Raising Capital for College

I wanted to talk about how international students can raise capital and how they can afford studying in the United States. There are many ways of doing this. Being from Sweden is probably one of the most fortunate situations thanks to the availability of cheap lending and favorable payment plans. However, other students also have options available to them.

The most obvious one is to find a financial institute, a bank, or sponsor to pay for the applicable education. In Sweden, people may use CSN, which is a government institution for students that provide cheap loans and generous payment plans. With institutions like these, anyone can study abroad.

However, many times, loans are not enough because of expensive living conditions that include rent, food, and school supplies. My suggestion is to be patient. I worked for three years while living with my parents to save money. This prepared me significantly for any possible financial dilemmas. It is important that people set up a budget and calculate approximately how much they will spend every month or semester. Based on these calculations, they can get an understanding of how much they will need.

I set up a spreadsheet where I insert my daily expenses. It gives me a great overview of how much I can spend, how much I have saved, and my average expenses. It helps me to determine my financial situation, which helps me regulate my spending.

International students are not allowed to work in the United States. However, students are allowed to work on campus for the school. I quickly looked for opportunities like these and I have been hired as a Blogger for Berkeley College for more than two years now.

Another suggestion is to find ways to reduce costs. By sharing apartment with someone, people can drastically reduce their monthly expenses. Imagine paying $1,000 a month for an apartment. By sharing, a person can reduce his or her rent to $500. That is $6,000 in savings annually. It can be hard to find someone to share an apartment with before arriving to the United States. However, a person can find something temporary first, expensive or not, and try to find something after arriving.

People should contact the school and ask for housing and cost saving methods. Berkeley College is more than happy to assist people with this. The school is on Facebook and many other places where students can contact each other to share ideas and contact information. In addition, do not forget to apply for scholarships at Berkeley College and from outsiders if possible. This can save people more than $1,000 per quarter.

Apart from finding personal sponsors such as family, friends, and other acquaintances, people could set up a business serving their country of residency. For example, people can write articles for travel magazines and blogs, sell pictures, or start a small import-export company. Just make sure what you are doing is legal and you may be on your way to success.