Decide to go, then figure out the money: Financing study abroad

Money is never an easy thing to balance and plan for, even more so while you are in school. When first deciding to attend a short term study abroad program, money was not the first thing that crossed my mind. 

I received information from the study abroad coordinator at my university in the fall and immediately started looking through the programs, watching the videos and reading some of the blogs, like this one, about other students’ experiences and was so excited about the opportunity. Still, money had not been considered at this point. A few weeks later, after I had looked at my school and work schedules and decided that this was something I was going to do, I started to look at the costs and the financing information through the program. 

Paragliding in Austria

Yes, study abroad programs are expensive. Grad school is expensive. Traveling to a foreign country, much less six countries, not as part of a study abroad program is expensive. Paying to travel abroad and school tuition at the same time is a cost hard to imagine. 

My life philosophy on spending is first to prioritize experience over objects and then weighing the pros and cons, costs and benefits, of the expense to give more to it than just the monetary number. If you consider your spending only by the monetary value then everything in life is equal in value to your life; a water at a restaurant holds the same value as a delicious Italian gelato in the shape of a flower which holds the same value as a new car or whatever else might be your most desired object. Therefore I considered the cost versus the benefits of participating in this program, including the impact on the values in my life and career goals, in hopes that the cost could be justified. And it was. 

While the trip was long there were some very valuable experiences that came out of the program. I interacted with and built connections with other business students (something that is very difficult to do in online classes). I learned about and experienced life and business in countries, comparing them to the US and to each other. I was introduced to new possibilities of industries and job functions that I want to pursue in my future career path but had not yet been exposed to in the US. My hope for anyone who attends a non-traditional study abroad program is that you at least find value in the experience of the trip as a whole. Even if you know everything about each of the featured executive visits or have traveled to the places in the program before, there is something to learn in the experience as it is structured by a study abroad program. 

Research and number crunching

Once you have decided to go on your decided program, now it is the time to figure out the dreaded financing. If you have a strong enough desire to attend the program, you will find a way to finance it. It will work. 

My approach to financing this trip is just one of many possibilities, but it worked well. The approach I took to financing was broken into steps. First I figured out how to pay for the cost due to coordinator of program. This cost covers transportation, hotels and a few other basics. Several years ago I decided that travel and experiences were important to me, so I set up a savings account that I would put part of my paychecks and other savings into. The purpose of the account was only for travel, nothing else. While I did not imagine that this traveling seminar would be how and where I would spend that savings, it is what it was intended for. This experience met the criteria to tap into those savings. Also since I decided that I was going on this trip I have planned many of my day to day expenses now so that I feel less limited while on the trip and can live in the moment. I also applied for the scholarships, study abroad specific and otherwise, with the program, my university and third party sources. Scholarships would pay for my study abroad program fees and for tuition to receive credit for toward my graduate program requirements. Through scholarships and savings I was able to pay the first bill. 

Then I wanted to figure out the financial strategy to make the most out of the experience. When I was looking through the different programs options offered and comparing costs, locations, experiences and time, I ultimately decided to go on the three week Europe trip. By comparison, for a little bit more money I could experience another week and more countries than the two week seminar option. Also, if in my life I never have the opportunity to go on a trip like this again, I will have known that I did do a lot and see a lot on this seminar experience.

Cost of higher education

Study abroad is obviously a part of an educational institution, so tuition and other dues need to be paid even when in a different country. Up to this point in my grad school journey I had been paying for my degree with a combination of student loans, limited employer tuition reimbursement and savings. Those methods continued for the summer semester that would include study abroad and would continue for remaining semesters. As a Masters student my tuition is based on how many classes I actually enroll in each semester, which is different from the structure of most undergraduate programs. I applied for, and continue to apply for, grants and scholarships to cover tuition costs for my entire Master’s program. Grant and scholarship money creates opportunity to shuffle funds that would have been used for tuition to be expensed for the cost of the trip or spending money. While I did not want to go off track from my degree plan and take fewer classes, it was something I was willing to sacrifice to participate in the study abroad program.

Scholarships were not the determining factor of whether or not I would attend the seminar, but it would positively impact my attendance going forward and the pursuit of my education in the near future. This scholarship would allow me to focus more on the seminar and the experiences of it rather than on the money before, during and after the trip. Scholarships also lessened the impact of my decision to attend this seminar on my future educational decisions, such as whether I am financially able to take one class or two each semester in the following academic year and stay on track for my program plan.

Gondola in Venice

 My final steps were to plan for many of the other expenses of the trip, such as food, activities, souvenirs. There are two ways you can do this: set a budget for each day (and stick to it) or have a decent amount of money (in the range of $2,000 to $3,000) for the whole trip and enjoy. There were students on the trip who did the former, setting a strict daily budget of $50 a day. This approach seemed to work, but it did make the experience limiting at times if the daily allotment was already spent. I went with the latter option. I chose this option because I did not want to limit my experiences while abroad. If this happened to be the only chance in my life that I go to Europe, I wanted to make the most of it. As the saying goes “when in Rome '', even though Rome was not on the itinerary for this trip. I also knew that anytime, especially when I am traveling, it is important to stay nourished, hydrated and healthy. Skipping dinner because my spending money for the day was depleted was not an option. 

Sausage rolls in England

In the wise words of a friend who has traveled to and lived in Europe many times: “pack half, double the money.” While I still packed more than I probably should have, I tried to pack less. This gave me the option that if I wanted to buy souvenirs or need extra snacks for the long road trip day I could because I would have the space and the money. When packing you do need the attire required for each of the executive visits, but you do not need to buy an entirely new wardrobe or pack an outfit for each day. Outfits can be worn more than once, everyone else will be doing it too, and if something is really dirty then there are opportunities for you to wash them. Europe is a great place to travel because it is not a retail desert, if you forget a clothing item or run out of toothpaste halfway through, then there are places that you can go to purchase it. So start with an estimate of at least $50 per day to cover two meals, drinks (because water is not free at restaurants), souvenirs, tours and other activities. This is your absolute minimum of spending money to access during the trip then plan to add on from there.