Erasmus+ Myths We Hear Every Month, and the Honest Answers

Twelve things people in Serbia believe about Erasmus+ that are not true, and a few that unfortunately are. Written by an organisation that answers these in DMs every week.

Why we wrote this

We answer the same eight questions in Instagram DMs every month. Sometimes the same one three times in a week. So here they are in one place, with the honest answer rather than the promotional one.

Some of these myths are wrong. A couple are half true, and we will say so.

“It’s only for students”

Wrong, and it is the myth that costs the most people the most opportunities.

University exchange — a semester abroad through your faculty — is one slice of Erasmus+. Youth exchanges, training courses, volunteering, adult education and staff mobility are all separate, and none of them require you to be enrolled anywhere.

If you finished school, never started, dropped out, or graduated in 2014, you are eligible for something. See Erasmus+ Is Not Only for Students.

“You need connections to get selected”

Wrong. Uncomfortable to keep repeating, but wrong.

Selection is done by the sending organisation from the applications in front of them. What actually decides it: whether you are in the age range, whether your motivation says anything specific, whether the group needs balance, and how early you applied.

Half true version: people who have already done one project do get selected more often for the next one. Not because of favouritism — because organisers know they will show up, participate and not disappear on day three. That advantage is earned by doing the first one, and the first one is open to everybody.

“It’s a free holiday”

Wrong, and this one annoys us.

A youth exchange runs on a schedule. Sessions in the morning, activities in the afternoon, national evenings that go late, and reflection groups every day. Attendance is expected and organisations report on it. If you spend the week at the beach, the group notices and so does the organiser.

Half true version: there is free time, there is usually one free afternoon, and the town you are in is a place you would not otherwise have visited. Nobody is pretending that is not part of the appeal.

“Everything is 100% free”

Half true. Food and accommodation are covered. Travel is reimbursed up to a fixed ceiling, after the project. Most sending organisations charge a participation fee.

Realistic out-of-pocket for a week from Serbia: usually under 150 EUR, much of it your own spending money. Full breakdown in Is Erasmus+ Free?.

“You have to speak perfect English”

Wrong. This is the single biggest reason good people never apply, and it is based on nothing.

The working language is English, but almost nobody in the room is a native speaker. Sessions run on non-formal methods — flipcharts, small groups, drawing, moving around — precisely because they have to work for mixed language levels. People understand each other. They always do.

Say your real level on the form. “I understand well but I get nervous speaking” is an honest answer and it has never once been a reason we rejected somebody.

“It’s only for people from Belgrade”

Wrong. Sending organisations exist across the country and none of them care which city you are from. We are in Niš.

If anything, projects looking for geographic diversity within a country slightly favour applicants from outside the capital.

“Serbia isn’t really in Erasmus+, we just get invited sometimes”

Wrong, and outdated. Serbia is a country associated to the Programme, alongside North Macedonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Türkiye. The Commission’s own guide says associated countries “can fully take part in all the Actions.”

Serbian organisations can hold their own grants and host projects here. We do.

“You’re too old at 25”

Wrong. Youth exchanges run to 30. Training courses generally have no upper age limit at all. Adult education and staff mobility have none.

The oldest person in the room at a training course we attended was in his fifties and he was the best participant there.

“It looks bad on a CV, it’s just travel”

Wrong, though it depends entirely on how you write it.

“Erasmus+ youth exchange, Romania, 2026” on its own says little. “Facilitated two workshops for 30 participants from 5 countries on circular economy” says something. Same week, different framing. The Youthpass certificate exists to help you find that second wording.

“If I get rejected once, that’s it”

Wrong. Rejection here is mostly about group composition — how many places your country got, gender balance, age spread. It is often not about you at all.

Ask to be kept on the list. Apply to the next one. We keep a list and most organisations do.

“You have to pay someone to get in”

Wrong, and this one matters. A participation fee paid to a registered sending organisation, with a stated amount and a stated purpose, is normal. Someone asking you to pay them personally to “secure a place” is not.

Warning signs: no organisation name, no infopack, a fee with no explanation, pressure to pay before selection is confirmed. Ask for the organisation’s details and check them. Anyone legitimate will hand them over without hesitating.

“It changes your life”

Half true, and we would rather be honest about this one than sell it.

For some people it genuinely does. They come back, start volunteering, end up running things. For others it was a good week in another country with people they still text sometimes. Both are worth having. The second one is more common, and there is nothing disappointing about it.

What we can say with confidence: almost nobody regrets going.

Something we didn’t answer?

Ask. office@oev.rs, or the DMs on @oev.ngo. If it comes up three times, it ends up on this page.