Finances
You may be excited about the idea of studying abroad, but you are concerned
about money. We are often asked by students: “how much does it cost to study abroad?” Each of the Faculty-Led Programs have a certain cost that you must pay before departure. Generally this cost includes your airfare (Tennessee Tech normally helps with the airfare cost), housing, ground transportation, entrance fees to museums, etc., and international health insurance. Normally students pay half of the cost when he/she signs up, then two more partial payments paying off the balance before departure. Other costs may include food, passport, visa, vaccinations, personal expenses, and souvenirs.
In this section, we aim to provide you with some information and tools that will help you strategically plan your finances so you can concentrate on enjoying your experience abroad.
Plan Out Your Payments
You will feel more in control of your finances if you plan out when program payments and expenses are due. Your Faculty Leader will give you that information.
- Up front costs: you will need to plan for paying pre-departure expenses such as passport fees, visa fees (if applicable) and vaccinations prior to departure.
- Create a budget for your current expenses at school and see if there are expenses
you can reduce to help you save money. You can use websites like MINT to track spending.
Local expenses (e.g. a cup of coffee) will help you determine how much money you will need for food and personal expenses.
Fundraising Tips
Think about the communities you are part of and skills you might have that could generate money. A combination of strategies is usually needed, so don’t feel like you meet all your fundraising goals with a single activity.
- Explore fundraising ideas from past students
- If you have a job, put aside a portion of every paycheck
- Ask for financial contributions rather than birthday or holiday gifts
- Organize a car wash, bake sale, garage sale or party fundraiser with friends
- Ask family members or mentors to donate frequent flier miles
- Research if any community or religious groups you belong to have scholarship or donation programs
- Start a kickstarter or gofundme site
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