Erasmus money matters

I was surprised by how much you were given for going abroad. As opposed to the Student Finance method of giving grants (based on household income), the European Commission (the people who fund us all going abroad) manage it in ‘bands’, of which there are three. The first band of people, who are going to the countries with the best economies would get more money than the people who fall into the third band, for instance. The distance isn’t particularly big (although the actual amount each band will receive hasn’t been decided yet, the finance manager at my University doesn’t think there’ll be a particularly wide gap.

In addition to the ‘band’ financing, there is also a cut on the amount of student fees Erasmus students are required to pay; all people who go broad only pay 15% of the fees each term that they would’ve paid otherwise – which means we all get to save a lot of money! The most important thing I took from this meeting was that it was time to get the ball rolling. Some of the necessary forms have been posted on my University’s website, so it’s time to start planning ahead, and getting myself excited. It feels good to know that the next year of my life is less uncertain.

To find out more about Erasmus, and the funding allowed, check out our British Council Study Work Create page.