How Much Does it Cost to Study Abroad?

byAWEB MEDIA GROUP
July 25, 2022

How Much Does it Cost to Study Abroad?- Studying abroad is the dream of so many people, and there are so many reasons for this, depending on the individual and their continent. For some people, it is simply to see the beauty of other people’s culture and ways, for some it is a gateway to working for a better life, for some it is a way to get quality education and make connections with important persons.

No matter what your reason is for planning to study abroad, cost is a very important thing you must include. Even if you are on a scholarship, make sure to calculate the cost and what amount of money you may need unless you are on a full scholarship.

If your scholarship program offers 80% off your school fees, then you would need to have your budget all set because you will spend a lot on many things. For those who are not on scholarships, the cost is even so much more.

For citizens from developed countries like the UK, Germany, and others looking to study in other developed countries, the cost may look normal but it is very different for students coming from less developed countries in Africa.

A thousand dollars cannot do so much in the United States, but it is enough to fund more than two sessions for a student in public or federal universities of developing countries in Africa. This is why you must meticulously outline and calculate how much it costs to study abroad.

In order to do this, there are so many factors and variables, so it may be difficult for this article to give you exact values. However, this article will help you to determine your own cost instead of using average values online.

Cost of Studying Abroad

In order to accurately determine how much it costs to study abroad, you have to take all factors into consideration. The problem with the values you see online is that they are simply average costs, and depending on them will give you a lot of problems along the line, possibly stopping you from going abroad to study.

You must also plan and make everything as fast as possible, because some of the documents you procure will expire if you are still in Nigeria by then, causing you to spend more money before you leave your country.

Here are some of the factors to consider when calculating the cost of studying abroad. We will start with the cost for students who are not on scholarship.

Tuition Fees
Travel Costs
Books and miscellaneous
Passport and Visa fees

These are the four main factors constituting the cost of your study abroad. The tuition fees occupy a large part, so we will be calculating what you need for a session.

Tuition Fees

This is where you must personalize and start calculating yourself. Remember that you must have applied and gained admission before you can accurately calculate your fees. If you are studying a four-year course and the tuition fee for a session is $10,000, convert it to your country’s currency using the black market rate, since it may fluctuate over time.

Remember that the tuition fee must be taken directly from information gotten from the school management. If you are not sure of the fees, send an email to your school’s helpdesk and explain your condition.

The school’s reply should direct you to someone else or give you detailed information of what it would cost you to study in their school, for a session. Check if the budget includes a hostel or you would have to live outside.

If you will be living in a hostel provided by the school and the fees were included in the tuition costs, then it is a very good option. Remove accommodation costs from your budget. However, most schools abroad are not like that, and you will choose where to live.

Where you live also determines how much you spend on food, supplies, clothing and other stuff you will use. If you are going to study in China, the best place to stay is the city or town where your university is located.

In China, the universities are located in places called student cities and food, transportation and other things cost less there. If you have the choice of your location it is best to consider the towns closest to your school where student stuff cost less.

Your tuition fee depends entirely on the institution you are attending and your course of study, so we will place the average at $15,000 for a session.

Travel Costs

Apart from tuition, getting out of your country is one thing that costs you a lot when trying to study abroad. Flights cost so much for average citizens such that in developing countries, more than 80% of the country’s population have never been on a flight. A large 50% have not seen airplanes up close.

If you have boarded a plane before, it probably was not to abroad, so the cost and experience will be different. Depending on the country you are traveling to, there may be stopovers and you will have to fend for yourself throughout the journey, depending on the class of your ticket.

As you are looking to minimize costs, we will assume that you are traveling using the cheapest plane class, the economy class.

If you are traveling from West Africa to the United Kingdom r United States, it would cost an average of $1200 dollars. This varies significantly depending on your country, so check the flight rates before including this in your budget. For traveling from cities like Lagos to the UK, it costs about $620.

If you are traveling to the United States from Lagos, it costs about $1850. Calculate how much it costs to travel to the airport in your destination from your country and add it to your budget. Do not forget to add miscellaneous costs to pay for taxi fares, meals and other things that you may need before the flight.

Books and miscellaneous

For students who are studying medicine, one of the problems that you have to face is the cost and amount of books you purchase. In first year alone, you may need to buy more than five textbooks which will cost you so much.

In some colleges you will buy as much as thirteen books in one year. This does not include notebooks and other study materials, so you may want to ask your school to help with the list of textbooks you need in your first year and their cost.

Throughout medical school, you will buy so many textbooks that amount to a lot more than a thousand dollars in the end. If it is possible, purchase some of the required textbooks before leaving your country only if they are less costly.

One tip is to check if the books are actually useful for you before purchasing them. Because a lot of other students have the book does not mean you must have it too. Check through the book at the library before making a purchase. This may help you reduce cost a bit. After calculating how much it costs to get your books and study materials, include it to your budget.

Passport and Visa fees

Getting out of your country fast will help you save a lot of cost to study abroad. In most African countries, corrupt officials often drain the hell out of students who are trying to study abroad. Getting your passport and visa should not cost so much naturally, but some of the officials take bribes and prolong it, inflating the cost.

It costs about $200 to get your passport done for the United States. Countries like China and Korea cost way less than that. To get the exact information, check the embassy website on google. However, getting your visa stamped and all may take a bit of time and energy. Include the cost in your budget when you arrive at an average. That should be all you need to get you started for studying abroad. Make sure to include bus fees, food and others to complete your cost. After doing all of this, you should know how much it costs to study abroad for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are frequently asked questions and answers on “How much does it cost to study abroad?”

Excluding other costs, students should save up to $12,000 for a session’s worth of study abroad. This is an average cost that varies significantly with your course of study and the country you wish to study in.

No. You cannot study abroad for free. There are countries that offer scholarships for international students, but these are not full scholarships. To get a full scholarship, international students must be funded by their own country.

Conclusion

Exactly how much does it cost to study abroad? This question cannot be answered for you. The average values you will get online are likely to not come close to your actual value. Use the information above to determine how much it will cost to study abroad for you. If this post was helpful, kindly leave a comment.