<<< back

Coming Up with the Funds to Study Abroad

Are you asking yourself the dreaded question, 'How am I going to pay for this?'

There are several kinds of financial aid available to students who wish to study abroad, and certainly, it doesn¿t hurt to try to access funds to help you pay for your study abroad, whether that means financial aid, loans, grants, or scholarships.

Federal financial aid

Federal financial aid is in many cases available to students when they study abroad. You should visit the financial aid office at your school to find out how to access those funds. Usually, they will tell you that it is for their institution to have a consortium agreement with us, Estudiafuera. We are, of course, more than happy to help with this. We simply ask that the financial aid office send us the consortium agreement by fax +34 91 2130(or as an attachment to an e-mail, and we will gladly fill it out and send it back). The Consortium Agreement is simply a contract stating that the monies received will go towards a full time academic program at an accredited university.

Some kinds of federal financial aid that can be used towards study abroad are Federal Pell Grants and Stafford Loans. Others are the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunities Grant, and the Parent Plus Loans for Undergraduate Students. Inquire with the Federal Financial Aid Office on your campus about how to go about qualifying for this kind of aid.

If you have any trouble getting information or the university is for some reason reluctant to assist you, please let Estudiafuera know, and we will be more than happy to contact your university if they need further explanation. Understand that some universities do not allow consortium agreements to take place. If this is the case, then you may need to look into other options for aid.

You may also want to check out this web page, with more information about financial aid options for undergraduate study abroad that was assembled by NAFSA (Association for International Education): http://www.nafsa.org/students.sec/financial_aid_for_study.

In the event that federal financial aid is not available to you you might consider taking out a loan to study abroad, or perhaps applying for a scholarship.

Loans

Check out the possibilities for student loans that you can use towards your study abroad. Here is a link to more information: http://www.internationalstudentloan.com/study_abroad/undergraduate/index.php

Scholarships

Fulbright Scholarship

Find out if you are elegible for this scholarship by visiting the fulbright webpage: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/thinking_enrolledatlarge.html#enrolled

Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship

This scholarship is for studying abroad. Find out if you are elegible here:

http://www.iie.org/programs/gilman/index.html

Articles of interest about how to study abroad and financial aid:

'Study Abroad without being Rich'

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0311/study_abroad_without_being_rich.html

Federal financial aid

Loans

Scholarships

Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship

Other articles with interesting and useful information:

'Study Abroad without being Rich'