Euro crisis, recent ups and downs of euro-to-dollar exchange, force international students to find ways to navigate volatile cost of living crisis

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- The decreasing exchange rate from the euro to dollar has had a big influence on the financial situation of European international students at Rutgers. Especially housing cost in spring. Fees increased nearly nine percent more than the fall semester.

“In August, we paid with an exchange rate of $1.41 per euro, this time it was $1.29 per euro, “said Martin Baußenwein, a graduate student from Germany.

Undergraduate international students, who live in the international housing in Rockoff Hall, say that their rooms cost €400 or $530.

“We got lucky, when we got here,” Baußenwein thinks. While most of the international students came in August, they arrived at a time where the rate was almost close to the highest rate last year on May, 4, 2012.

The extreme up and down of the rate during the last months is connected to the financial crisis going on in Europe, as well as the state of the American economy. Deeply in debt countries such as Greece, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Spain are causing fluctuation in the exchange rate. Greece recently adopted a plan to save money and rescue the euro.

Dealing with the exchange rate is like gambling, some students say. Many check the exchange rate every day. Arnaud Hayoit, a business student from Belgium, lives off campus, therefore he does not have the huge amount of housing money to deal with.  Even if he pays attention at the rate, he cannot always get the best deal.

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