Finding Funding for Study Abroad

You’re going to take the plunge- move outside of your comfort zone and participate in a study abroad program. You’re anxious about funding this amazing endeavor, but you are determined to make it work. Where do you start? As a study abroad advisor, I work with students on the daily who want, more than anything, to participate in a study abroad experience. But they feel overwhelmed. Where do you start? The following are tips for finding funding opportunities:

1.      Start the search early: This is one of the most important tips. Often times students think they should apply for a study abroad program, wait to be approved or admitted and then begin the scholarship search- this is a very common misconception. Do not wait to look for scholarships. Begin your scholarship hunt at the same time that you begin to look into or apply for your chosen study abroad program. The Institute of International Education  (IIE) is a great resource to help you get on track for finding scholarships. I also recommend asking your study abroad office what scholarship resources are available to you. Go Abroad is another resources that offers funding opportunities for students. Lastly, if your study abroad experience is related to your academic endeavors, speak with a professor or the director of your academic department about potential funding opportunities.  

2.      Stay organized: If you have more than 2 scholarship you hope to apply for, you may be feeling overwhelmed with various scholarship deadlines on top of your academic deadlines. Stay focused and organized by mapping out the details of each scholarship in an Excel spreadsheet. Include important information including the name and description of the scholarship; eligibility requirements; preferences the scholarship may have; when the scholarship application opens; and when the application deadline closes.

3.      Research the scholarship: If you are applying to a nation-wide scholarship, you’ll want to explore their website to get a feel for what the committee is looking for. Often times major scholarships will have a list of eligibility applicant preferences. Get to know what the committee is looking for.

4.      Draft well in advance: Every scholarship I have ever worked with requires an essay. If you want your application to be taken seriously, you will likely need to create multiple drafts to express yourself just right. Remember that unless a scholarship requires an interview process, your statement of purpose (SOP) is your one shot to make a positive and lasting impression.

5.      Get feedback: You should work with the campus resources available to you. Does your campus offer a Writing Center? Does your study abroad office provide study abroad scholarship essay feedback? Be sure to find out what resources are at your disposal and use them to your fullest. If you don’t have any useful resources available to you through our school, at least have 1-2 friends or family members read over your essay for content and grammar.

6.      Submit your application early: Do not wait until the last minute to submit your application. Servers get jammed, internet connections get lost, things happen. To avoid unexpected challenges you should prepare to submit your essay at least 1 day in advance. I’ve had students in the past complain that they went to submit a study abroad scholarship essay an hour before it was due, but the application system shut down and they were unable to submit. Though some scholarships are flexible, large, nationally distinguished scholarships may not be. Avoid the stress and disappoint and plan to submit your application well in advance.

So I Want to Study Abroad... Now What?

You’ve chatted with your friend, your older sister, your neighbor, your cousin and your mom’s friend’s son. They’ve all gone abroad. They’ve returned home more cultured, excited about life, eager to continue traveling, and overall more interesting. You know that you too want to study abroad but just aren’t sure where exactly to get started. Here are a few tips for how to get underway with the process:

1. Figure out what your school offers: Are you at a community college, small liberal arts school, private university or large public university? Wherever you are, you likely have some study abroad options available to you, though those options will vary. At a community college or small liberal arts college, you may have limited options. Not interested in what is available to you? Check with third-party program providers (*Note: It may or may not be easy to work with a third-party program provider, depending on the institution you are affiliated with. Be sure to speak with an advisor to find out more information).
2. Do your research: If you’re at a large public university, you likely have an overwhelming number of study abroad options available to you. How do you navigate this? Do a bit of research. What region of the world interests you? Do you want to learn a foreign language? Do you want to live in a big city, suburb or rural area? Do you want to move abroad for an extended period of time or a summer? Figure out what works for you personally, academically and financially.
3. Work with your advisors: I recommend that you meet with a study abroad advisor to learn more about the program(s) that interest you. Ask about the duration of the program, cost, housing and meal options, transportation, in country cost of living, classes and available scholarships you can apply. I also advise that you ask if there is a past participant that you may contact. You should also meet with an academic advisor to see how study abroad can fit with your academic schedule and progress, and a financial aid advisor to see how your loans, scholarships and grants may apply towards your study abroad program.
4. Apply for scholarships: Many students wait to be accepted into a study abroad program before applying for study abroad scholarships- DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE! I’ve had numerous students crying in my office because they missed the deadline for scholarships and they are not sure how to fund the program they already put a down payment on. You should look for scholarships (and sometimes apply for scholarships) as you apply for your study abroad program. I know this may seem a little backwards, but some scholarships only have once or twice a year deadlines. This is especially common for the large National Distinguished Scholarships such as the Boren Awards and the Gilman International Scholarship . It is also important to have a plan B. Scholarships are never a guarantee. Though I always encourage students to apply for as many scholarships as possible, you need to be sure to have a solid funding plan.

At the end of the day, this experience is yours. Be sure to take ownership of it. It’s your time, energy and (possibly) money after all. Set goals for yourself during and after the application process. I understand that as a student, the last thing you want to do is put in additional hours researching yet one more thing, but this isn’t your History 101 class, this is your chance to make your international experience dreams come true! The research should be fun. Check out blogs, travel magazines and websites that interest you so that you don’t feel like you’re adding an additional class to your already overloaded schedule.

Who Am I, What Do I Want and Where Do I Want to Be?

The first time I left North America, I headed for rural Thailand. Not having graduated high school more than two weeks prior, I was absolutely green to life outside my high school, seaside-town bubble. I thought I was prepared enough, just knowing that I’d be stepping far outside my comfort zone and comforts of local and regional cultural understanding, but I was damn wrong. I got off my fantastic Thai Airways flight and headed into the humidity and chaos of Bangkok, not knowing more than one word in Thai. This is how I began my first study abroad experience.

Have you ever considered living abroad? Where would you go? When and for how long? What does your ideal experience look like? Perhaps you’ve gone abroad and you’re thinking, “That was amazing, but what can I do with those experiences now?” Or maybe you’re a seasoned traveler and/or a professional in international education looking for the next step. This blog aims to inspire students, travelers, and international educators. Topics of this blog will span a wide breadth including: how to get started with study abroad/living abroad; how to finance an abroad experience; how to utilize an abroad experience in your career endeavors; and more specific information on my personal experiences as a traveler, ex-ex-pat, and as an international educator.

Just having graduated from high school, I had only a vague idea of who I was and who I wanted to be. I knew I wanted to travel and learn from diverse groups of people. I knew I wanted to better myself through learning other ways of doing, eating, learning, and watching, but I didn’t know what that meant. That six-week, short-term study abroad experience rocked my world more than any prior life experience. I was one of four known, token foreigners in the small town of Prachinburi. My wonderful host family was patient with me as I continuously made cultural blunders (bowing too low; not bowing low enough; not wearing the appropriate attire; not using the right pitch to communicate in the very limited Thai I picked up, just to name a few). Through a necessity to acclimate quickly and through error after error, I became more resourceful, capable, outgoing and a bit less judgmental. Though some of this growth happened after the conclusion of my program, self-reflection provided me a space to continuously grow through this international experience. I began to figure out who I was, what I wanted and where I wanted to be in my life.