As the value of the U.S. dollar tumbles internationally, some Stanford students planning to take advantage of Stanford’s study abroad programs have expressed concern over the fluctuating world exchange rates and increased projected costs of their time abroad.

The U.S. dollar has fallen to record lows against the euro and has weakened significantly against several other world currencies, including the Chinese yuan and British pound. In the last six months, the dollar has fallen approximately 15 percent to the euro, according to the Bloomberg currency exchange and Yahoo! Finance.

At press time, one euro was worth $1.53 dollars, and one pound was worth $1.95.

Harya Tarekegn ‘09, who studied abroad in Paris last quarter, said that though she was aware of the decreasing value of the dollar, it really did not really hit her until she landed.

“The weak dollar really affected us when we were in Paris,” Tarekegn said. “When we landed, the exchange rate was $1.40 to a euro and by the time we left it was $1.60 to a euro.”

Tarekegn said that the fluctuating rate restricted some students from taking full advantage of their time in Europe.

“Increasing exchange rates meant that by the end of the quarter, people stopped traveling as much,” Tarekegn said. “It also impacted spring break plans as a lot of people who had planned to travel around Europe during the break ended up having to cut their trips short. It just got too expensive.”

As a result of the high exchange rates, students abroad said that they had to pay extra careful attention to their budgets and spending.

“I think that people were really aware of the exchange rate when we were there,” Tarekegn said. “Every time we went out to eat, all the students would calculate the cost of their meal in dollars and decide whether or not to eat there. You just can’t justify it to yourself to have a $15 lunch everyday.”

In light of the weak dollar and high exchange rates, some students like Jessica Perez ‘10 are rethinking their overseas study plans and locations, particularly those programs in Europe.

“I got accepted to the Madrid program for next year, but now I’m thinking about going to Santiago instead,” Perez said. “It is much more expensive now to spend a quarter in Madrid. The dollar is just more valuable in Santiago.”

Despite higher exchange rates, the popularity of Bing Overseas Studies Program’s (BOSP) has steadily increased.

According to David Boyer, associate director of the BOSP, the program has not seen a drop in interest or enrollment. The number of students who will be abroad during autumn quarter 2008-09 will be 25 percent higher than this past fall. Similarly, the number of student applicants for autumn quarter 2008-09 was 16.6 percent higher than for autumn quarter 2007-08.

Director of Financial Aid Karen Cooper said that the Office of Financial Aid makes every effort to make studying abroad an affordable experience for all students regardless of the state of the U.S. economy.

“When students on aid go overseas in one of Stanford’s programs, an additional allowance is added to their budget,” Cooper said. “The allowances are specific to the center they are attending and meant to cover transportation expenses as well as standard expenses that aren’t covered by BOSP.”

“We also recognize that while students are overseas, they typically aren’t able to work so the work expectation in their regular financial aid package is reduced,” Cooper added. “The increased need is met with a combination of scholarship funds and loan eligibility.”

BOSP gives every student in a particular program the same stipend, a stipend that is kept constant regardless of currency fluctuations.

“They gave us a very generous stipend, and you could definitely get by just with that,” said Vithia An ‘10, who studied in Berlin last quarter. “When the U-Bahn [the metro, the students’ primary means of transportation] went on strike for two weeks, some students had to take taxis to the center, and the BOSP reimbursed us for that.”

Though the high exchanges rates made spending in Europe more difficult, Political Science Prof. John Ferejohn, faculty-in-residence in Paris last quarter, said studying abroad could be affordable if you prepare for it.

“It was not really a surprise to me that the dollar was losing value — that has been going on for years so I braced myself for it by not going to expensive restaurants and not buying things to bring home,” Ferejohn said. “While food is not cheap, there are lots and lots of little places that are excellent and [have] pretty low prices — even now. Paris Chinatowns — there are two big ones — are great too and very different from the ones in the U.S.”

Despite high exchange rates, students said they treasured the opportunity to study abroad.

“It was really a life changing experience for me,” An said. “I had the opportunity to truly embrace another culture, and it was not like anything I had imagined. I would do it again in a heartbeat — regardless of the exchange rate."