your luggage, you’ll still have to ensure you do everything from your end to mitigate against that occurrence. There are a lot of myths around tagging your luggage as it’s an easy medium for persons who want to harm or molest you to explore. So, in being security conscious, tag your luggage by writing only your initials, although you must ensure you use the initials registered on your flight details then use only your mobile phone number and not your home number.

A number of people believe putting the contact address you’re heading to is too dangerous but really your priority should be to safeguard your luggage and ensure you write legibly. If you think your writing will not be legible enough, you may want to ask one of your relations or friends to help out.  You don’t want anyone squinting their eyes to read your details. Lastly, if you get the chance to select your bag tag, choose bright colors that can easily be singled out like Red, Green, Orange, bright blue and all (except the colour of your bag is in any of these colors already).

With these, I'm sure you're getting prepared to sort out your luggages; do well to create a mental list of items essentially important for your trip and write them in your notepad to avoid forgetting them. Don't worry about the things you can't pack! You'll be able to get some of them later on personal  request. Wishing you a good time packing!