We live in New York near the Canadian border. One of the schools that interests my son is in Canada. Would he be eligible for US federal student loans if he went to school in Canada?
With the exchange rate, the Canadian college he’s looking at seems like a bargain. Anything we should know before we pursue looking into this further?
Just to be clear, you are just talking about the direct loans over the 4 yrs. You are not asking for financial aid outside of the unsub loans? max of @$27K. over 4 yrs.
Some foreign schools participate in the US federal program, others don’t.
check here for your school(s): https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/prepare-for-college/choosing-schools/types/international
Other scholarships and awards will have their own terms, and those terms will control whether you can use them at Canadian schools. Many local scholarships must be used in the state where awarded.
Yes, we’re only looking at schools we can afford with subsidized student loans. I don’t want them to go into more debt than that.
But for other readers, are unsubsidized and/or private student loans available to students that attend college in Canada?
Do you qualify for the Excelsior scholarship at NY Suny schools for incomes under $100,000?
He would get his tuition covered, leaving about $15,000 for room, board and fees.
Are the Canadian schools cheaper than that?
Many Canadian universities offer merit aid to American students and some also offer limited need based aid in addition to the US federal loans.
The Canadian school I’m looking at is not quite as cheap as a state school with the excelsior scholarship, but it’s much, much cheaper than private colleges or out of state schools and I’m trying to give my son options.
Unsubsidized federal direct loans will be available at any school, even in Canada, that participates in federal student aid programs. Check the link that twoinanddone provided in post #2, this thread. The use of private student loans will be governed by the rules and lending agreement put forth by the lender.