Other than courses, you have to plan ahead your budget. How much do you want to spend and how much are you expecting to spend? How much assistance can you get from other sources and family members? Are there scholarships or bursaries you can apply for? I will tell you this right now. If there is a scholarship or bursary that you are eligible for, apply for it. It will help you a lot in the long run. Even if you have enough fund for your exchange, that extra bit of money will help you a lot. An exchange usually costs a lot of money. That's because you not only have to pay for tuition & books, but you also have to pay for your plane ticket, residence/accommodations for the whole term, food, travel expenses, entertainment, shopping fees and souvenirs. These are things that I'm sure all exchange students spend the most on. Planning out a detailed budget ahead of time will help you a lot. Different countries have different living fees and standards of living. If you are going to a country with a higher standard of living, expect to spend a lot on everything. Once you find out where you're living, calculate how much you have to spend on living fees. Most people will choose to live in residence if it's offered. I will also recommend residences at the exchange university you are going to. That's because you'll also be living with other exchanges and it will definitely be a lot more fun, adding on to your exchange experience.
Transportation is another big thing in your budget. Research on how much buses, trains, subways cost in the country you are going to. Are you planning to travel to other cities while you're on the exchange? If so, research on how much that will cost for which type of transportation. Usually I would say that train is more expensive than discounted airplanes. If there are overnight buses, that should be the cheapest option. This is the case for Japan. It is different for every country so do some research. I would recommend you to travel around while you're on the exchange. You already paid for so much to go to this different country, so why not while you're there, travel around other cities in the country? Or if you're going to Europe, travel around different countries that are nearby! I have friends who went to Europe for exchange and travel around to different countries around the area on the weekends since it's so close by and convenient. If you are going to Asia, travelling within Asia is cheaper than travelling from let's say North America to each individual country in Asia.
If you are planning to travel, then you have to add accommodations into your budget. Cause when you travel for a weekend, or a week, you'll have to stay somewhere. If you take overnight bus, you can save on one night of accommodations. I've looked into different types of accommodations for my exchange. Generally, hotels are VERY expensive. Motels and inns are still very expensive. But that depends on the country you're going to and your standard of "expensive". Since I'm on a very low budget, it is very expensive to me. But these options are generally the safer ones. There are hostels which are cheaper options. But it isn't as safe compared to the other options. You have to make sure you watch your stuff. For females, try not to travel alone. Travel with a group of friends or at least a buddy system. Do look for places that offer female only floors or female only area. Some countries may not have these type of systems but some do because it isn't that safe. So do some research ahead of time.
Next thing on your list, food. How do you budget food you may ask. This is how I did my budget for my food/meals. You can do it however way you want, but I found this way easier if you have a super tight budget like me. Firstly, I calculated how many days I would be in the country. Then how many meals I would eat a day. Since I don't eat breakfast, I only have to worry about 2 meals a day. This way I found out how many meals I would at least have to eat on the exchange. Now do some research on how much a normal meal would cost in the country you are going to. Also, are you going to cook at home/residence while you're there? Usually cooking would save some money compared to eating outside. So first I calculated how much meals usually cost. Then a more expensive mean and then a fancy meal, how much those would cost. Then I put a limit to how many fancy fancy meals I would eat, how many fancy meals I would eat, how many a bit more expensive meals I would eat in the duration of my whole exchange. For example 5 super fancy meals in my 4 months exchange, 20 a bit more expensive meals in 4 months exchange etc. I subtract these meals from the total meals I would need to eat. The rest I put them to meals at a normal price. Because I need to save money, I changed some of my normal price meals to super budget meals. These meals I would probably make instant noodles or cup noodles or buy something really cheap at the convenient store. Since these would cost less, it would save me some money for super budgeters like me. I also expect to cook some of my meals so I can lower my budget a bit. That's how I got my budget. Of course I add a little extra money in my budget for times that I may need it. Don't make your budget so tight that you won't make it. Also include snacks and drinks into your budget. When you go overseas, there are many different snacks in different countries that you won't find in your home country. So do try as often as you can!
Other than food, you have to plan out your entertainment and shopping budget. When you go on an exchange, you will probably go out and hang out with the other exchanges. Go out and have some fun. Plan out some certain things you MUST do in that city and how much that would cost. For example, you know you want to visit this certain museum and there's an admission fee, put that in your budget. If you will go karaoke with friends, how much that would cost. If you will watch some movies, how much that would cost. If you go to an amusement park, how much that would cost. Because entertainment is such a broad category, try to split it up as much as you can into little ones. Then put some spare budget into entertainment for everything else that you don't expect to do right now, but when you get there you might need to. Expect a higher budget in this area. You want to enjoy yourself while you're there too and you also want to socialize with other exchanges and local students. Shopping is also another big thing. Especially if you are a girl, expect to shop. Especially if you are in a country known for people going there just to shop such as Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and many more. Check out the usual amount of prices for the things sold in the country you are going to. Then set a max limit for the amount you will spend on each certain things. For example, I will put a limit to spending a maximum of $200 on beauty products, $200 on make up, $500 on clothes, $100 on shoes etc. Just like the entertainment category, split up your shopping into more smaller and specific categories. Remember to make reasonable limits. Don't set a limit that you can't even reach normally. And while you're there, watch your budget and limit.
On top of shopping budget, you have to set a budget for souvenirs. Unless you don't plan to get souvenirs at all (which is great). But most people will get some souvenirs for family and close friends. I would say, only bring back souvenirs for family and really close friends, and maybe some closer friends. Why? One, you may not have that much luggage space to bring it all back on top of the things you shop for yourself. Second, even if you ship them back, it will cost a lot of money. Thirdly, you may not have that much budget for all the friends you have. Firstly, I made a list of who I have to buy a souvenir for. Then beside their name I put a maximum budget for souvenir. Generally I didn't put a lot of budget per person. Unless I am giving them their birthday gift. For me, I think that a souvenir doesn't have to be very expensive. It's the thought that counts. Depending on the country, you can probably find something $3 or less per person for a souvenir. Especially if you have a long list of friends, then put less budget per person. Unless you have a lot of money for this. Remember, you also want to spend for yourself to eat and shop too.
The last thing I'm going to talk about is flight tickets. You will have to buy the flight ticket for your exchange by yourself. Once you know that you are accepted into the university for sure, then plan to buy your ticket right away. The earlier you book your flight ticket, the cheaper it is, and the more spaces they will have. You will have more options compared to booking it last minute.
So that's my blog on budgeting for an academic exchange. Remember to start early and plan ahead. This will give you a closer estimate to how much money you will need and use. If you don't have enough, see if you have other sources you can get money from such as parents, scholarships, bursaries or student loans. For my exchange, I had to use my student loans because I don't have enough money at all. You can also look into finding a part time cash job before your exchange, or sell some stuff to fundraise for your exchange, which are options that I looked into and did earn a little bit of extra money to help fund my exchange. If the budget is still too high for you and your family, then look into things that you can save money in your budget. Maybe travel less, look for cheaper accommodations, spend less on entertainment, do less shopping, put some meals into super budget meals, look for cheaper travel options etc. Remember to try to stick to your budget as best as you can while you're there so you won't end up over spending! You can always take parts of your budget money that you don't end up using and put it into other parts. For example, you don't spend up to your maximum limit for shopping budget, then you can use some of that money for more food. Try to enjoy yourself as much as you can! Because this is probably a once in a lifetime experience. You don't get to go on exchanges that many times in your university life. So don't let budget get to you too much. Still try to enjoy yourself at your own budget.
~ Kakikala ~
