How to Raise Money for Your High School Study Abroad Experience

With the advent of social media and the rise of online business, the opportunities for people to find careers around the world have increased dramatically. Foreign language classes are commonly available to children as young as elementary school age, and it is not uncommon for high school students to want to spend up to a year as a study abroad student. The choices facing young people today are amazingly diverse and exciting.

Transitions Abroad is both a print magazine and an online portal that provides detailed information on topics related to studying, living and working abroad. In their surveys of American exchange students, the following traits have been reported in significant percentages:

• Greater self-confidence
• greater maturity
• Lasting impact on worldview
• Greater interest in academic study.
• Later educational experiences influenced
• Reinforced commitment to the study of foreign languages
• It helped foster a better understanding of cultural values ​​and biases.
• Influenced in the desire to seek a greater diversity of friends.
• Continue to influence interactions with people from different cultures.
• Acquired skill sets that influenced career path.
• It ignited an interest in a career direction followed after the experience.

With these types of life-changing properties, it’s no wonder so many young people want to spend time studying in a foreign country. However, such experience can be very expensive, and financial aid can be difficult to find. This presents a problem for many would-be adventurers.

Is it really into you?

However, before venturing too far down this path, the student must be sure that they are ready to fully commit to this process. A two- to three-week program abroad can cost up to $6,000 in itself, so the student must realize that this is serious business. It will take a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice to make this opportunity possible.

It is also important for a student to decide what type of program will best serve their interests. While study programs are of great value, perhaps a volunteer work program is more appropriate. Or perhaps a church-oriented missionary program would be attractive. Not everything has to be academically based. In fact, if you choose a non-academic type of program, you may be able to find alternative means of funding. Therefore, do extensive research on not only where you want to go, but also what you want to achieve. It could help you focus your efforts.

Step 1- Personal commitment or “dig in your own pockets”

I think there are some preliminary steps that need to be done early in this process that will reveal how serious the student is about making sacrifices for this adventure. If any of these suggestions discouraged the student, I would question the decision to move forward.

Control spending habits

The first thing a student should do is look at their own clothing expenses. If a weekly movie, music downloads, clothing purchases and other unforeseen events are a higher priority than the study abroad trip, saving thousands of dollars will be difficult. Therefore, the student will have to create a strict budget and reduce those expenses that prevent him from reaching the goal.

sell your stuff

Second, a student would be wise to assess what items they could sell to earn money for the experience. eBay and other online auction houses are a great way to offload unused or unnecessary items and make some serious money for them.

A garage sale, held at the right time of year, can also be lucrative. You can even have your parents “donate” all the profits to your study abroad fund. Perhaps your friends and relatives would also be willing to give you their belongings to sell and keep the money for yourself.

change your things

Next, I know this may sound like an unusual suggestion, but in this age of email and cell phones, it could actually turn out to be very profitable. I think the student should start with a “red clip” project. I wrote a blog post about this on Top School Fundraisers. In essence, the student would choose an inexpensive item of their own and attempt to trade it with friends, family, co-workers, fellow students, or anyone willing to trade something of slightly higher value for it. Once the first trade is made, the student will immediately try to trade the second item for something of even greater value. And so. Eventually, once the student has traded for a significantly valuable item, he or she can sell it for cash and put it toward the trip.

I once led a class of adults who did this experiment, and one woman ended up trading in an old car that had the original chrome on it. She took the chrome off it, polished it up and sold it on eBay for $1,300! All it takes for this money-making opportunity is a cheap item to start with and the courage to ask people to trade. Who knows how far you could take this?

Blog your way to richesAnother way to generate some income is to learn how to blog for money. There are a number of websites that will tell you how to “monetize” your blog. You may not get rich doing this, but earning $50 to $60 a month is pretty easy to set up and doesn’t take a lot of hard work. Just a little creativity and attention should do the job. I’d suggest looking at websites called Problogger or Shoemoney for ideas.

Get a job

Ok, this is boring: find a job. Committing to a part-time job, if you haven’t done so before, can be an important step. It can interfere with your studies and your personal life. But, if you want this experience abroad enough, you might be willing to work a few hours a week. If you earn $7 an hour and work 15 hours a week for 36 weeks (an average school year), you could earn $3,780.

In the summer, you could even earn more. If you plan well in advance, this way you could take out a part of the total bill. You won’t do anything glamorous for $7 an hour, but remember your goal. Of course, you can’t spend any of this income. Put it in ol’s savings account.