January 14, 2022
Erasmus is a great experience and you will return home with a lot of good memories.
It's quite an experience, but it costs a lot of money.
So we've listed the different options available to help you finance your studies, or internship, abroad!
If your exchange takes place in one of the 27 countries of the European Union (and yes, our dear England has left us), in Turkey, Iceland, Norway, Macedonia or Liechtenstein, you can potentially have access to it. But to do so, you must meet these 4 criteria:
Good to know: the Erasmus + grant is available to people wishing to do part of their studies abroad, but also to those wishing to do an internship.
A little more, it does not depend on your resources, and can be combined with :
The amount varies according to your country of destination and the duration of your exchange ( up to € 520 per month for an internship and € 370 per month for studies).
If you wish to apply for an Erasmus + grant, you should contact the international relations department of your institution, which will help you with the application process.
Attention Try to plan ahead, it takes It is necessary to count between 6, to 12 months before you before the start of your stay abroad.
You can find everything you need on the Generation Erasmus + website.
If you finally decide to study in France, you can benefit from a higher education grant with the CROUS.
This is a grant based on social criteria, intended for French students with a grant who are going to continue their education in one of the Council of Europe member countries.
Please note however, many courses are not eligible for this grant (such as artistic courses, paramedical or health and social courses, agricultural courses, distance learning courses whatever the sector chosen, language courses).
To benefit from this grant, a number of conditions must be met:
1. Conditions for studying abroad .
2. Conditions related to social criteria, you will have to justify :
It is therefore essential to provide proof of residence in the country of study, for example by means of a lease or rent receipts.
Good to know: it can be combined with international mobility aid under certain conditions.
Being a grant on social criteria, the amount depends on the applicant's family resources, and can range from €1,035 to €6,815 per year.
To apply for the Council of Europe scholarship, you need to do the following:
If you would like more information, you can find it all here.
It allows you to follow a higher education course abroad as part of an exchange programme, or to carry out an international placement.
To benefit from the AMI you must tick these 4 boxes:
Good to know: during your entire higher education course, you can receive mobility support several times. However, it may not exceed a total of 9 months.
AND it can also be combined with merit-based aid and a grant based on social criteria.
The amount of the International Mobility Grant is €400 per month for the academic year 2021-2022.
This amount is paid directly by your institution. You can ask for a monthly payment to be made before you leave.
To apply for this aid, you need to get an application form from the international relations department of your institution, fill it in and submit it to them. You must also attach a project for a study period or work placement abroad.
Subsequently, the head teacher selects the applications according to :
Attention Once again, try to plan ahead!
All information on this subject is here.
Local and regional authorities also offer scholarships to study abroad.
Grants and subsidies are specific to each region, department or municipality. We therefore advise you to contact each of them for information.
You can find a list of some of them here.
You can also find out about the various exchange organisations offering grants to foreign students:
Some exchange programmes allow you to pay only the tuition fees of your institution in France, and therefore to save money (the price of universities in the United States is very high, for example). There are two well-known exchange programmes:
Some institutions (especially universities) offer scholarships for students who wish to spend part of their course abroad.
They are often awarded on the basis of merit (i.e. your grades), or they may depend on your social standing. For more information, contact your school's international department.
Beware: as you will probably not be the only one to apply (and in case of refusal), think about doing so in advance!
Many foundations offer aid to French students wishing to study abroad.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of some of them:
If you are not eligible for any of these grants, or they are not enough, you can use a student loan. This is a consumer loan with a lower than average APR, as it is intended for students.
Don't hesitate to ask about your institution's partnerships with banks in order to benefit from a preferential rate.
And if you need advice, you can check out our guide to student loans.
Whether it's before you go abroad to save money, or once you're there, a student job is a good way to finance part of your stay.
If you want to work during your exchange, you should find out about the conditions in the country in question beforehand.
The status of au pair does not prevent you from attending school at the same time. However, you must specify in your search that you will also be attending school.
Also make sure that you will be able to work, take on the responsibilities of this status, and attend your classes.
That's it, that's it, we've done the trick!
And if you ever feel a bit lost when faced with so much information, Smarto has launched a grant simulator that allows you to find out what grants you can access, in less than 5 minutes flat!
We hope this article will be useful to you, and that you will be able to tell us your stories abroad.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask us on our community.
