Financial strain hits international students: ”Keeps me awake”

Food, rent, and course literature. Inflation and rising interest rates. Getting by on a student budget isn’t always easy, but for international students – without favorable student loans and with high tuition prices, the task can be both stressful and overwhelming.

During the last couple of years the newsfeed has been full of headlines about inflation and an  increasing cost of living. One group strongly affected by this development is students, whose student loans don’t always cover the month’s expenses. The situation is even more difficult for international students, who may have to pay up to 170 000 Swedish crowns a year in tuition. How does this group get by as students in Lund? How do they make ends meet?

Adda Smáradóttir is studying for her master’s degree in Lund, and she is also a mom. It’s a scorching late-summer day when we meet outside Ica Tuna to go shopping, and the air conditioned store is a relief to enter. Adda lives with her husband and their two-year-old daughter in a centrally located apartment, which, despite its convenient location, comes with a steep rent.

Her husband works and she gets student loans from her native Iceland for nine months of the year. Together they manage, but some months they have to get by on only one income, and they regularly take money out of their savings.

– It is quite hard, but definitely manageable if you’re smart and if you focus on what you’re spending your money on, she says.

The family follows a strict budget, in which food, rent and child related expenses swallow most of their funds. However, they also make it a priority to spend time on family activities and enjoy the occasional night out.

Adda finds herself constantly thinking about money. Since graduating with her bachelor’s degree in Iceland and having a child, her financial worries have only intensified.

– It’s been a big part of my life and something that keeps me awake for a few years now. It keeps getting bigger and bigger, she says.

Adda briskly criss-crosses the supermarket aisles, a routine she follows almost every day. She usually opts for store-brand products, knowing they offer the same quality for less, but there are certain items she refuses to compromise on.

– I never compromise on kvarg [quark], she says with a hearty laugh.

Later that same day we meet again at Kalmar nation’s Summer Pub. It’s a warm August evening and the nation’s garden is full of birdsong and international students. Joining us is Tyler Radenbaugh from the USA, a classmate of Adda’s. Before starting his master studies, he worked as a city planner in Florida for a few years, in order to finance his studies.

– I’ve been wanting to study in Europe for a couple of years, so I’ve been saving up since I graduated from my bachelor’s, he says.

Students from the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland can study for free at Lund University. For students from outside this area however, tuition for one school year costs between 125 000 and 170 000 Swedish crowns.

Tyler’s scholarship covers his tuition, but he relies on his savings for all other expenses. This makes him particularly cautious with his spending. He sticks to a strict budget and is acutely aware of the need to stay within his financial limits.

– I have to stick to that budget in order to stretch my savings, he says.

He notices a significant difference between his situation and that of his Swedish classmates. Eventually, he’ll need to take out student loans, but these loans come with interest rates several times higher than those of Swedish students. As a result, they’re far less concerned about money than Tyler is.

– That must be nice, he says while laughing, joking and being serious at the same time.

In addition, both Tyler and Adda have been affected by the high inflation during the last couple of years, with food prices rising continually. At times it has seemed as if the prices of basic goods have risen on a weekly basis. Their precarious financial situations lead to a lot of stress, and a lot of planning. Both of them are thinking at least a year ahead, to make sure they have enough money to get by.

– Now I’m thinking about the financial situation that we’re going to be in next summer. I would love to not have to plan in advance, but it’s a pressing issue, Adda says.

And since they’re continually taking money out of their savings, neither of them has much of a buffer in case something unforeseen happens.

Do you think about this lack of financial buffer often?

– I think about it when I’m in the grocery store and whenever I make any type of purchase. I think about it a lot! says Tyler.

Adda nods in agreement.

– I also think about it when I get my [loan] payments. Then I’m thinking that this is something that I’m going to have to pay back with high interest in two years, she says.

The sun is setting behind the brick wall of Kalmar nation’s courtyard. Despite the difficulties that we’re discussing, both Adda and Tyler are in a good mood, giving long answers and telling jokes in between. They both feel that Lund is a good place to study, and they enjoy the vibrant student life. In Iceland, where Adda studied previously, almost all students had part-time jobs and couldn’t participate in student life to the same degree as in Lund.

The situation is similar in the US, Tyler says, where a lot of students are forced to work long hours to cover high tuition costs and living expenses. Swedish students can afford to be more relaxed, and both Adda and Tyler have found Lund to be a calm and inviting place.

– I like that it’s quiet and not too boisterous, and I feel that the university does a good job of getting international students acclimatised to this place, says Tyler.

Maria Lindblad nods understandingly when she hears about the difficulties that the international students like Adda, Tyler and others face. She works with international marketing and recruitment at Lund University’s International Office, advertising the university to students abroad and helping them during the application process and their studies.

According to her, one of the main difficulties facing international students is adjusting to the culture of studying in Sweden. A lot of students arrive thinking that they will easily be able to get part-time jobs to finance their education, only to learn that this isn’t as simple or as common as in other countries.

– We work very actively with explaining that that isn’t something you can count on. Partly because of tough competition and also because of the language barrier, Maria Lindblad says.

The university offers a range of scholarships that international students can apply for to pay for their tuition. They also help students apply for other scholarships from Sweden and abroad that can cover both tuition and living expenses. However, these kinds of scholarships are only offered to a minority of students.

It was in 2011 that Sweden introduced tuition fees for students from outside the EEA and Switzerland. After an initial dip in applications from students outside this area, the numbers have rebounded and are today much higher than before the change was made.

Maria Lindblad believes that the possibilities for students with a weaker financial background to study in Lund are actually better today than before 2011, as the university has implemented a system of support and scholarships that didn’t exist previously.

– We do this because the students pay. This kind of support didn’t exist before, she says.

Back at Kalmar’s garden, Francesca LoVerde from the US and Julia* from Germany join the table.

Coming from another EU country, Julia doesn’t pay tuition and she feels that her transition to Lund has been smooth. One key factor has been working at the nation, where she has gotten both a whole group of friends and a lot of free food. She gestures at the people around her and smiles as she describes working here.

– Of course I would do it without, but it’s one of the best ways to save money, working here and getting food tickets, she says.

Francesca’s story however, is similar to Tyler’s. She had two jobs for several years to save up for studying in Sweden. Despite this, she doesn’t feel that the cost of studying in Sweden is high.

– It is still so much cheaper than doing a master’s in the States. That would cost twice as much, minimum, she says.

Since higher education in the US is expensive, Francesca has always worked part-time to finance her studies. And while she feels that the cost of education is more reasonable in Sweden, it can still be frustrating when Swedish students forget that their classmates pay huge sums every year for their courses.

– When they say that it’s hard I think: yeah it really is, she says laughingly.

Francesca shares expenses with her partner and she has a scholarship that covers a part of her tuition. The rest of her money comes from her savings. Both her and Julia have been helped financially by their parents, but in different ways. While Julia gets a monthly allowance to cover her living expenses, Francesca’s parents stepped in to pay off a part of her student loans.

– When I hear that Francesca had to work for four years to come here, I feel really fortunate, Julia says.

– And I’m definitely more fortunate than other international students, Francesca replies.

Julia, who studied in the Netherlands before coming to Lund, says that it always takes a little bit of time to adjust to studying in a new country. Coming to Sweden, one of the main differences was the cost of living. Her allowance from her parents was based on German prices, but had to be adjusted after a few months since it didn’t cover food and rent in Sweden.

– It’s so expensive! she exclaims.

Francesca, on the other hand, was shocked by how cheap everything was when she arrived. She has had to cut back on spending as she transitioned from working to studying, but says that hasn’t been difficult since everything is less expensive in Sweden compared to the US.

– I think I’m living on less than half of what I did in the States, she says.

Since a couple of years back, Francesca tracks her expenses in a budget spreadsheet, originally to save money for her studies and now to keep costs down. She has noticed that a lot of her Swedish classmates have done this from an early age, and she thinks that they learn to keep track of their finances because CSN (Swedish Board of Student Finance) gives them quite a strict budget to live on. Those kinds of insights come later in the US, according to her. She started to think properly about money after she graduated with a bachelor’s degree.

Compared with the difficulties facing international students, the situation for Swedish students can seem like a walk in the park. Both Julia and Francesca feel that Swedish students are more relaxed when it comes to money, which they think is a good thing, and that they have more down time since they don’t have to work. Their feelings are similar to the sentiments expressed by Adda and Tyler earlier in the evening, when asked about Swedish students’ comparatively easy situation:

Do you think that Swedish students are spoiled?

– No, I think they’re lucky, Adda says.

Tyler nods in agreement.

– I feel that this is how it should be, he says.

*Julia’s name has been changed in order to protect her identity.

Quick economic questions

What is your favorite cheap meal to cook?

Julia: Chickpea curry.

Francesca: Meat loaf with frozen vegetables and couscous.

Adda: Risgrynsgröt (rice porridge).

Tyler: Omelette.

What do you treat yourself to?

Julia: Something from Foodora.

Francesca: Dried mango.

Adda: Sweets.

Tyler: Marabou chocolate.

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