Financial Aid for Study Abroad

• Grants: Money you do not have to pay back. Grants are need-based, so students qualify based on their and their family’s income.
• Subsidized Loans: Money you have to pay back. Interest does not accrue while you are in school.
• Unsubsidized Loans: Money you have to pay back. Interest does accrue while you are in school.

• Aid packages vary based on your individual financial needs. The earlier you start planning with financial aid office, the more options are available to you.
• Make sure to budget and plan in advance so that you can save any unused financial aid disbursements each quarter for your program fees. For example, if you received $2,109 per quarter in gift aid (Pell Grant and Washington College Grant) and borrowed $1,858 in loans per quarter, but your tuition only costs $1,600 per quarter, we can save $1,767 per quarter for your study abroad program fees.

Your funds will be applied to your tuition first. Any remaining aid will be sent directly to the student via their selected refund preference with BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that they are saving these funds and using it to cover fees such as program fee, airfare, meals, books, and any other costs you incur while abroad.

Financial Aid is always disbursed the first day of the quarter. Study abroad fees are due at least 2-3 months before the quarter starts. So you will need to save up your financial aid funds from previous quarters to cover the costs of study abroad fees when they are due.

• Apply for Financial Aid, ideally at least one year before you plan to travel. Complete either the FAFSA or WASFA
• Get a Budget Estimate for your program costs from the study abroad office.
  • Schedule a meeting with Financial Aid online at tinyurl.com/PayforStudyAbroad and discuss the Budget Estimate with them
    
    
    
    
• Financial aid will provide you with an Estimated Financial Aid Offer
• Share your Financial Aid Offer with the study abroad office. They will calculate any balances owed and help you understand the deadlines and make a plan for your payments.

Do:

1. Start early. Make an appointment with financial aid ASAP to discuss your options. The more time we have, the better we can plan to help you get the most out of your aid package. 12 months in advance is ideal.
2. Find out the total cost. Ask the study abroad office for a Budget Estimate to share with the financial aid office. This estimate help the financial aid office estimate your total financial need for the study abroad quarter.
3. If you have any excess financial aid, save it up each quarter leading up to your study abroad program.

Don’t:

1. Give up prematurely. Even if you think you don’t qualify for aid, still talk to financial aid. Every situation is unique, and you may be eligible for certain funding you were not aware of.