So you want to study abroad but don’t know how to make it happen financially. Don’t worry, you are not alone. Financing a study abroad experience is the most common concern for students and their families. Although there are no magic answers, we will provide you some ideas and suggestions about how to make your dream of studying abroad a reality.

First and foremost, always go to your school’s study abroad office. They can give you the best information on your campus about how financial aid works with study abroad, if they have any special study abroad scholarships, and also provide suggestions for affordable programs.

When looking at study abroad programs, compare them academically, service-wise, and cost-wise. What does the program fee include? How much will it cost in total, including all the extra fees that the program might charge, along with your airline ticket and personal expenses abroad? Don’t be afraid to ask questions and demand complete cost information from the program. They have this information at hand and should be willing to give it out so you can do a complete review.

Financial Aid

Financial aid comes in a variety of forms, including federal, state, and institutional aid. Alternative loans have become more popular in recent years as the cost of higher education continually increases faster than the level of federal aid.

Under federal law, you cannot be denied access to federal aid just because you study abroad as long as your coursework and credits are pre-approved by your home institution. However, your home institution may have policies about what programs are approved for credit so it is important for you to understand those policies by talking your study abroad office.

If your aid does apply, you need to follow the instructions given you by both your study abroad and financial aid offices to ensure your continued eligibility and timely disbursement of that aid. In some cases, students will increase their eligibility by studying abroad if their program is more expensive than studying on campus. Financial aid covers all reasonable costs associated with your study abroad, including transportation and living expenses.

Scholarships

Many study abroad providers offer scholarships to students who study on their programs. Make sure to get all the information you can from the provider, including average award amount, qualifications for applying, and what the odds are (how many awards do they give in relation to the number of applications). Also, don’t forget your study abroad office and major department—they may have scholarships as well.

In addition to scholarships offered by your campus study abroad office and the study abroad providers, there are also national scholarships such as the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship and the National Security Education Program (NSEP) Scholarship. Your study abroad office and/or your scholarship office on campus should have information on the programs and application processes. These scholarships are very competitive.

One word of advice regarding scholarships: if you are basing your decision of whether or not you can go on a study abroad program on receiving a $1,000 scholarship, you really do not have enough financial resources to attend that particular program. A small scholarship should not be the deciding factor.

Be Creative

Many students have come up with creative ways to fund their study abroad experiences. Here are some successful strategies past students have shared with us:

Instead of birthday and Christmas presents, ask parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles to contribute to your study abroad fund.
Plan ahead and save! One student worked two jobs one summer and lived very frugally (no concerts or travel) to save enough to pay expenses in addition to what his financial aid would cover.
One student who went for a year sold her car—it saved her the insurance payments too.
Another student hosted a fundraiser picnic in his hometown, inviting all his parents’ friends (and friends’ parents).
If you are active in your church or in a service society, talk with them about donating to your experience. In return, you can give a talk when you get back.
Talk with your school or hometown newspaper about being a columnist from abroad.

There are many more creative ideas out there and you may have one of your own.

Funding Resources

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program (http://www.iie.org/programs/gilman)
FinAid: The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid (http://www.finaid.org/)
International Education Financial Aid (http://www.iefa.org/)
International Student Exchange and Study Abroad Resource Center (http://www.internationalstudent.com/)
InternationalScholarships.Com (http://www.internationalscholarships.com/)
Study Abroad Loans (http://www.studyabroadloans.com/)