Budući da još čekam odgovor za stipendiju, ne želim planirati skupo putovanje prije rujna.

Budući da means since, given that, or because. It introduces the reason for the main clause.

So the structure is:

• Budući da još čekam odgovor za stipendiju = Since I am still waiting for an answer about the scholarship
• ne želim planirati skupo putovanje prije rujna = I don’t want to plan an expensive trip before September

It is correct and fairly formal or neutral in style. In everyday speech, people also often use:

• jer = because
• pošto = since / because

So this sentence could also begin with Jer još čekam... or Pošto još čekam..., though budući da sounds a bit more written or polished.

Croatian uses the present tense for actions that are happening now or are still in progress.

• čekam = I am waiting / I wait

Here it means I am still waiting, so the action is ongoing. This is very natural in Croatian.

The word još helps show that the waiting has not finished yet.

Here još means still.

• još čekam = I am still waiting

It shows that the expected answer has not arrived yet.

Be careful, because još can also mean more or another in other contexts:

• još kave = more coffee
• još jedan dan = one more day

But in this sentence, the meaning is clearly still.

Stipendiju is the accusative singular form of stipendija.

That happens because it follows the preposition za, and za often takes the accusative.

• stipendija = nominative
• stipendiju = accusative

So:

• za stipendiju = for the scholarship / regarding the scholarship

A learner should notice that many Croatian prepositions control a specific case, and za commonly requires the accusative.

Odgovor za stipendiju means something like an answer about the scholarship or a response regarding the scholarship.

In context, it probably means the decision or reply connected to the scholarship application.

This is understandable, but Croatian speakers might also say things like:

• odgovor o stipendiji = an answer about the scholarship
• odgovor u vezi sa stipendijom = an answer regarding the scholarship
• odgovor na prijavu za stipendiju = a response to the scholarship application

So za stipendiju is understandable in context, but depending on the exact meaning, other phrasings may sound more precise.

In Croatian, the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• čekam = I wait / I am waiting
• želim = I want

The ending -am or -im tells you it is I.

So Croatian often drops ja unless the speaker wants emphasis or contrast:

• Ja još čekam odgovor = I am still waiting for the answer
  This sounds more emphatic, like I am still waiting, maybe unlike someone else.

In your sentence, leaving out ja is the normal choice.

After željeti (to want), Croatian usually uses the infinitive of another verb.

So:

• želim planirati = I want to plan
• ne želim planirati = I do not want to plan

This is very similar to English.

Structure:

• želim = finite verb, first person singular
• planirati = infinitive

You can use this pattern with many verbs:

• želim ići = I want to go
• ne mogu doći = I can’t come
• moram raditi = I have to work

In Croatian, adjectives usually come before the noun.

• skupo putovanje = an expensive trip

That is the normal order.

Croatian word order is somewhat flexible, but moving the adjective after the noun is much less neutral and often sounds marked, poetic, or stylistically unusual.

So for standard everyday Croatian:

• skupo putovanje is the natural choice.

Also note the agreement:

• skupo matches putovanje
• putovanje is neuter singular
• so the adjective must also be neuter singular

The preposition prije means before, and it requires the genitive case.

So:

• rujan = September in the dictionary form
• rujna = genitive singular

That is why the sentence says:

• prije rujna = before September

This is a very useful pattern to remember:

• prije sastanka = before the meeting
• prije škole = before school
• prije ljeta = before summer

No, they are related in time, but they do not mean the same thing.

• prije rujna = before September
• do rujna = until September / by September

In your sentence:

• ne želim planirati skupo putovanje prije rujna
  = I don’t want to plan an expensive trip before September

This means the speaker wants to wait until September comes.

But:

• ne želim planirati skupo putovanje do rujna

would suggest a different time relationship, more like I don’t want to plan it until September or by September, depending on context. So you should not automatically swap them.

The sentence has two parts:

1. Budući da još čekam odgovor za stipendiju
2. ne želim planirati skupo putovanje prije rujna

So the structure is:

• subordinate reason clause
• then main clause

Croatian word order is flexible, but this order is natural because the speaker gives the reason first, then the result or decision.

You could also reverse the order:

• Ne želim planirati skupo putovanje prije rujna, budući da još čekam odgovor za stipendiju.

That is also correct.

Yes. Croatian verbs often have aspect, usually imperfective vs. perfective.

• čekati is imperfective here, which fits an ongoing action: I am waiting
• planirati is also imperfective, which fits a general activity: to plan

That makes sense in this sentence because:

• the waiting is not finished
• the planning is being discussed as an activity in general, not as one completed act

A perfective verb would usually give a different meaning, often focusing on completion. Here the imperfective choices are the natural ones.

Yes. Some common alternatives are:

• jer = because
• pošto = since / because
• kako = sometimes since / as, but less direct in many contexts

Examples:

• Jer još čekam odgovor za stipendiju, ne želim planirati skupo putovanje prije rujna.
• Pošto još čekam odgovor za stipendiju, ne želim planirati skupo putovanje prije rujna.

The meaning stays very similar. The main difference is style:

• budući da = slightly more formal or written
• jer = very common and straightforward
• pošto = also common, often conversational

Yes, putovanje is a very common word for trip, travel, or journey, depending on context.

It is a neuter noun, which you can tell from the ending -je and from the agreeing adjective:

• skupo putovanje

Because it is neuter singular, the adjective also takes the neuter singular form skupo.

Other related words include:

• put = trip / journey / way / road depending on context
• putovati = to travel

So:

• putovanje = the trip/travel as a noun
• putovati = to travel as a verb

Yes, it is understandable and mostly natural.

The only part a learner might want to think about is odgovor za stipendiju, because depending on the exact situation, some speakers might prefer a more specific phrase such as:

• odgovor o stipendiji
• odgovor u vezi sa stipendijom
• odgovor na prijavu za stipendiju

But overall, the sentence is grammatically clear, and the rest of it is very natural Croatian.