How to plan for your AIESEC exchange
if you don’t want to call home for extra money
Participating in a cross-cultural AIESEC exchange is one of the cheapest ways to discover a foreign culture, and so much more than that! Development, unique community, great customer service and an opportunity to make a difference in this world.
Read some of our exchange stories to look into the adventures ahead!
But what’s really the price of all this?
We have broken down all the expenses you need to consider before you set out on the journey!
If you have questions regarding the timeline of an application (when to start the process and what steps are needed) read our previous article!
TICKETS
The most obvious expense a traveler can have is flight / train / bus tickets. Staying within Europe, low cost airlines and international buses provide a reliable, but still cheap mode of transportation. Booking an international flight might be trickier. There are a lot of tips online on how to find the cheapest ones.
A general advice that works for all is, book in advance (around two months prior to departure, and you should be good). Don’t forget to check and follow the baggage allowance. Save yourself from extra costs, or items you need to throw out before boarding!
VISA
When traveling a bit further away, you might need a visa, which will come with a price. You will always find visa information on the AIESEC opportunity portal (below the project’s description). You are free to ask your AIESEC contacts for any help needed!
The cost of getting it the document varies on the visa’s type, duration and issuing country. These prices are normally stated on the embassy’s website.
INSURANCE AND MEDICATION
The old saying says ‘health is your most valuable asset’, and it’s absolutely correct. Healthcare and medicine is definitely NOT the part you want to cut in your budget. Besides, there are some really beneficial options, for Europe and worldwide as well. Some companies have student discounts too. Ask for AIESEC-ers’ help if needed. Do keep in mind, that the U.S. and Canada are often excluded from worldwide packages.
When it comes to medication, you may be required or advised to get certain vaccinations or take medication. A specified travel doctor will be great help, but you can get most information online as well. If you have a specific medicine you need to take, or prefer to take, make sure you stack enough for the whole trip. Otherwise, it’s not necessary to buy it here. In some countries it may even be a lot cheaper to buy local products, but follow local doctors’ advises when doing so.
AIESEC EXCHANGE FEE
Yes, AIESEC has a small fee that you need to pay whenever you are accepted on a project. You don’t have to pay until a company actually decides and obliges to hire you!
This fee covers the expenses of required documents, and all the services provided to you by your sending and receiving partners.
If you are a member of AIESEC yourself, or you’ve already been on exchange before, you will even get a discount on this – as well as during certain promotions.
These are the expenses of the journey you are about to take. Compared to a six-week vacation, it is easy to see that going on an AIESEC exchange is one of the best ways to discover other cultures!
Once you are traveling, you may be facing hidden costs as well (like exchange fees).
We can help you with that too, in this Hungarian article!
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