Costs and financial aid

Student exchange

• As a student exchange participant you will continue paying your tuition fees at Flinders University while you're on exchange and will not have to pay tuition fees at your exchange university.

Study abroad

• Students undertaking studies at a university that does not have an exchange agreement with Flinders University will pay tuition fees directly to their host university.

Short-term program

• Tuition fees are typically included in the overall program cost of many short-term opportunities.

This varies greatly depending on your destination, the duration of your exchange and any additional travel you may undertake while overseas.

Many universities will ask you to show a proof of funds demonstrating that you have enough money to sustain yourself while on exchange. For example, if you apply to go on exchange in the USA, the host university will ask you to produce a letter from your bank which shows that you or your parents have a certain amount (generally anywhere between $4000-$10000) available for your expenses overseas.

You will need to submit a financial plan which is included in your student exchange application form. Most students budget around AU$8,000-$10,000 for a semester. You can view a sample financial budget.

Research living costs in the country you'd like to visit. Numbeo is a useful website for comparing the cost of living in different cities and countries.

Costs to consider will include:

• accommodation
• food
• additional travel costs if you plan on travelling on weekends/in study breaks etc
  
• books and stationery
• health and travel insurance
• personal expenses

Make sure that you're familiar with exchange rates when you're calculating living costs. 

You may also like to view the returned student reports from past exchange participants which detail their monthly expenses.

Student visa costs will vary based on the country they are travelling to. Students travelling to the US should note they are required to travel domestically to a US Embassy (Located in Melbourne, Sydney or Perth) to acquire a US Student Visa and will need to pay the associated costs of acquiring a US Student visa.

NOTE: Visas are not the responsibility of Flinders University.

If you're already receiving Austudy or Youth Allowance, you can still receive your payments while you're on exchange.

Once you've been accepted into the exchange program and been formally accepted by your host university, we'll provide you with a confirmation letter for Centrelink that states that:

• you are still enrolled full-time at Flinders University
• you'll be completing a full-time study load overseas
• your studies will be credited towards your home course
• we approve your overseas study.
  

You must be enrolled full-time through FLO to keep receiving Centrelink payments.