Top 5 Ways to Fund Your International Degree
By Sara Cavalieri, founder of College Apps Abroad
It’s a little known fact, but going to college or grad school abroad doesn’t mean you need to be sitting on a small fortune to cover the costs.
Actually, you may even end up saving money for a number of reasons, including the fact that degrees are generally shorter in duration and tuition is mostly lower as well.
Ways to Fund an International College Degree
So if you’ve got your heart on an international degree, here are the top five ways you can fund it.
U.S. federal financial aid
If you’re here, you’ve probably already heard about the FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
But did you know there are hundreds of FAFSA-approved universities overseas?
By completing the application, all students are eligible to receive some form of federal funding in the form of loans or grants.
For overseas institutions, the one caveat is that only the direct loans may be used (not the grants), but as they are low interest, they can be a great way to fund your studies now and repay them later.
Government scholarships
If you have your heart set on studying in a particular country, why not look into government funding it has to offer?
Many countries that are trying to increase their international student populations offer their own scholarships, such as Wales, Scotland and the Netherlands, to name a few.
Merit-based institutional scholarships
This is one of the best ways to fund your overseas studies, as many universities are actively targeting students from a particular region or into a particular program.
Most of the time, they’re offered automatically to students with high grades and test scores, but sometimes they require a further application after you’ve submitted your application to the university.
See how Sara can help you find the right university for your budget
Need-based institutional scholarships
Outside of the U.S., need-based scholarships are rarer; however, they do exist.
The University of St Andrews in Scotland, a popular choice for American students, is one that offers need-based scholarships to international students.
Check out this self-guided module on applying to the UK
Part-time work
Lastly, one of the perks of being an international student is that most countries allow you to work part-time (usually up to 20 hours) during your degree and full-time in the study breaks.
Countries like Australia have a very high minimum wage, and many ‘casual’ jobs (no benefits) pay well above it.
It’s worth mentioning that it’s not recommended to rely on this work to pay tuition fees, but this extra pocket money is useful for day to day expenses or weekend trips.
Plus, international work experience looks great on a resume!
Overall, it may seem that doing a degree abroad would cost you an arm and a leg, but if you’re smart and do your research, you can end up saving quite a bit!
And if you don’t know where to begin or are interested in getting help throughout the whole process of applying overseas, please get in touch!
Sara Cavalieri is an independent educational consultant based in San Diego who specializes in helping students from the U.S. apply for college or grad school abroad. She has more than 10 years of experience working in international admissions for some of the world’s top universities, including The University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the University of New South Wales in Sydney.