I started saving a little over a year before my departure.
In addition to work, I applied to both internal (money offered by your school) and external (money not from your school) scholarships to cover the rest. My biggest funder was the Gilman-McCain Scholarship. I wrote a series of essays to apply and, when accepted, received $5,000.00 from the program, as well as, my status as a Gilman Scholar. I recommend Gilman to everyone who mentions study abroad -- not just because I'm sponsored by them, but also becasue the program is so helpful for allowing travel. Also, if you would like to work in law or government studies, the Gilman network provides experiences to meet and network with politicians and other high profile people. I was recently invited to the U.S. consular in Bern, Switzerland due to my affiliation with Gilman. If you find yourself applying to this in a few years, please don't hesitate to reach out (I really mean it. I would love to hear from you: [email protected]).
As beautiful and flashy as travel may seem online (and often is!), it also has its many moments of stress and hardship that is harder to find records on -- especially when solo travelling. Sometimes, travel looks like going to the opera and sipping wine on a beach. Sometimes, it looks like sleeping on buses and triple checking visa requirements in each country. Solo traveling means a lot of dinners on your own. It's honestly a lot of late nights, early mornings and dragging luggage up staircases in these old European cities. It's obsessively checking that you still have your passport, keys, boarding pass and bus tickets.
