Stage 1 · Lesson 4 of 7
The full cost, not just tuition
Tuition is only one line in your budget. Add living costs for the whole programme, and or a (a fee some countries charge for their health service). Add visa and application fees, test fees and flights.
Add a deposit for housing, and a buffer for the first months before any part-time income. Together these make your . Use each university's official cost of living estimate.
Also find the figure your destination's publishes. That is the money you must show you have, and it is the minimum the authority believes a student needs. Convert everything into your home currency.
Add a margin for exchange rate moves, which have hurt many students mid-degree. This number feeds directly into the funding stage.
Common trapbudgeting with tuition and rent only, then discovering the visa itself requires showing far more money than you planned.
A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 2 cheat sheet entries come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it
Resources for this stage
Start with
- GuideFreeEducationUSA
US Department of State
Free official advising on US degrees, costs and funding, online and in advising centres worldwide
Keep handy
Also worth your time
- Sefism 1:1 MentorshipGo deeper
Talk your decision through with someone who has made it, before money is committed