CAPA WORLD

At CAPA, we seek to foster increased student diversity and to provide all participants with the opportunity to explore, challenge and redefine their identities in distinct ways. Launched in Spring 2017, the Diversity Advocates Program (DAP) is an extension of this philosophy and provides resources for advocates to pursue diversity initiatives of their own within their global cities.

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If you're wondering how to finance your study abroad to London and live in this global city on a budget, here's a list of practical tips to get you going! Genevieve shares what worked for her from experience—from looking for scholarships to finding cost-effective strategies that work best for you.

Live in a different country. Participate in a career furthering internship in a new culture. Be able to travel to new places on the weekends. These make up the shiny side of study abroad. While parts of this image of study abroad are true, this is not the whole picture. The whole picture includes graphic depictions of the days where you have a cold and have used up a whole pack of Kleenex overnight. It includes the day when you are so tired from the week before that you can barely drag yourself from bed on Monday morning. Where you are on the tube for at least an hour and a half each day, jammed between a sweaty man and a really loud tourist group. The real picture of study abroad is not always pretty, and it definitely is not for everyone. It also includes something that most people don’t want to consider: money.

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There's no doubt that studying abroad is the experience of a lifetime, but it is also one that needs careful planning, especially as it relates to finances. Studying abroad is possible even if money is an issue for you, but you need to give yourself enough time to save and apply for grants and scholarships.

There's really no magic short cut and students tend to fund their programs through a combination of efforts, but we hope these tips will give you some guidance. 

1. GET A JOB ON OR OFF CAMPUS. There's no question that the best best way to save money is to make more than you spend, so send out your resume and ensure you have an income if you're serious about going abroad. If you're already employed, find out if it's possible to increase your hours slightly. For motivation, think of every $10 you make as another meal abroad.

"I saved a decent amount of money before I came to Dublin by working all the way up to the day before I left," said CAPA alumna Kaylen Nese. 

CAPA Sydney alumna Sierra Glasscock had been saving to study abroad since she was 16-years-old. "I had a part time job that helped with my expenses and plane ticket," she said. "I was very blessed that my parents paid for the school side of the program and my accommodation. My parents said as long as I had good grades through college, they would help pay for me to study abroad."

To fund her semester in London, Kathryn Tenney took on more than one part time job. "Ultimately, I took out loans to pay for my time abroad, but I also worked (on campus and as a babysitter) to have a decent amount of pocket money," she said. 

David Kozhuk and Jacquelyn Jones, also CAPA London alumni, shared that they too worked to raise money toward the goal of studying abroad. David spent a summer focusing on his role at an investment bank in New York and Jacquelyn secured a position a local supermarket. 

"I heard countless times that a semester abroad costs about the same as a semester at your home institution, but for me it was double," said CAPA London alumna Cassie Naes. "The first thing that helped me fund my time abroad was working a part-time job at Kohl’s. Although I was making basic minimum wage, I saved for a year and by the time I left for London I had $4,000 saved." 

Photo: CAPA Sydney alumna Sierra Glasscock

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In this post, CAPA Alumna Ellie Telander shares some of her top tips for budgeting while studying abroad in London!

There’s no doubt that London is an expensive city, but it doesn’t have to be, so don’t let that scare you! There’s plenty of ways to make London an affordable place to live. I would know–I did it! With overwhelming amounts of incredible restaurants, historical places to visit and endless things to do, it can be intimidating as to how to budget your money while living in such a bustling city. This city is worth every pound you’ll spend, and I will show you how to spend those pounds wisely. Here are some tips and tricks to use during your time in London that will have your bank account thanking you.  

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Adulting (otherwise known as growing-up) is hard. Having your own responsibilities and making your own money can be an adjustment when you’re used to living at home and being taken care of. But there’s nothing like getting that first paycheck and knowing that all of your hard word amounted to something. You, and only you, just got paid!

Now that you’ve got that paycheck, what should you do with it? All that talk of saving for retirement so young can seem like it’s too far away to care about, but is it? The truth is that it’s never too early to start saving or learning the smart way to spend your hard-earned cash.

To help you out, the experts from CAPA's very own finance department have come up with some tips to keep you on track toward financial stardom. Following these steps will put you on the right path toward saving and spending money efficiently:

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Will you represent your study abroad city as one of our official CAPA bloggers or vloggers for Spring semester 2019?

Each term, we select a team of student bloggers and vloggers to share their study abroad experiences on the CAPA World blog. Depending on your program length, each student on our team of storytellers will receive a grant of up to $500 along with up to $150 as an explorer fund to help you create awesome bi-weekly content for the CAPA World blog.  You can choose to blog or vlog, and this year, we're also opening two positions for Instagram TV vloggers in London and Florence.

Besides helping finance their adventures, previous CAPA bloggers and vloggers have loved the experience for a bunch of different reasons. Without further ado, here are 9 reasons to become a CAPA blogger or vlogger:

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In this week's post, Maisie discusses how living in a city like London has taught her about budgeting and prioritizing spending, including saving money by cooking at home, setting budgets for weekly activities, and finding budget-friendly staples such as LEON fast-casual restaurants. 

As I have mentioned, and I am sure anyone you’ve spoken to about London will tell you (even if you had just mentioned how strange the rain situation is like, “You know, the rain in London feels like a broken glass simulation that might be at Universal Studios.”), London is expensive. So expensive, that when my mother calls to tell me how much I’ve spent, I am always shocked. I have never been so conscious of how much money I spend, and yet I am fighting a losing game. My friends literally said out loud that it would be more money-conscious to eat out at “cheap” places for lunch and dinner, to just skip out on grocery shopping and cooking meals pretty much all together. Absolutely not!!!! Do not fall into this trap. I have saved so much money grocery shopping, and when I am desperate to eat out, I always go for LEON. More LEON praise to come (minus their gluten free chicken nuggets, this is a wolf in sheep’s clothing).

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Rachel Epp is an official CAPA vlogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Global Business major at Cedarville University, she is studying abroad in Shanghai this semester.

In this week's post, Rachel proves why one of the biggest study abroad myths out there – "studying abroad is too expensive" – is false, and discusses the ways in which she made study abroad work  for her financially. 

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Thanks, Rachel!

Rachel's journey continues every Tuesday so stay tuned.

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At CAPA, we seek to foster increased student diversity and to provide all participants with the opportunity to explore, challenge and redefine their identities in distinct ways. Launched in Spring 2017, The Diversity Advocates Program (DAP) is an extension of this philosophy and provides resources for advocates to pursue diversity initiatives of their own within their global cities.

Now, it’s time to announce our Fall 2018 Scholars!

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Choosing to study abroad should not be a last second decision. It’s important to thoroughly evaluate your abroad destination and ask yourself, “Why is this right for me?” Are you interested in sightseeing with a heavy workload? Or perhaps you’d like to intern abroad focusing more on career skills. Regardless of your choice, it’s vital to plan ahead.

Once you’ve collected all the dates and deadlines from your school’s study abroad office, the next step is budgeting your trip. For example, when I decided to study and intern in London, it was necessary for me to apply for multiple scholarships. London is a very expensive city and I refused to let the cost of traveling affect my future plans.

I chose to apply for three scholarships: Two $1,000 scholarships through the University of Pittsburgh’s study abroad office and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. The Gilman scholarship awards its summer recipients $2,500 and its semester recipients $5,000. The Gilman is truly a lifesaver for anyone in need of that extra cash cushion.

Thankfully for me, I was lucky enough to win one $1,000 grant and the $2,500 summer Gilman award. Believe me, it has made my travel abroad experience much less stressful and exceptionally more feasible—paying room and board and helping me travel beyond the city of London.

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