By Kim Gradel

You may be surprised at how cost-effective a semester or year abroad can be. In honor of the launch of our new funding directory, StudyAbroadFunding.org, we're going to have an article this month about financial aid.

StudyAbroadFunding.org
Our new funding directory features a variety of study abroad scholarships, fellowships, and grants. You can search these listings by either country or field of study. It's interesting to note that many scholarships are general to any field of study or any country so we have included extended listings. For example, if you search for scholarships in Germany, you will see a list of scholarships specifically relating to Germany as well as those relating to Europe and those that are applicable to any country.

A wide range of scholarships, fellowships, and grants to study abroad are available from many different sources. Government funds, businesses, universities, and many independent organizations all offer different amounts and kinds of funds in order to support students interested in pursuing international education opportunities.

Federal Financial Aid
Many students are surprised to learn that their existing financial aid, including their federal aid, is frequently transferable to studying abroad. Be sure to check with your own study abroad and financial aid offices on campus for the details.

Generally, federal financial aid requires that you earn academic credit toward your degree program while you are abroad in order for the experience to be eligible for aid. So volunteer programs, for example, are less likely to be eligible for aid.

If you already receive financial aid and have already completed your FAFSA form for the academic year in which you intend to study abroad, you won't need to submit another one. However, if you've never submitted a FAFSA form before, you should leave yourself plenty of time to do so.

It is also interesting to note that there are a variety of foreign institutions that are actually eligible for financial aid on their own without an intervening US institution granting credit. A list of these institutions and their federal school codes can be found on the government's Student Aid on the Web LINK http://studentaid.ed.gov site.

Cost of Attendance
The cost of attendance for your study abroad program is frequently one of the determining aspects of your financial aid package. This brings up an interesting related point. Many students automatically assume that it will be more expensive to study abroad than it would be to remain at their home institutions. No doubt the expense of plane tickets, additional insurance, necessary vaccinations, and other such costs do add up. However, what many students fail to account for is the lower tuition or cost of living in many potential study abroad destinations. While this may not be true of London or Tokyo, there are many excellent study abroad programs in places where the cost of living is low and tuition is either substantially less than that at US institutions or, in some countries, even non-existent.

However, I digress. The point of this as it relates to financial aid is that you may have to submit an estimated cost of attendance in order for your institution to calculate the amount of financial aid for which you are eligible. For a nice example of what a comparison of costs chart might look like between your study abroad program and home institution, check out the University of Minnesota's Learning Abroad Center.

Power of Attorney (POA)
While you're investigating the financial aid for your study abroad experience, you'll want to think about who will be signing the necessary forms while you're away. You will probably want to grant a family member or close friend POA to handle your affairs during this time. It is a generally good idea just in case some legal matter requiring your signature arises while you're abroad. It is especially vital, however, for completing your financial aid.


Hopefully this article has encouraged you to investigate the financial aid that could potentially fund a study abroad experience. Many students give up the search before they've even started due to unrealistic fears of the costs involved. If you want to study abroad, don't let finances hold you back. Resources and help are available if you just look for them.