I am a student myself, and when I tell people that I am going to study abroad a main question that I always get is how am I going to afford to live abroad without a job for 5 months!
Living abroad without a job is a daunting thought I will admit, and I have about 2 more months here in the United States before I begin my journey to Italy. So here are 4 tips/ideas that I have for others in the same position as me, along with some of the things I am currently doing to help along the way.
- Scholarships & FASFA
I think that scholarships are something that a lot of students look over when completing their study abroad application. Most scholarships require a lot of writing and effort and on top of a regular students homework list scholarships just seem to fall to the bottom. Although they seem daunting, they are a great opportunity that students should take advantage of. Many programs have scholarships that are specific for study abroad students, and I advise students to inquire about these opportunities.
Local scholarships, and scholarships that were already awarded to students can also be incorporated into the tuition fees of studying abroad. You just have to make sure that a study abroad program you choose is a partnership program with your university. For example I have a local scholarship for the state of Nevada, and I am able to use the money I was awarded towards my tuition in Italy because my program is a partnership program. But you need to know how to ask the right questions, I needed to reach out to my local USAC office and inquire about how I can get this scholarship applied.
FASFA is another opportunity that can transfer over to the payment of your tuition. Your study abroad program should have a form that you can fill out for your FASFA to be honored.
- Door Dash
Door Dash is something that I had gotten so many ads about and thought it was something lazy people did, but the more I looked into it the more I realized it was such an easy gig for college students especially those that are studying abroad and only need a job for a couple months.
I signed up for Door Dash and honestly it was such an easy process. As I discussed in the beginning, I will only be in the states for 2 more months and I was having trouble finding a job where they were okay with me leaving in January and were willing to work around my school schedule.
Door Dash is such an easy way for college students to make money to save for life abroad. You can make your own schedule around your classes and studying, and you don’t have to have a car. Many students can order food from places on campus and you can walk to and from the restaurant and drop off area. If you live near a lot of food places you can also ride your bike or skateboard/scooter.
- StuDocu
StuDocu is something that I also just discovered while looking for ways to make some money. StuDocu is a website where you can upload your summaries for chapters of textbooks/novels and regular lecture notes and get paid for them!
StuDocu is something that students can do before studying abroad and while abroad. Notes that you have to take for class now have a purpose larger than an exam.
Here is the link to the website StuDocu
- Baby sitting / Dog sitting
Baby sitting and or dog sitting is another way that students can make some extra cash for when they study abroad. There are a couple of websites that can link you to parents looking for babysitters and pet owners looking for a pet sitter.
I currently dog/house/babysit whenever I am available. I can do my homework while I am there and even get ahead on other assignments.
Keep up with my other content on twitter and leave a comment about other tips you have for students that will be studying abroad!
Also take a look at this budget travel blog for students abroad! She has quite a lot of handy tips that I never even thought of!
Alexie Johnston 
Leave a comment