Study Abroad for Free in 2025—Here's How

How can I study abroad for free?

Learn the in’s and out’s of how to study abroad for free.

Taking time to learn in an impactful environment, invest in yourself, travel the world, have comically awesome and challenging adventures, and GROW like never before? Hell yeah! Studying abroad just makes sense: You’re young, you’re hungry, and you’re eager to learn (but not for that next exam, am I right?). You want to meet new people, push your comfort zone, and get #schooled in the nuances of globalization. You want your future job applications to sparkle with competitive skills like foreign languages or intercultural awareness. And what’s more, you want to understand this great big world and your place in it.

Oh, there’s just one tiny thing. Study abroad can be hella expensive. We’re talking tens of thousands of dollars for all-inclusive programs. So when you see that price tag, it’s no wonder you quickly jump to thinking “I could just eat at the Japanese restaurant down the street instead of flying all the way to Tokyo…”.

But here’s the thing: Exposure to entirely different countries is the jolt you need to give yourself more awareness about yourself, the world, and your own country. There’s nothing like being surrounded by all things unfamiliar to make you realize just how strong and resilient you are.

Study abroad is an investment, and we firmly believe the experience pays for itself ten fold. But even so, the cost to study abroad is still there, being a big ol’ hurdle, getting in the way of your plans.

Until now.

What if we told you you could find FREE study abroad opportunities? What if there were organizations out there, ones that so believe in the transformative power of travel, that they’re willing to foot the bill for your grand international escapades? Read on to learn how to do study abroad for free.

Can you actually find free study abroad programs?

So here’s the honest truth. Unless you get lucky and come across an amazing study abroad deal or discount (like the aforementioned one!), it won’t be easy to coordinate a free study abroad experience. The reality is, it costs time and energy to facilitate and create these experiences on your behalf. There are at least a dozen people collaborating to make your semester or summer abroad come to life—from your program advisor to the resident director to individuals charged with vetting the safety of destinations and vetting vendors. Housing, classes, activities, communication with your parents. It all takes work. And work needs to be compensated.

However, we totally understand that you aren’t trying to spend your entire savings to fund your study abroad program. So we’re here to share some effective strategies to make your costs less overwhelming; yes, you can design an affordable study abroad experience. Programs might range in prices and inclusions of services offered, but if you’re an expert bargain shopper and are willing to put in the work (scholarship applications, searching the web over and over, asking for help), you can definitely find low cost study abroad options. A good deal of faith in humanity will help you along the way too, because trust us—you aren’t going to find any trustworthy website with free study abroad programs for college students.

Programs to study abroad for free might as well be unicorns.

Are free study abroad programs trustworthy?

This is a tougher question to answer and explain as you do your study abroad program research. When organizations or enterprises don’t charge a fee, you might feel a red flag coming on. Is it safe? Is it legit? Is it a real, actual person talking to me? Are they just going to take my money and run?

Yet, there are two sides to every story. You shouldn’t automatically assume that a gorgeous website and quick communication is worth a $27,000 price tag (yes, some programs can cost this much!). Don’t make the mistake of thinking higher costs equates to higher quality programming or better overall experiences.

So, what are you to do, this young person trying to coordinate a study abroad experience from the comfort of home without trying to go broke for life in the process, who has stumbled upon a “Can this be real?” free study abroad program?

Be super inquisitive.

Don’t be afraid to grill potential study abroad organizations, international schools / universities / colleges, hostels, etc. about the type of experience you will have while you’re there. If possible, try to speak to past participants from that specific program directly, ideally on the phone or a Skype call. Don’t shy away from asking why they’re allowing you to come and participate in their program without paying a fee.

Use your intuition.

If something feels fishy or a bit off, don’t ignore that feeling. It’s better to forego a free experience that gives you the discomfies, even if that means paying a little extra for one that instills more confidence in you.

Trust your gut when researching programs to study abroad for free online.

Search Google, Quora, Forums, GoAbroad for reviews.

One tip is to always search “<name> + reviews” or “<name> + experiences” before pulling the trigger and saying yes to an experience that is continents away. You will likely find more off-the-cuff stories and perspectives from past participants, which can give you a more well rounded view of a company. Keep in mind the date of the discussions (a program can really clean up its act in a few years) and try hard not to assume gloom-and-doom if one participant had a bad experience. Studying abroad for free is all about rolling the dice and sometimes judging in the authenticity of the experiences of strangers.

Don’t just leave your due diligence to the web though, either. Ask friends and family if they know others who are located in these countries. Not only might this build you a physical support network while you’re abroad, but it might also give you inside information, straight from the horse’s mouth, about any given organization or company.

Ask around your network for connections abroad.

If your mom has a work colleague that used to live in Amsterdam or your friend’s uncle did the Peace Corps in Japan, they might have some current contacts in foreign places that can help set you up with a comfortable life abroad. Perhaps they know about directly enrolling in a university for a lower price tag or they’ll let you stay at theirs’ free of charge.

Ask around and make your plans known. Any connection might lead to something great—and something cheap. While this tactic could forego a formal study abroad program (which we LOVE), it is one way to accomplish your goal of taking a free study abroad trip. Who knows, you might even have a random contact who runs their own programs to study abroad for free!

On the flipside—if you’re paying for your study abroad experience, learn where that money goes.

Just picture your fabulous life abroad whenever you're feeling overwhelmed. You got this!

As we mentioned before, study abroad programs aren’t a fancy cheese. You don’t need the most expensive, aged option on the menu to have a successful overall experience. Especially when you start to look into where all that money goes when you pay for program fees.

Organizations should be happy to tell you—sometimes in vague terms, others in more concrete terms—where your money is going and why. Does it support your post-study abroad advising? Fund the staff on-the-ground facilitating the program? Contribute to overhead?

[Study Abroad Fees—How to Understand What You're Paying For]

It’s probably some combination of the above, but if you have a better understanding of where your funds are being distributed, maybe you’ll feel more motivated to achieve your free study abroad status through fundraising or scholarship applications, not by finding a “free program.”

Strategies for a free study abroad experience

Apply for study abroad scholarships

You know there are scholarships to go to college, scholarships to help you volunteer, or maybe even scholarships to help you work on campus, but did you know you can also find study abroad scholarships, too? These handy-dandy awards can cut a serious chunk of change from your overall costs. Typically, these study abroad grants range from $200 to upwards of a few thousand—and some will EVEN FUND YOUR ENTIRE EXPERIENCE (hat tip Critical Language Scholarship from the US Department of State).

Don’t just limit yourself to study abroad scholarships offered by your university or your preferred program provider, either. There are also many foreign governments and international institutions that earmark funds to attract American students to study abroad there.

[40+ Scholarships for Studying Around the World]

The trick with study abroad scholarships is that they don’t always foot the entire bill, and they can be extremely competitive. It’s important that you write the words that win and apply early on for many scholarships rather than just one or two. You might as well start rounding up the troops/your support network because we see a lot of recommendation letters in your future. Studying abroad for free is a group effort!

TFW you win free money to study abroad

Apply for study abroad loans

You can find the financial aid you need through federal, state, local, and private organizations in the form of student loans for study abroad.

While the prospect of taking out more student loans or expanding your current financial aid options may seem daunting at first, remember that the rewards of study abroad are worth any extra time and effort.

Though this isn’t always the right track for everyone, the nice thing about student loans for study abroad is that it can give you extra breathing room in your budget. Unexpected expenses and daily costs of living abroad can add up quick if you’re not careful!

[The 411 on Student Loans for Study Abroad]

Crowdsource Funds Online

Trying to crowdsource your random idea on Kickstarter might not have worked last fall (c’mon, it wasn’t that clever anyway…), but you’ll be happy to know that you can use same-same-but-different strategies to get free money for your travels. Simply create an online campaign on websites like FundMyTravel or GoFundMe, upload your images, inspire readers to click the “donate” button, and then pass your beautiful link around to family and friends.

You never know who will be moved by your study abroad goals and want to contribute to your travels. That’s why we encourage all students to 1) actually have goals and 2) align those with how you’re going to grow, change, and impact future communities because of it. People love when you paint a bigger picture.

Fundraise the Old Fashioned Way

Don't reinvent the wheel when it comes to study abroad fundraising ideas!

Corner lemonade stands work, bro.

Other ideas for study abroad fundraising include hosting a dinner or brunch (maybe with cuisine from your dream destination?!), setting up a 5k in your community, selling your old school books, donating plasma (warning: this can hurt), finding odd jobs from family and friends, and more.

Even a bake sale could be awesome!

OR you could just ask loved ones for monetary gifts during the holidays and your birthday and forego a traditional gift.

[15 More Little Known Fundraising Ideas for Study Abroad]

Find low cost study abroad programs

We are working hard to scour our comprehensive database of study abroad programs to identify which organizations provide excellent learning opportunities at cheaper prices. We’ll keep adding to this list as we create more resources, but for now, check out these round ups of low-cost-practically-free study abroad opportunities and international travel programs:

A free study abroad trip? Hard to come by, but certainly not impossible

We’re still cranking out tons of new content for study abroad students here at GoAbroad, but we have our sights set on even more information about affordable study abroad ideas—from lists of cheap study abroad programs, to comprehensive tools and questions you can ask to have confidence in doing a study abroad on your own (without getting scammed). Stay tuned for even more details on lessening your study abroad cost and maybe, just maybe, finding those elusive free study abroad opportunities.

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