Studying abroad is one of the most exciting things you can possibly do! Meeting people from different cultures, trying out new foods that leave your tongue tingling and having your breathe taken away by magical sites. All of these things are part of the perks of learning outside of your home country.
 The major problem most of us face is how to pay for it all? There are a tonne of universities charging crazy amounts of money and housing and accommodation can be an additional headache. Luckily the team here at Purple Lipstick came up with 3 tricks that can help you study abroad for cheap and in some cases for free!!! Lets get into it then :)

1. Learn a New Language!



This is a MAJOR KEY (haha!) Learning a new language is one of those things that can almost guarantee you the ability to study abroad FREE OF CHARGE! Most countries in the EU offer free tuition at their universities the only catch is that you have to speak their language. Germany is one of those countries. They recently declared that tuition will be free for both nationals and international students. A great tip would be to look for a tutor online or in person who can help you pass the language tests and feel comfortable enough learning in the language. I'd suggest you take at least a year to do this!
The Confucius Institute at the University of Zimbabwe offers Chinese lessons for affordable prices. Completing the language course makes you eligible for a number of scholarships from the Chinese government to study in China for free, as well as having your flight, accommodation and meals paid for!
If you can think of a country that speaks a foreign language, grab your laptop and google their public universities. Nine times out of ten they will offer either free or relatively cheap courses for foreign students who are willing to study in their language. Here's a link to a list of schools that you can study at absolutely free or for very cheap once you've learnt their languages http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/studying-abroad/where-can-you-study-abroad-free

2. Timing is Everything!



If you're planning to study abroad its important to start your search as early as possible! There are so many scholarships available to international students, but most times students miss the deadlines. Its important to start researching about the schools and places you want to go to at least a year in advance! If you're planning to start school say in September 2017 you should have started looking into schools already! If possible apply for early admission, this increase your chances of getting scholarship! That means you should try your best to have started applying or seriously looking at one school by November 2016, even if your results are not out yet!
Scholarship options start opening up around that time to up until maybe May of 2017 so be on the look out for those :) A great way to get in the right gear would be to follow our Wednesday Scholarshipson Facebook. We post scholarship opportunities months before they are active to make sure you're ready when the time comes to apply for them. Another way would be to join our whatsapp Wednesday scholarship mailing list. To do this just send a message to 0777498063 and ask to be added to the list :)

3. Look All Over the Place



What I mean by this is apply to a wide range of schools. If you are really smart or really good at sports don't just apply to the top schools. Make sure you have a couple of schools to choose from. This applies especially to U.S. American schools. People tend to apply to lots of Ivy League or Private schools and then not have a back up. Ivy League and private colleges are great but are usually super expensive and even if you get in the tuition fees you end up paying are usually really high.  Sate schools on the other hand are fairly cheap and as an International student you can pay as little as $6000 a year if you look at the right places. Actually here's a link for some of the cheapest schools for you to study at as international student in the U.S. http://www.bestcolleges.com/features/lowest-out-of-state-tuition/  Research each schools ranking and reviews so that you are aware of the pros and cons of studying at a cheaper university or college. For the most part there is not much of a difference.
Also check places to study around the world. Places like India, Russia and our own beloved Africa have universities that are extremely affordable to their Western counter parts. Make sure you  try to cover all your bases, like I said before look all over the place :)

*2 Bonus Tips ;)*

Just because you're so great, here are two extra tips ;)

4. Find a Job at the College you're going to!

If you have already gotten into a college or university, the minute you settle in look for opportunities to work! Sometimes colleges give you the option to sign up for a job even before you arrive...DO THIS! Being a Resident Assistant (RA) is probably the first and best thing you should try to be. Most schools give RA's free accommodation and in some cases meals. This can help cut your overall costs in half! Also look around campus for jobs or ask your professors what you need to do to get a job maybe even helping around campus! Having more money means you don't have to worry so much about you're parents taking care of your day to day needs :)

5. Get Good Grades

Once you're already at school you need to work hard and try to get the highest grades you can. There are often scholarships that are given out to students that are already enrolled and have high enough scores. Make sure you look for these scholarships and ask around to see what the requirements or application process look like. You can go to the financial aid office to ask for help, they are usually pretty friendly :) Getting an additional scholarship half way through the year would be another great way to save costs.

I hope these tips have been useful. If you have any questions leave them in the comments and I'll try to answer them as best as I can :)