Study Abroad Tips from Kiplinger
Kiplinger.com is a website that offers personal finance advice and business forecasting. The site published a great article titled Smart Ways to Study Abroad, and it features a list of personal tips and advice about preparing for a study abroad trip.
Here are some of the best pieces of information:
- More colleges are making studying abroad a realistic option for students by increasing financial aid and offering more affordable summer and semester sessions.
- Goucher College, located in Baltimore, became the first U.S. institution to require that incoming undergraduates spend at least three weeks studying abroad. Each student receives a voucher of $1,200 for travel expenses.
- If you want to integrate a study abroad trip into your major program, make sure you start planning during your freshman year and that you talk to a study abroad advisor.
- Find out if your study abroad program charges at-home tuition or has you pay a sponsoring group or foreign fee.
- Always factor in fees for books, transportation, student travel insurance, student health insurance and more.
- It’s usually cheaper to buy a round-trip ticket than two one-way tickets.
- Be aware of conversion fees and exchange rates when you use your credit card abroad or debit card abroad.
- It’s less expensive to buy an international calling card abroad than to use your cell phone abroad.
- Use the internet while abroad to stay in touch with family and friends. You can pay per minute for Web access in internet cafes, or download free software like Skype to call people from your computer.
This is useful article because it touches on all aspects of studying abroad, from preparing for your trip to staying in contact with people while you are in a host country.
