Cheapest Summer Abroad

Applying to College
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<p>What's the cheapest one where i can get university credit, and study abroad in europ (more favourably to france, italy, or spain) </p>

<p>preferably not for 2010 (im hopefully going to McGill university this summer) but for 2011. Better to plan ahead... contrary to my username hahah... </p>

<p>if there's anything I learned from college apps this year, is to NEVER procrastinate... I learned my lesson the hard way. sad. but now i know. :D</p>

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<p>One way to go cheaper is to look for places where tuition is free (check out Scandinavian countries, like Finland) AND there are no programs or partner programs from your current college. Otherwise you would usually have to pay your home college tuition for the semester to go (and sometimes some costs on top of that). You still need to pay airfare and living costs (which are not cheap in that part of the world). University of Helsinki is an example. Spain, France, and Italy aren’t going to be in this group, though, because there are many study abroad programs there.</p>

<p>The downsides:

  • You usually need to get permission from your college to do this, since they don’t get much, if any $$ from you for the semester or year. Some colleges do collect a fee to support you a bit for a one-off program ($1000-$1500/year is typical). You usually need a good academic reason for them to approve this, too.
  • You will need to make your own arrangements with the University. So a country where you either speak the language, or English is commonly spoken (again, the Scandinavian countries meet this criteria) is a good idea. There is complexity with housing, visas, student fees, etc.</p>
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<p>I mostly agree with intparent, but the flip side of having to do something like what is mentioned at the end is that you might actually gain something from the study abroad process.</p>

<p>I know people who studied abroad often love to go on about how they ‘lived’ in country X, but if you don’t find your own place and your home university sorts all these things out for you, then it’s really just an extended vacation (assuming that, as is common, American study abroaders do almost no studying).</p>

<p>There is some truth to the claim that American study abroaders usually hang around in packs of Americans, and don’t engage with anything local. Personally, I think they’d be better off spending their money on a real vacation, since what they’re doing is just an overpriced vacation through their college.</p>

<p>By sorting it all out yourself, you can get away from this (horrible, true) stereotype – that Americans on study abroad are only in it for American drinking buddies, and maybe a collection of photos with other Americans (and maybe one token local who is banging one of the Americans) at various scenic locations. And you might save a lot of money!</p>

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<p>Find out about exchange programs at your university. With exchange programs, you pay the same tuition etc. that you pay at your home university. You’d obviously have to pay more for traveling etc, but it all depends on where you want to go. I just came back from a semester at the University of Manchester and I had THE greatest time. Flights are often ridiculously cheap as well. I went to Florence for $7. Dublin for $14. The list goes on and on. I’m not even kidding about the prices.</p>

<p>And when you’re in another country, the locals probably won’t want to travel around the same way you will. After all, they’re from around there. There’s a reason Americans often hang out with other Americans (or other international students in general) when they study abroad
you have company for traveling!</p>

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<p>Oh did you? With which airline? And that includes the fees?</p>

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<p>That’s part of the reason, sure – another part is that the Americans all tend to get put in the ‘international’ dorm/ghetto.</p>

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<p>Ryanair. The fees were an additional ten pounds or something. Regardless, it was still a ridiculously cheap flight. So 5 pounds each way plus 10 pounds fees. So 20 pounds to go and come back.</p>

<p>I don’t know about where you were, but at Manchester the Americans lived with other Manchester students, regardless of where they were from. My flat had 5 other Brits and 1 Chinese exchange student.</p>

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<p>One thing about enrolling directly in a university as I mentioned up in post #2 is that housing can be a big headache. My D is currently looking for furnished housing in Helsinki for the fall term, and it isn’t easy to find. If she were on a true exchange program, they have furnished housing. But as a “visiting” student, she is on her own. She can probably get an unfurnished room in a shared apartment with other students, but who wants to deal with buying and getting rid of furniture for a 4 month stay? We have a friend in Helsinki who is helping, so I have confidence that she won’t be sleeping on a park bench. But you do get something for paying for an exchange program
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<p>^^</p>

<p>Sure but isn’t it supposed to be about stepping out of your comfort zone?</p>

<p>Anyone who hasn’t arranged their own housing/utilities hasn’t ‘lived’ somewhere in my view.</p>

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<p>Ha. Outside the comfort zone is an understatement at the moment. Trying to arrange housing from thousands of miles away, in a foreign language in another country where contracts/legal leases are different from her home country, in a foreign currency in a country where she does not yet have a bank account. Where the university gives no standing in student housing at all to a visiting student. 8,000 students descend on the city of Helsinki at the beginning of the fall term. Many are looking for housing (and furniture). The city is notoriously short on housing, this is a chronic point of contention between students, the University, and the city government. Add in that she is only staying for one term, and most available apartments are for the full school year. And that the university doesn’t give out “student numbers” until they arrive in the city, and some of the housing option databases are only accessible once you have that number. And she is on her own to figure out whether each possible housing option is really reasonably located and priced. And getting potential landlords to take a chance on working with someone who has to get a deposit to them from overseas when they have tons of locals lining up for their housing is proving to be tough, too.</p>

<p>On another point, I disagree that just because someone hasn’t arranged their own housing and utilities doesn’t mean they haven’t lived there. Peace Corp volunteers, for example, usually have those arranged. But they certainly have “lived there” by the time they are done. It doesn’t take much once you are in a city to get those things arranged, I don’t think it is much of a measure of “living” someplace. Having “lived” somewhere has a lot more to do with whether you interacted a lot with local people, ate local foods, learned the language, etc. Not who arranged your housing and utilities.</p>

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<p>I have done exactly this! Great learning experience, gave me much more confidence. I used the local equivalent of craigslist.</p>

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<p>Keepittoyourself, if this is so easy, wanna help? She has gotten linked up with message boards, is checking Craigslist, had enlisted the help of her former host family from her summer there and also a family friend who lives there. She has contacted the Unversity housing organization several times, and asked her program advisor for help. She and I have both put out word to all of our social and business networking site contacts to see if anyone has a friend or relative that might help. She posted an ad on a housing site for students; however, I am reluctant to let her post on Craigslist as a young woman looking for housing, I think that is inviting trouble because it is a completely public forum. That is about all I can think to do
 So if you have any friends in Helsinki, PM me :)</p>

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<p>Let her do it herself. The whole point of study abroad is that you get outside your comfort zone, and we’re talking Finland here, not exactly the wild west.</p>

<p>I’d say the best thing to do is to find temporary housing for a week or 2 when she arrives, while she looks for an apartment. When she gets there she can browse newspaper listings.</p>

<p>Oh, and I didn’t say it was easy.</p>

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<p>What worked even a year ago won’t necessarily work now. Studying abroad has increased in popularity immensely. It’s unfortunate that the universities overseas don’t do a little more for housing. Probably because it’s too difficult. And a guy has much more freedom to crash wherever. And what’s with Finland? I’ve seen study abroad for that location pop up alot lately. It’s no wonder there’s a housing shortage.</p>

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<p>D leaned Finnish at Concordia Language Villages, then went to Finland for a summer thought a US Senate-Finland exchange program. So she has some language and culture background, and wanted to spend a semester there. Keepittoyourself, women do need to be more careful about their safety than men, even in Finland. As a parent, I am not going to let her go without a previously arranged place to live. And I am going to keep an eye on her arrangements, to make sure she does not get fleeced by someone offering an apartment that really doesn’t exist or something (it IS my money paying for that portion of her expenses).</p>

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<p>^ Obviously if it’s your money and your daughter you can do what you want. But bear in mind we’re talking about an adult woman who speaks the language of the country, going to a major university city. I think you’re worrying too much, but it is of course your choice.</p>

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<p>I am pretty sure from your posts that you are young, male, and have no children. There are a lot of horror stories about housing for students in Helsinki, and it is a large point of friction between students and the city. I would prefer that my daughter not sleep on a park bench, as some students have ended up doing, with winter coming on in Finland. She is doing most of the leg work on this apartment search, although I have extended requests for help through my large network of professional and personal contacts as well to cast as wide a net as possible.</p>

<p>No worries about her being wrapped in “cotton wool” or anything like that. She is mature, responsible, an excellent student (all As), and adventurous enough to petition her college to go to a country will no support from her college any US program for study abroad. You are criticizing where you are not very knowledgable. Now if you have any concrete suggestions for how to look for housing that she hasn’t thought of, that would be welcome.</p>

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<p>Young 
 sort of (closer to 30 than 20)
Male 
 nope
No kids 
 that’s right</p>

<p>Your daughter will be fine.</p>

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<p>Of course she will. Because she is not going if she does not have a place to live.</p>

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<p>One of the best ways to save money on study abroad is finding scholarships or financial aid. It varies depending on the program but a little research can help you find ways to fund your trip. Here’s a short article that may help you start the process: [Abroad101:</a> Welcome Abroad: Which Study Abroad Scholarship is Right for You?](<a href=“http://■■■■■■/bTCCs6]Abroad101:”>http://■■■■■■/bTCCs6)</p>

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