Keep Costs Low for Study Abroad

Studying abroad is a great opportunity to continue on track and earn credits, but at the same time broaden your experiences and understanding of the world around you. Depending on your industry, studying abroad can be a great way to distinguish yourself and gain meaningful professional experience. Many students who plan to study abroad can combine their class work with an internship in their field, and improve their fluency in a second (or even, third!) language.

However, many students considering studying abroad may ask themselves if it is affordable. If you are one of these students, there are some important tips that will help you keep costs low for study abroad:

Location. Location. Location. The cost of living in your study abroad destination will ultimately depend on where you study abroad.  If you are trying to keep costs low for study abroad, you’ll want to consider a destination that is more economical. Think about your related expenses that you’ll need to cover such as living costs, food, transportation, entertainment, shopping, fitness, laundry and other extracurricular activities. All of these costs will depend on your location. To compare costs, think about not only the country you decide to go to, but also the town or city you choose. If you are dying to study in the United Kingdom, perhaps London might just be too expensive – but what about Manchester or Newcastle? You can still study abroad in the country of your choice, but be sure to investigate the associated costs. Major industrialized cities tend to be much more expensive than neighboring, smaller towns. If a big city is what you want, consider living just outside the city and commuting in, or perhaps consider a big city in a less industrialized country.

Exchange Rates Matter. If you were never finance savvy, here’s your chance to give it a second shot! Exchange rates are the fluctuations of currencies compared to other currency. If you’re a US citizen, more than likely your monetary worth is in US dollars. If the U.S. dollar appreciates (or gains value) compared to your host country’s currency, your dollars can buy even more. If the U.S. dollar depreciates (or looses value) compared to your host country’s currency, you will need more dollars to buy the same amount of goods or services. Over the past year, the U.S. dollar has declined significantly against the Euro and British pound. This means that you need more US dollars to pay for the same goods/services than you would have needed before. So, if you plan to study abroad, it is important to consider this important factor into your decision making. Choose a country where the dollar remains relatively strong and/or stable.

Think Timing. Timing will also impact your wallet! Depending on your study abroad destination, there is a high and low tourist season. Prices from airfare to domestic travel typically fluctuate seasonally. Do the research and plan ahead by trying to coordinate your study abroad trip on an off season period so that prices will be low and in some cases you’ll be able to bargain for better rates. Spring, Fall, or Summer semester gives you the flexibility to choose the best timing to keep costs low for study abroad. Beware, before making arrangements be sure to find out why it’s low season. If you are studying in Costa Rica during the low season, for example, it generally corresponds with the rainy season. Make sure that you are aware of seasonal weather changes so that you are prepared! Also, in some cases, because summer semester is a shorter length of time, rates for a study abroad program are also lower.

We hope that you have found our tips on how to keep costs low for study abroad helpful. We want to hear from you, what have you done to keep costs low when you went overseas?

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Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship
Scholarship Deadline: March 1, 2012

Are you a US citizen interested in studying abroad? If you are currently enrolled in a two-year or four-year undergraduate degree then this may just be your opportunity to study abroad. Two undergraduate students are awarded this scholarships based on need twice a year to attend a non-traditional study abroad experience. If you have knocked off Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, this scholarship may just be for you!

“The Gilman Scholarship Program aims to support students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad, including but not limited to, students with high financial need, community college students, students in under-represented fields such as the sciences and engineering, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds, and students with disabilities.”

Those awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships will have program tuition, room and board, books, local transportation, insurance and international airfare covered by the scholarship. Scholarships will depend on the expense, need, and length of program however many awards are around $4,000.

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship is supported through the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000 and is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Applications will be available early January here.

Posted in International Scholarships, Study Abroad | 14 Comments »

Number of International Students in US Grows

The annual Open Doors Report, published on November 14 by the Institute of International Education, shows that the number of international students studying in the USA for the 2010/2011 academic year increased by 5%, to a total of 723,277.  This follows an increase of 3% last year, and continues the upward trend that started in 2005/2006, when enrollment numbers started to rebound after post-9/11 setbacks.

Countries of Origin

A big story this year, like last year, is Chinese student enrollment.  The number of Chinese undergraduates studying in the US increased by 43%, and overall Chinese enrollment increased by 23% to 157,558, ensuring that China was the largest sending country again this year.  Saudi Arabia also had a large percentage increase of 44%. Here are the top ten countries of origin for international students in the USA:

Taken together, the top 3 countries sending students to the US (China, India and South Korea) account for almost half of all international students in the US.

Leading Host Institutions and Fields of Study

The University of Southern California maintained its top spot as the US school hosting the most international students with a total of 8,615.  Here are the ten schools in the United States, by total international student enrollment:

International students have been consistent in the fields of study that they choose, as the top five have not changed.   Business and Management and Engineering are by far the most popular two choices for international students at US schools, followed by Physical and Life Sciences, Math and Computer Science, and Social Sciences to round out the top five.

US Students Abroad

Not only are the numbers for international students growing, but so are the numbers of US students going overseas. According to the Open Doors Report, the number of US students studying abroad increased almost 4% to 270,604. Consistent with previous year records, the most popular destinations for US study abroad students included the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France and China as reflected below:

Interestingly, while there are more students studying overseas they are going to non-traditional destinations. There was an eight percent increase for each of the following destinations: Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

For more information, please visit the 2011 Open Doors Report published by the Institute for International Education.

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Posted in International Education, Study Abroad, Study in the USA | 2 Comments »