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Hacks for having enough money for financing your semester abroad in Asia
You are a student and desperately dreaming of spending a semester in one of the many amazing countries located in Asia? The only thing that’s holding you back is the thought of not having enough money for your semester abroad? Stop it! There are several ways to get enough money available to finance the time of your life in Asia.
In this article, you will get to know some hacks that will help you to finance your semester abroad and how you can save money.
It´s could be tricky to find ways to finance your semester abroad. Make sure to fill up that jar and make a plan for how to gather enough money to support your exchange semester.
work – get yourself a job
This might seem like an easy hack, but it’s also the most successful. Get yourself a job as a working student and start earning money as soon as possible. You do not need to work full-time to save some money. You can also start with a part-time job or become a working student. Ask yourself what do you love to do in your free time? There are several platforms and pages where you can find the perfect job and in your city – finance your semester abroad easy and convenient with flexible work-shifts and a fun job! Sometimes you can also connect your hobbies with your job. Sounds fun. Right?
Typically you start planning your semester abroad one year before starting your adventure. This means that you have enough time to work, get a budget, and save some money.
Here you find job opportunities to get the money during your time as a student:
- Work in a restaurant, bar or café
- Teach other students, become a tutor (just when you are a smart ass)
- Work in a company as a working student
- Work in your university
- Work in a shop or retail store
Extra tip: once you start to work as a student, you immediately tend to spend more money because at this moment you simply have more money. Always keep your semester abroad in mind, and live as you had less money.
Read more:
SEMESTER ABROAD VS. YEAR ABROAD: WHICH WILL BENEFIT YOU THE MOST?
scholarships
This is an excellent way to get some extra money for your semester abroad. You were probably always thinking there is no way to get a scholarship because you are not good enough. You are definitely wrong about that!
Many companies and organizations are supporting international students and students that want to do a semester abroad.
There a few things that you should consider when applying for a scholarship:
- Voluntary work is always a plus (work in an animal shelter, help refugees or support kids)
- Good – excellent grades
- Engagement besides the university, as well as engagement on your university
- Working parallel to your course of studies
All of this shows that you are ambitious and open-minded. If you are doing most of the points listed above you should be confident about getting a scholarship. Also, there are many different scholarships supporting different kinds of activities abroad. Some scholarships pay you a certain amount every month. This can be an amount between 100€-500€ per month. Also, there are organizations that pay you one amount at the beginning or the end of your semester abroad. The amount can be between 500€-5000€.
Even though the amount of money that you get is like a small amount. It’s extra money, right? So go for it!
Besides a scholarship, you should also think about applying for support by the government, for example when you are from Germany you can apply for BAföG for studying abroad. Regardless, also in Germany scholarships are desired and it is even possible to combine different ones. Check out which opportunities you have there and generally what kind of support your country offers!
A little party never killed nobody. Just make sure to save your pennies for the great parties you will have abroad instead. Photo By Sarthak Navjivan
living costs
Above you could read more about opportunities for how to get more money. But it is also important to save money during your everyday life.
- As a student, you can save money by living in a shared flat with housemates. This can be a great opportunity to meet new people and save some money at the same time.
- Also, you should cook more and stop eating in restaurants so many times. There are great and easy dishes that you can make yourself at home and it saves you a lot of money. Eating out is always much more expensive because you tend to spend more money when you are eating out.
- Spend less money on parties, entrance fees, and alcohol. It is easy to avoid! Just think about the great parties that you can have while studying abroad. Stop spending so much money on beers and drinks in bars and clubs!
- Shopping! We all know that we spend way too much money buying clothes and cosmetics. There are many platforms where you can buy used clothes for less money and also help the environment by buying second hand.
Summary
Studying abroad doesn’t have to be a dream. There are several ways to finance your semester abroad. Just check out every possibility of earning money and saving money and you can see how easy it can be. ASIA HERE YOU COME!
Do you want to study abroad in Asia?
Asia Exchange is a Finnish company providing study abroad opportunities in Asia Pacific for students from all around the world. Want to get travel tips and new blog posts straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter! If you have any questions about studying abroad, feel free to contact us! We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
