Breaking Down the Real Cost of Study Abroad in the US

Ting · September 11, 2019

According to the US Department of Education, the average cost of attending university is $16,757 for public institutions and $43,065 for private institutions. However, as an international student, there are a lot of hidden fees and other costs you have to think about when creating a budget.

Where many foreign students seem to fail is in understanding the true cost of studying abroad in the United States. That’s what we’re here for!

Keep reading to find a detailed breakdown of all of the small factors and fees you need to consider to understand how much money you’re going to need to fund your studies.

What to Know About the Cost of Studying Abroad in the US

Most universities for foreign students will formulate something they call the “cost of attendance.” This includes things such as international student tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, and the estimated costs of books and other living expenses.

However, there are other expenses that you might not think of when applying to study abroad at a US university. These expenses can include:

Application Fees
Entrance Exam Fees (TOEFL, for example)
Visa Fees
International Health and Medical Insurance
Travel to the United States
Travel within the United States
Personal Expenses
Cellphone Plans
Supplies (laptops, other tech gadgets)

You see, there is a lot more to think about than simply the cost of international student tuition, right? As an international student, you’re going to want to learn how to get creative about how you spend and save your money.

Find Creative Ways to Reduce Your Study Abroad Fees

One easy way to save money as an international student is to take college courses either in your home country or at a two-year community college in the US. Make sure these courses can transfer to your university of choice. If they do, then you’ll be able to save money on the tuition and eventually transfer to the four-year university to get your actual degree.

Aside from that, you can also begin to learn how to spend your money wisely once you’re in the United States. As a foreign student, you’ll want to sign up for a debit card that will help you avoid paying costly transaction fees.

As an international student or non-citizen, you deserve to be able to not only spend easily but also earn great rewards while doing so. The Cheese debit card can help you do this, and you don’t even need an SSN to sign up! This zero-fee debit card is packed with benefits for you, including a high-yield checking account and cashback on purchases.

But more importantly, one cannot just reap the profits. As emerging adults, learning to create a solid budget is necessary, and will show you how much you’re going to have to spend and where you can reduce your costs before entering the workplace.

How to Create a Budget for Studying Abroad

NAFSA provides international students with a great budget template that you can use to start with. However, your actual budget is going to depend a lot on where in the US you’re going to attend school and for how long you plan to attend. Simply following a template cannot keep you on track of all your spendings. Some invisible costs, such as transfer fees, overdraft fees, happen without you knowing. Especially for international students, every time when you have to pay your tuition, fees on cash withdraw, money transfers and other exchanges are usually out of your budget lists.

Instead of manually checking and tracking all these trivial expenses, there are apps that can do the job for you. As a prevailing e-wallet, Swapsy, a fully-guaranteed and user-verified peer to peer online currency exchange tool, enables you to exchange currencies and to receive the money within 1 business day.