Mentor Advice
Question
How did your child finance their trip abroad?
4 Replies from Mentors
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SandraParent of Study Abroad StudentLoyola Marymount UniversityThe tuition was the same amount and so we paid some of the amount and my daughter paid the rest with loans like we have done for her freshmen and sophomore year. Before leaving, she also had a job and saved most of her money for her expenses abroad. Whatever she couldn’t cover we helped her pay and then of course she used her credit card which we have begun to pay off.
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Starlett CraigAcademic Program DirectorClemson UniversityAs a divorced single parent with two children in college, a budget for study abroad did not exist. We were broke! My greatest concern was how to finance study abroad and then convince her that the least expensive program was the very best program. The cheapest program to achieve the same benefit was the universities’ linkage program in Mexico. Tuition was paid to the home institution courses were selected and approved by the faculty prior to departure. In this case, student loans could be kept to a minimum because the cost of the program in Mexico reflected the cost of room, board and tuition at her home institution. With that decision made, our next concern was airfare and spending money. It is hard to get financial support from other family members who comprised the resistance. Suffice it to say, my daughter traveled with two airline tickets. Fortunately for her, one leg of the journey was covered with a complimentary Delta Frequent Flier Ticket roundtrip to Houston, Texas. We purchased a second roundtrip ticket from Houston to Mexico City. In retrospect, it would have been easier to increase the student loan and provide a more comfortable entry to a new experience abroad. As far as spending money, my daughter established an account with a local bank that had the capacity to do international wire transfers. Periodically, I would go to the local bank and wire her some spending money. Of course, these days parents can just deposit directly into their child’s US account which they can access through any ATM abroad.
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LindaProgram Coordinator for Academic Collarboration for Underrepresented Enrollment in Nursing Program (ACUMEN) and Parent of Study Abroad StudentsClemson UniversityWe financed his trip in the same manner we handled his college tuition. Additional funds came from family savings.
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JuanParent of Study Abroad StudentLoyola Marymount UniversityWe helped her out as much as we could, but for the most part she took care of it herself. She took out loans, but we saw this trip as an investment rather than an expense; an investment from which she would benefit from in the long run.