Funding Study Abroad
Why do you think you can’t afford to study abroad? This is no longer an excuse and should not be the only reason stopping you from studying abroad.
Let me fix this for you really quickly and be nice and frank. You absolutely can study abroad no matter what. Nowadays, study abroad is very much a part of our culture and university experiences and there are great ways you can fund your study abroad experience.
Another way to look at it – if you need gen eds, classes for your major, etc., you are going to be paying for these at your home university anyway, you may as well just do it elsewhere for a little. It is worth taking out more loans to go, I can absolutely guarantee this.
Here are some hacks on how to fund your study abroad experience.
Government Funding
You may not know this, but often FAFSA and other government loans will cover your study abroad costs. Work with your University Study Abroad Office to apply government loans toward your study abroad.
Private Loans
Sallie Mae and some of the other common private loans are now beginning to offer loans for study abroad students. Check out to see if your program qualifies for this.
Languages
Often, many majors require languages as general education. The easiest way to find scholarships and grants for your travel studies is to learn a language. Common languages have less scholarships, however, you may be able to secure scholarships through your language departments at your college. Each Language study abroad has their own requirements, so make sure to do some research before applying to these scholarships.
Less commonly taught languages can often be fully funded by grants or scholarships (FLAS/FulBright/Boren).
Scholarships
Study Abroad Offices will often award scholarships through the office. Departments are always a good way to start looking as well.
If you are adventurous, take a look at this site to see 65 scholarships for studying abroad. Google some of these scholarships and see if you are eligible.
Less Common Locations
Many uncommon study abroad places will likely have huge funding opportunities. For example, when I worked at the Study Abroad Office at my University, there was a donor willing to give full rides for all students traveling to South Korea – this averaged to about 3 students a year. See if your Study Abroad Office knows of any of these opportunities
Donations
Sign up for a GoFundMe account, do a car wash, ask family to donate money for every A you receive the semester before, write a blog abroad and get sponsored, etc. Get creative, there are many ways you can have people donate to y
STA Travel
You can often find cheaper flights to your location with this websites like STA travel geared toward students.
Budgeting
Begin to save as soon as you decide you will be studying abroad. There are odd jobs that you can pick up and set some money aside so that you can fully enjoy your time abroad.
