Funding Your Study Abroad Program: 20 Strategies
Let’s talk about money.
Feeling a little uncomfortable? Perfect.
Because, as Neale Donald Walsch, once said, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
And if you plan to study abroad, you’ll need to get used to embracing a world beyond your comfort zone!
So, how much will you need to save in order to study abroad for a full semester?
Roughly $18,000 - $22,000.
This is a safe estimate to work with because it takes program costs, insurance, housing, and other inclusions into account, plus we’ve estimated all of the “extras” like airfare, meals, entertainment, local transportation, average personal expenses, and more. Of course, the exact total amount you’ll spend depends on many factors including location, lifestyle, onward travel, etc. which could be more or less than our estimate here.
If you see money as an obstacle, blocking you from having your dream semester abroad, you’re not alone. GoAbroad.com reported in 2022 that 59% of students feel the same.
But did you ever hear the saying, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way?”
With a few creative strategies up your sleeve, a positive mindset, and a heavy sprinkling of determination, you’ll find yourself in the 41% that are keeping their eyes on the goal and are confident that their finances won’t hold them back.
We’re here to show you that there is a way. Many ways, in fact.
How to Fund Your Study Abroad Program: 20 Strategies
SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS. The best place to start? Research the many scholarships and grants available, check you meet the eligibility requirements, and buckle down and apply for as many as you can. We have a few EdOdyssey scholarships (detailed further down this post), and there are many external scholarships and grants, like the Gilman Scholarship, Boren Awards, Freeman Asia, for example. Your school may also offer study abroad scholarships. Check in with your study abroad office, the main department office for your major, your honors college, and the financial aid office to find out more.
OPEN A STUDY ABROAD SAVINGS ACCOUNT. Set up an account specifically to save for study abroad, and nothing else. Having a separate account where you can squirrel away your dollars over time means that you won’t be tempted to spend this money elsewhere—and you can quickly review your savings progress in your app to stay motivated.
SAVINGS & BUDGETING APPS. Download apps that will help you be both money savvy and save more like You Need a Budget (YNAB) for budget planning and allocation of money, Mint to get a full picture of your current financial situation, or Qapital which will automatically move money aside into savings based on your goal.
CASH BACK & COUPONS. Install a browser extension like Honey, Dosh, Rakuten, Ibotta, or Coupert that automatically searches for best prices, coupons, and promo codes whenever you shop online.
LOOK AT CURRENT EXPENSES. Take a good look at where your money is currently going: Do you have any subscriptions you don’t really use? Maybe you can cut back on eating out. Rely on buses or trains, if available, more than Uber. You might even go as far as to consider whether it’s feasible to save money on living expenses by spending a semester with family instead of on campus, for example, or if you can save money on a commute by cycling or walking instead of driving.
FREELANCE. Earn some extra cash by joining the gig economy and signing up to sell your services (anything from copywriting to graphic design to video editing to fitness coaching) on UpWork or Fiverr. Do some odd jobs through TaskRabbit. Walk dogs through Rover. Consider other platforms that match up with your skills and talents.
OFFER PRIVATE LESSONS. Maybe you play the guitar, speak a second language, have some impressive skateboarding skills, or excel in math. Put these skills and hobbies to use and find some private clients who are looking for a tutor - for themselves or for their children.
BABYSIT. Love kids? Parents value reliable, fun, and knowledgeable babysitters. If that’s you, then offer up your services around the neighborhood.
SELL SOME USED STUFF ONLINE. Use Depop, Poshmark, Ebay or Facebook Marketplace to sell secondhand clothes and other items you don’t need.
SELL SOME USED STUFF IN PERSON. If you’re feeling inspired, organize an old-fashioned garage sale weekend in your neighborhood. Ask around; family and friends might even be willing to make donations to your cause and let you keep the profits.
SELL ART, CRAFTS, OR DIGITAL DOWNLOADS. Set up an Etsy shop or build a Shopify website and make some money from your creative talents whether that’s designing functional and useful digital downloads for fellow students or another audience, publishing and selling an e-book, adding embroidery to sneakers, making beeswax wraps, woodworking, upcycling, or jewelry-making.
CONSIDER FUNDRAISING. Organize a bake sale, a car wash, a talent show, an art exhibition, or a dinner where everyone brings an international dish. Ask those who attend to support you with a small donation as an entry fee, consider arranging a raffle with donations from local businesses, or offer games and charge a small amount for participation.
GIFT GIVING OPPORTUNITIES. Have a birthday coming up? Spread the word that the best gift this year would be a contribution to your study abroad fund instead of a physical present! Or you could ask for items that you would otherwise need to buy for your trip—perhaps a new suitcase, for example.
CROWDFUND. Is there a particular reason why you’d love to study abroad? If you have a great story that would inspire people to donate, sign up for GoFundMe or FundMyTravel and share the link widely.
AFFILIATE MARKETING. If you have a decent audience on social media, consider working with brands or signing up for Amazon Associates or another affiliate marketing partner to promote products in exchange for a kickback on purchases or to earn an influencer fee.
A DIRECT ASK. Go beyond digital platforms and reach out to friends, families, old and current teachers directly, sharing your excitement, describing your program, talking about studying abroad as an investment in your future, and asking for a donation. Make it easy for them to participate using Venmo or similar. Be sure to follow up with a thank you! In exchange, you can promise them regular blog updates about your experience, for example.
CONSIDER FREQUENT FLYER MILE DONATIONS. Airfare will be one of your more significant study abroad costs. Instead of asking for money, you can also consider asking for air mile donations from frequent flyer family and friends. Be sure to track flights and be flexible to maximize your savings in this area closer to your trip.
WORK. If you can, one obvious move is to get a part time job. If you’re already working, try picking up a few extra hours here and there and put those extra earnings directly into your study abroad account.
EMPLOYER OPPORTUNITIES. Occasionally you’ll find that employers (either your own or your parents’!) have scholarship programs available. Check if this opportunity exists for you and if you’re eligible to apply.
FINANCIAL AID. Many students use financial aid to help pay for their study abroad experiences. While this is funding that will need to be paid back in the end, you can also consider this as one of your options.
A few more Money tips
If looking at your final goal amount feels overwhelming, break down your numbers. Calculate how much time you have to save money and how much you’ll need to stash away each month, or week, or even per day in order to achieve your goal. As a freshman, saving $30 each day over two years until your junior year semester abroad might feel a lot more achievable.
Talk to study abroad alumni. Ask them how they saved for their trip. Also, ask them if it was worth the investment. We’re willing to bet they all say yes!
Consider location. If you decide to study abroad in Peru instead of Florence, for example, the cost of living will be cheaper which can help cut down on costs.
Fuel your fire by keeping your end goal in mind, not just in terms of money to save, but picture yourself clearly having achieved this dream. Start researching places you’d love to see in your destination of choice, restaurants you’d like to try, the history and customs you’ll want to know, even nearby places you’d like to visit on weekend trips. Create a visual—a mood board by your desk, or a Pinterest board that you add to whenever you think about it. These thoughts will keep you on track!
Gamify it! If you’re driven by competition, set yourself some challenges. For example. Keep a chart. Start small and level up the amount you can save each day. See how many days you can increase it in a row. Use an app like Qapital, Habitica, or Long Game to track your savings streak and try not to break it. Give yourself small rewards or badges for meeting certain milestones.
Talk about it. Tell people you’re going to study abroad, that you are saving money to make it happen. Vocalizing your goals can help keep you accountable. You can even start an accountability chat group with friends who are also trying to save for a big goal.
Keeping EdOdyssey Programs Affordable
Our team values education at all costs and we work tirelessly to keep our study abroad programs affordable and accessible. We do this in a few ways:
Our tuition fees are transparent and there are never any surprise fees or add-ons. You can see these numbers, along with a breakdown of anticipated personal expenses, on each location’s program page on our website.
We work in countries that we know extremely well, which means we have built longstanding relationships with local communities. This means we can give you more for your fees by keeping local costs down and that we also have access to some exciting inclusions that you wouldn’t find with another provider.
When you study abroad with us, you can choose to divide your program fee over multiple payments with autopay options to make it easier. We try to stay as flexible as possible and work with our students to create solutions based on their personal situations.
For a little extra boost while abroad (and as an EdOdyssey alum), we have an incentive built in for you to earn Amazon gift cards when you share your photos and reels with us for Instagram.
As mentioned above, we offer a selection of EdOdyssey scholarships that you can apply for in addition to other external study abroad scholarships available elsewhere.
Apply for EdOdyssey Scholarships!
You’ll find more details on our scholarships and how to apply if you visit our Scholarships page (alongside details of some external scholarships that can help you cover your costs), but here’s a quick breakdown of three of our own that might interest you:
Voyager Scholarship. If you’re studying on any of our semester programs, you can be awarded up to $1,500.
World Discovery Scholarship. For those planning to travel to one of our non-traditional locations like Peru or Japan, you can be awarded up to $2,000.
Alumni Scholarship. If you previously participated on one of our programs and plan to study abroad with us a second time (we don’t blame you!), you can be awarded up to $500.
Remembering ROI
Think of studying abroad as an investment in your future. Because that’s exactly what it is!
You’ll stand out among your peers in grad school and job applications; just 10% of undergraduate students study abroad. A survey from the QS Global Employer Survey Report shared that more than 80% of employers were actively looking for study abroad alumni. Not only will you have a leg up, but starting salaries tend to be higher too, and that’s without sharing with you all of the incredibly useful hard and soft skills that studying abroad helps you build on your journey.
We’ll leave you to ponder a few parting words from Nelson Mandela: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”