@HRSMom That’s still not low enough for @katliamom to say, “But if you want to go to Europe - and then not be able to afford to travel, eat out or hang out in bars and cafes with your friends - then go to Europe. Just don’t be surprised when you find yourself feeling poor!”, nor is any income low enough to warrant that kind of reaction from an adult. Judging from her replies, she was just frustrated that I didn’t immediately accept her advice.
Moving past that kerfuffle, I’ve gone to Asia with my family before and our income is around the number that you listed (probably less at the time we went), but we still had money for extras. I know that different countries have different levels of costliness, but I feel like people perceive a ~50k income as way less than it actually is. Anyway, I’m going primarily for my education, and whatever I see along the way, I see along the way.
Also, I think this thread derailed a little because I was initially wondering if low-income students were denied from study abroad programs. I wasn’t really asking if I’d have enough money for amenities. Regardless, thank you for your advice.
They are definitely not excluded! I think if you have a bit saved from working summers, Europe may be fine. (It is incredibly expensive, but you can adjust:)
It depends very much on how your college handles financial aid and going abroad. Do you pay the same thing whether you are at the college or abroad? Does the program cover airfare, room, board? Might you college help with incidental expenses if you are on financial aid? Etc. Some colleges really go all out to ensure that their poorest students can study abroad, some do less.
Add it to the list of things to look into as you research colleges. Most college web sites explain the study abroad/financial aid situation. If they do not, ask.
My daughter is on semester abroad right now. She did the one through her school and it is actually cheaper for her than paying tuition and living on campus. She did get an extra $1000 from their study abroad program (thank you Dick Cheney!)
Her school has 3 options for study abroad. 1) the school’s program to London. All financial aid is the same as if you are going to school on campus, and you just pay the program (school processed spring FA early, so we could pay program on time). You do have all your outside expenses to pay, like passport, visa (if you are going to work in the UK), travel. 2) exchange programs that school has agreements with. Your FA is available (including school merit awards) but the tuition is set by the hosting school. Some are quite high. Again, all expenses are yours. 3) arrange your own program. The school will work with you but can’t guarantee FA can be used and you’ll have to do all the footwork yourself. This can be very cheap, but more hassle. You also have all the choices in the world, so can go to any country you want and can afford.
There are a number of programs in choice #2, but you can’t just say you want to go to Turkey and have a program available. I looked at a few and the Australian schools were very expensive. Italy too.
Daughter did #1 because she is low income and it is the cheapest and easiest. She’s had a ton of things to do in London, went to Paris last weekend, but has not traveled around Europe (and north Africa) as my niece did when she did her semester in Aix France. Why? Money. Daughter has spent about $2000 (above tuition, air fare, room and breakfasts), which had to pay for books, food, entrance fees, coffee coffee and more coffee. She has a bus ticket and a student ID that covers a lot of costs. She has a class that takes her to a lot of museums and historic sites. Her freshman roommate went on the program last year and went to 8 countries; she had more money to spend.
When you are looking at colleges, see what programs they have that can save you money and what program will cost you more than your FA will cover.
Another option my daughter has is to go on a summer program through our state university (not her home school). For example, there is a 6 week language immersion program to France this summer. Pretty inexpensive, but Europe is more expensive in the summer and more crowded. She wouldn’t have a lot of travel time as the classes are compressed for the shorter program. She’s be able to use the state aid program for reduced tuition, but her other FA is used up for the year.
^ why for a CS major in particular @mommdc ? Presumably a co-op or internship would earn money and provide work experience for anyone, but unless one attends a co-op school neither one is typically available during the school year nor does either one earn course credit as study abroad programs generally do. Study abroad doesn’t replace work, it replaces a semester of class.
CS majors can fulfill their course requirements abroad, major courses, gen eds, electives…all depends on the program selected and the major requirements at the home college.
I meant if money is tight, then working or an internship might be better than taking classes abroad? CS majors can make good money during coops/internships.
True, but they still need 8 semesters of school, generally speaking. College policies regarding study abroad and financial aid determine the ease with which they might they do that at their home institution or abroad for any given semester. In some cases the semester abroad is cheaper than, or the same as, the ones done at home…it just depends.
I agree internships are an important piece of the puzzle and can be a good opportunity to earn money, but IME are generally most available in summer, except co-ops I suppose.
Haha, I felt “poor as heck” when I studied abroad - but that’s because I budgeted my money really well - and made it last a year for me. Once or twice I over-spent and I was totally broke for a week or so, but I had plenty of food stashed at home, so it all worked out!
If you are thinking about Spain, have a look at this page. I think you might find it interesting.
Housing costs and living costs in Spain are less than all other countries in Western Europe except for Portugal. It’s a great country with more to it than meets the eye and I found studying abroad in Spain to be a greater learning experience than I ever imagined. (But I also put in a hard year’s work and lots of study to gain what I learned.)
If you go to Madrid or Barcelona, it will be more expensive than if you went to Alicante, Salamanca, Malaga, or Granada (or other smaller cities like Oviedo or Leon.)
My family didn´t have the resources for me to study abroad - but I did research and found the types of programs you will see on studyabroadinspain.com - the low cost of those programs really eased the financial burden on me - and actually made it possible for me to study abroad.
Australia used to have an $18000 financial proof requirement on landing. It Is an incredibly expensive country for anyone but not exactly an experience abroad IMO. Everyone feels poor in Australia LOL. .
Some requirements may be beyond the control of the student’s family or school. When applying for his student visa my son had to send a screenshot of his bank balance to the host government, to show that he had personal access to over $10K USD, even though all of his expenses would be covered by his school and his program. We assume this would be to provide for emergencies, or so as not to be a potential drain on their economy. Check what visa requirements might apply to your chosen country.
At my daughter’s school, your financial aid goes with you when you study abroad, so it is no more expensive than staying on your own campus. We just made our normal payments, and these covered the flights, tuition, and payments to her host family. She also got a stipend for meals not provided by her host family.
My daughter also had to get a bank officer to write a letter to show that SHE - not her parents- had assets of at least $6000 to get a visa for Denmark. She also had to travel to NYC to get her visa in person. There can be an awful lot of additional expenses when studying abroad. If you are low income you will have to do more research because there is a great variability in costs. My daughter is in Copenhagen through her college’s program and while her tuition is the same, Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities to live in in the world. So housing, food, etc. are a lot more expensive.
@Naperthrill Here is another study abroad scholarship
http://fundforeducationabroad.org/about-fea/
The Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) was established as a 501(c)(3) organization in 2010 to address the need for an independent study abroad scholarship provider. FEA is expanding access to study abroad by raising awareness of its benefits to the individual and value to the collective, and by granting scholarships of up to $10,000.
Applicants from groups underrepresented in study abroad and those destined for non-traditional locations are given preference, in an effort to make the demographics of U.S. undergraduates studying abroad reflect the rich diversity of the U.S. population.
http://fundforeducationabroad.org/applicants/
PREFERENCES
Academically rigorous and immersive study abroad program
Study of the host country language (if not English)
Student demonstrates financial need
FEA strongly encourages students to apply who represent a group that is traditionally underrepresented in education abroad. Those groups include, but are not limited to:
Minority students
First-generation college students
Community college students
My son studies CS at the University of Denver. He gets lots of financial aid, because we’re relatively low-income (not quite as low as you, but he does get a small Pell grant). The study abroad options at DU are great. He spent a semester in Scotland; like you, that was far enough out of his comfort zone for him. He’s never been much for foreign language (unless it’s a programming language!).
At DU, if you are studying abroad, you pay the same amount you would pay if you were on campus, and your financial aid is available. Also, if you have a good GPA, they will even pay your airfare and application fees. He had to show $3000 in a bank account when he arrived, but I just transferred some from my account to his, to beef it up a bit, then he gave it back later. He worked the summer before to earn money to pay for his food and extras so he had that money when he left.
He couldn’t take CS or math courses in Glasgow, because in Scotland those are all full-year courses, but he took some other things that count for his minor and gen eds. It was a great experience and I’d say, go for it! Also maybe consider DU if you want to do CS and study abroad, they really go the extra mile to help any students who want to go abroad for a semester or a year. And they have a beautiful new engineering/CS building and some great programs. For a while they were meeting full (CSS Profile) need for all engineering and CS students, not sure if they still are, but it’s worth a try.
