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My time studying abroad was the best 10 weeks of my life. Cliche but true. I was with great people, I budgeted my money, and I enjoyed the heck out of exploring London. But the once-in-a-lifetime experience didn’t come cheap.
My trip ended up costing about $15,000 for 10 weeks of foreign education, which is almost as much as it cost me to pay for a full year of tuition at a public university.
I was hemorrhaging money, even though I did well sticking to my daily budget. Here’s about how much it cost me to study abroad in college for a summer, broken down by significant spending categories.
Tuition and housing
Study-abroad programs sometimes lump together tuition and housing costs, as mine did. I had to live in a specific unit with my classmates. We boarded in Kensington, one of the most expensive parts of London.
The upfront cost of tuition and housing was $9,650 in total. I paid that and the funds were deducted from my college savings.
I was able to shave off $1,000 by applying for a program-specific scholarship. These are typically uncompetitive, and your chances of winning one are high: I only had to beat out a grand total of one other student to earn that $1,000.
Plane ticket
Ticket prices typically peak during summer. I paid about $820 for a round-trip ticket from LAX to Heathrow Airport. Price-wise, location matters. It’s also worth noting that those tickets would have been dramatically cheaper in winter.
I recommend booking tickets as early as possible to save on flight fees. And don’t forget about summer price inflation.
Food
Food cost me about $150 per week, an estimated total of $1,500. About $360 of that went to groceries. I tried to eat at home whenever possible, preventing costs from spiraling out of control. Even so, I had to revise my budget to account for overspending.
Tracking how much I spent was difficult. I relied on pen and paper, a slow and tedious process. I recommend taking advantage of modern technology to make your life easier (see below for some tips).
Miscellaneous
In a big city like London, entertainment costs sneak up on you. Pubs, theaters, books, transport, and a train trip to Northern England cost additional dollars, adding thousands to my study abroad expenses. I won’t pretend I dutifully kept track of those — I didn’t.
Let’s round up and say I paid about $2,000, or $200 per week, in miscellaneous expenses. Then add $1,000 on top of that because it’s easy to underestimate costs. (Better safe than sorry.) That’s $3,000 in miscellaneous travel expenses, on top of the necessities.
Was it worth it?
Absolutely. Despite going over budget, I have no regrets (alright, fine, maybe I could’ve drank at the pubs a bit less). Spreading jam over fresh baked bread at the banks of the Round Pond, reading Shakespeare and teasing friends, was incredibly fun. However, I can think of several things that might’ve made the trip cheaper and more convenient.
I could have used a budgeting app to track my expenses automatically. It would have necessitated less receipt-collecting on my part. I had an entire binder of receipts by the trip’s end, and I often lost track of them entirely.
I could’ve picked up a credit card that was widely accepted abroad. I used Discover, but many shops turned me away because they only took Mastercard or Visa. I didn’t realize my mistake until it was too late. I frequently had to search for nearby ATMs to withdraw cash.
Consider tossing together a quick-and-dirty budget with whoever is in charge of your college expenses. I spent half an hour to an hour with my mom, outlining how much money she would need to transfer to me from my college checking account. It was helpful, and I’d recommend it.
Studying abroad can be a top-tier experience, made better by quick trip planning. Some of the biggest things to consider are (1) where you are studying and (2) for how long. Apply to program-specific scholarships to shave down costs. And remember, when in doubt, round up!
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