I’m going to Spain for the whole academic year from Aug 31st- June 4th. My program fee includes tuition, room and board with a host family. They’ll provide meals and do my laundry. I have $3,000 for spending money after making flight accommodations. I know we’ll be traveling to various places in Spain for class which are included. I’ll be staying in Seville and want to go to Morocco, Italy, and France. I’m trying to think about how to budget. Does this sound like enough money? I went to school in Philadelphia in the past year and spent about $1700 in the academic year. I’m not sure how to budget it while I’ll be there, if there will be room for some flexibility or if I will have to be extremely conservative. I guess the main thing I want money for is nightlife (drinks, tapas) and various attractions. I’m hoping some will be low-cost/free and I know I’m going to have to skip out on some. I went to Spain (Barcelona, Sitges) Italy (Rome/Vatican City), and Paris. I want to visit these countries again because I only spent about 2-3 days in Spain/France and one day in Rome in each before but I’ve seen a lot of major sites already: The Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, Pantheon, Notre Dame, the Palace of Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, had a boat tour on the Seine River. If possible, I might skip Rome depending on finances because I’d like to see other parts of Italy like Venice, Naples. When I went before, I was a pure tourist. I was in Europe for two weeks and spent $500. I ate out a lot, did bike tours, mini excursions, bought souvenirs, tons of drinks, even a massage and a bike tour so I want to budget carefully because this money has to last MUCH longer. I was hoping to hear from others with experience studying abroad for guidance.
A round trip ticket on the Eurostar train to get to those cities you want to go to is about 300 American dollars. Keep in mind that the Dollar is worth less than the Euro, so you’ll want to think about your budget in terms of Euros instead of Dollars. I studied abroad in London for 10 days and brought $500 which was like 350 pounds and I blew through that money, lol but it’s because we had to eat out every day for every meal and we were going to mainly fancy resteraunts and also we were drinking a lot and you know that alcohol isn’t that cheap. Our activities, hotel and flight as well as pass for the subway were all included in the cost of the program so basically I just spent money on eating out, bars, light groceries and shopping. During the end of the trip, I had to call home for some more money to be sent over because I ran out. I think 3000 should be okay if you budget yourself and you should always arrange for a family member or someone you trust back home to be able to western union you some money if worse comes to worse and you run out.
The cost depends on the type of program that is chosen, the length of stay, the sponsoring school, etc. The other fees, which are often due prior to departure, may include costs such as airfare, meals, additional travel, etc. In order to evaluate the overall cost of the program, it will be necessary to contact the program department of the sponsoring institution to find out exactly what is included. On the other hand, you can also go with online degree programs, in which you can save your external charges. One of the best university is CBU Online and Professional Studies. You can contact them for any query related to your abroad study.
My daughter spent a year in Aix-en-Provence, the second most expensive city in France. Her program costs covered tuition, room and board (with her awesome host family) and laundry. As with most study abroad programs, lunches were not covered, so those were on her. You will have to budget for your travel expenses, but don’t skimp on those and other cultural opportunities, including museums, and yes, tapas!
You can save money by not buying too many clothes (very expensive!) and by eating and drinking in mainly student-friendly cafes and bars. You will still have delicious food and wine even if you avoid the nice places!
I agree with PrincessJas that it’s a good idea to have a family member who could bail you out if you really needed more money, assuming they could afford it. We actually monitored our daughter’s account online, and transferred more money when she needed it (she has ongoing medical expenses). But if your parents are unwilling or unable to do this, you will need to write out a budget for yourself and stick to it.
If they can help you, then set up their access to your bank account before you go. It will make transferring money much easier. We use Santander, which is a Spanish bank with many locations throughout the US and Europe.