Unless you have recently won the lottery, or inherited an offshore bank account from some long forgotten uncle, a major obstacle to a semester abroad is funding.When you begin to look at the figures it can be disheartening. You need thousands of dollars on top of what you already need for a normal semester.

Money for housing, food, travel, study visas and all kinds of other things need to be accounted for before you get on the plane.

Something that I never fully grasped before I left was that I support myself by working when I am in Tennessee, but I wouldn’t be able to do that in Argentina.

I don’t get paid much, but I really could have used a bit more spending money.

The good news is that money is available from many different places.

I ended up with scholarships from ETSU’s Honor College and a Gilman grant.

The Honors College is located on campus in Yoakley Hall.

They were very helpful in assisting my search for a study abroad program that worked for me. Anyone interested in studying abroad at ETSU should start there.

Kelly Hill is the study abroad adviser and she helped me every step of the way. She helped me fill out forms and all of that, but she also helped me find money and put in many hours of work trying to secure credits and other things for me.

The Gilman Scholarship is federally funded and requires that the student do a project to increase interest in study abroad programs and the availability of funds. These projects could be as simple as handing out fliers to giving presentations in high schools.

I wrote a series of articles for the school paper, the East Tennessean.

This way I will at least have money for tacos at El Charolais when I get back into town. That is a win-win.

With the two scholarships that I got, studying abroad didn’t cost me anything more than what I would have spent in the U.S.

The plane ticket was ridiculous, but I got help from my local parish. The thing that set me back the most was not being able to work.

The money is intimidating, but the study abroad experience is very much worth it. I would recommend it to almost any student.

Just see your study abroad adviser and know that money is available.

Unless you have recently won the lottery, or inherited an offshore bank account from some long forgotten uncle, a major obstacle to a semester abroad is funding.

When you begin to look at the figures it can be disheartening. You need thousands of dollars on top of what you already need for a normal semester.

Money for housing, food, travel, study visas and all kinds of other things need to be accounted for before you get on the plane.

Something that I never fully grasped before I left was that I support myself by working when I am in Tennessee, but I wouldn’t be able to do that in Argentina.

I don’t get paid much, but I really could have used a bit more spending money.

The good news is that money is available from many different places.

I ended up with scholarships from ETSU’s Honor College and a Gilman grant.

The Honors College is located on campus in Yoakley Hall.

They were very helpful in assisting my search for a study abroad program that worked for me. Anyone interested in studying abroad at ETSU should start there.

Kelly Hill is the study abroad adviser and she helped me every step of the way. She helped me fill out forms and all of that, but she also helped me find money and put in many hours of work trying to secure credits and other things for me.

The Gilman Scholarship is federally funded and requires that the student do a project to increase interest in study abroad programs and the availability of funds. These projects could be as simple as handing out fliers to giving presentations in high schools.

I wrote a series of articles for the school paper, the East Tennessean.

This way I will at least have money for tacos at El Charolais when I get back into town. That is a win-win.

With the two scholarships that I got, studying abroad didn’t cost me anything more than what I would have spent in the U.S.

The plane ticket was ridiculous, but I got help from my local parish. The thing that set me back the most was not being able to work.

The money is intimidating, but the study abroad experience is very much worth it. I would recommend it to almost any student.

Just see your study abroad adviser and know that money is available.

Author