Does anyone know if there is a list of schools that cover some/all of a students study abroad program? I’m not sure how this works… Whether it’s always a lot of extra money, some schools include as part of tuition (with student perhaps paying only for their travel abroad/airfare)… Any insight? Thank you so much.
So - I’ll try to answer you from what I know - at my daughter’s school - Charleston.
I imagine it’s similar to most - they have 3 levels:
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Sponsored Programs - so these are done with the school - all aid applies
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Exchange - this is where we’ll push our daughter - you go to foreign schools but you pay your schools tuition and financial aid applies. There’s not enough - but you only need one
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Affiliate - you go through another school or a study abroad organization - and then you’re on your own.
Good luck.
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There is a list of scholarships on State Department website
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Thank you. We anticipate being self pay. I wonder if there is a wide range depending on the school.
One of the main questions we asked on every tour was whether financial aid followed the student if they studied abroad. Although @tsbna44’s characterizations are roughly the general case policies differ at various schools and some are way more generous than others about when they will continue to apply full financial aid while the student is studying abroad under the various scenarios. Many schools expect you to pay their tuition costs (and then they pay the foreign institution which is usually cheaper) but you are on your own for room and board (often more expensive). If this is important to you it’s definitely worth asking but my impression is it’s usually more complicated than can be answered by a student tour guide or even an admissions officer. But you can get a general idea.
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I think @Juno16 is correct - and yes room/board on own and don’t know if more or less.
I was giving one example.
I think you should look at the “realistic” schools on your list - by this I mean, Miami of Ohio, Bing, and Asheville - and see how it works there.
These are the schools you can afford so these might be worth looking at. You can check their specific study abroad pages.
In the end, just know - college costs more than they tell you - so if $40K is a hard stop, you might want to find schools $35-37K, etc…study abroad will especially cost you because of the travel expense you’ll incur on weekends, etc.
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There will be study abroad pages on all college websites. Different colleges handle study abroad in different ways. There can be quite a bit of confusion about transferable credits, fees, and so forth. Be sure your child understands the various factors to consider before making decisions. It’s preferable to consult with the relevant office at the college when making study abroad plans.
At my D’s college, there were few additional fees to be paid (or none, apart from airfare), as the program was funded by the regular fees.
As you previously asked about Binghamton, I will link the page here:
https://abroad.binghamton.edu/
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Thanks!! I will investigate study abroad at particular schools. We should have a slight bit of wiggle room with our budget, but nothing extravagant. Having some idea of the cost of study abroad seems very important as we form our list.
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Even more critical than the overseas costs (which of course are important) is the transferability of credits.
Assume nothing!
I was the only student on my study abroad program (and this was over 40 years ago) who got full credit for an entire semester- and not just Gen Eds, but courses in my major. I kept everything- syllabus, papers, research notes, final exam, professors comments on the papers and exams. Every university reserves the right to determine that a course taken at another institution is the equivalent (material it covers, depth, difficulty, the rigor of the grading rubric) to one of its own courses.
Imagine paying for a semester abroad- and then paying AGAIN for a “do-over” semester if you don’t get full credit for those classes… that’s the REAL cost.
And some kids may find that the course sequencing doesn’t work out-- the class they need to graduate is only offered in the Spring when they’ll be out of the country; they need a pre-requisite which can only be taken in the Fall.
Easier for some majors (history, foreign language) than others (engineering, urban planning, or nursing).
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Older S graduated from W&L, but spent a semester at St. Andrews. Since tuition/room & board was cheaper than W&L, we actually saw a savings. However, since he was on a full tuition scholarship, they reduced the scholarship amount to reflect the new cost. I was hoping we would get the extra $$$, but that was a no go. I guess it makes sense. As far as everything transferring, he took care of that. We did have to pay for airfare obviously. He spent a lot of weekend/breaks traveling around Europe, but that was on his own dime. They went to the places where they could get rock bottom airfare (<$50) on RyanAir.
Younger S went to JMU. His major didn’t have room for study abroad, so he hoped to do the summer abroad program/internship in Valencia, Spain. I know we paid the $500 deposit and I’m sure we would have had to pay more, but the program was cancelled both summers he tried due to covid.
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I imagine - but should be asked - this is maybe where the university programs and possibly exchange programs give an advantage over an affiliate.
So you have less options with these but likely lower cost and certainly on the university sponsored ones easier transferability of credits.
My daughter is going abroad likely in spring so we’ll be delving into this soon.
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At FSU if you study abroad the first year you get in-state tuition afterwards. Big savings for OOS students.
At Georgia Tech you pay the in-state tuition cost the semester you study abroad.
Most schools offer scholarships of various value.
Better to go early. Not always easy to get upper level classes abroad.
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That makes sense, that the university based programs may be easier to pay for, navigate-and receive applicable credits! I hope it works out great for your kiddo!
Yes- if the university based program is in the country your kid wants (and the language your kid speaks) AND the course offerings connect with the major. No point in studying Italian history and literature in Florence when your kid is majoring in Asian Studies and minoring in Korean…
She’s in DC in the fall. She’s torn. Misses Charleston already. If she does abroad in spring, she’s gone a year. If she does abroad first semester senior year she’s gone parts of two years.
Summer is an option too. She needs 6 credits abroad. Was going this summer but her trip was cancelled due to low enrollment. Then we found one at Case Western. It was cancelled due to professor visa issues. We looked at other summer - like UC. Seems like more cancel then go.
But there are options for your student outside of the school year too. Spring break. Winter. Summer - but this could interfere with internships. The semesters are good though - especially if you attend a foreign school - because the school is there already.
You’re a great planner.
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If you are not trying to bring FA with you overseas, you may find that the foreign study programs cost less than paying tuition at your home university. It depend, of course, on where you go and what’s included, but that was our experience.
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There are summer study abroad programs that last for six weeks or so. Many students take advantage of those if semester based programs are too expensive, or conflict with major requirement, and so forth. They can be good for students who need other options.
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If you are expecting to be more or less full pay at the colleges under consideration, it should be easy enough to find study abroad programs within your existing college budget.
My kid studied abroad twice. One was a summer program through her university and was out of pocket for us. It cost a bit less than a semester on campus (and she graduated a year early so we didn’t end up spending more than we had planned overall). The other was a semester program through API. It cost about the same or a little more than we were paying out of pocket after scholarship for a semester on campus. The academic scholarship she had did not apply to study abroad costs for this program. She did apply for and receive additional scholarships through her university for the study abroad programs. She planned very carefully and got credit for all the courses she took.
All the colleges under consideration will have a study abroad page on their website that lists the programs they work with and you should be able to get some idea of cost if you take a close look at some of the specific programs.
Best advice is to have your student visit the study abroad office first semester of freshman year and begin making a plan. Study abroad requires careful planning so the student can maximize credit received and choose a time to go and a particular program that fits well in the overall degree plan. If the kid is set on studying in a particular place it’s going to be harder to find programs that will give credit for all courses taken than if the student is open about where to study and can focus on finding a good academic fit.
As far as particular schools, University of Wyoming has a particularly strong and well funded study abroad program, with a lot of additional scholarships available.
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yes - our D23 will be doing a summer program. Her engineering program/co-hort wants her on campus all 4 years.
Summer programs cost less obviously; but one public school she looked at charged the full OOS state rate for tuition for summer programs, as her financial aid/scholarships didnt apply to any summer classes. Just another thing to consider!
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I’d also find their track record for actually having the trips. My daughter had a great one - Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore - cancelled. Had 6 enrolled. Needed ten. The profs volunteered to go free - didn’t matter. And then Case cancelled a pricey one we were going on. When I looked at different schools, so many were cancelled. It seems like - at her school - the European ones go - they seem to be more popular.
But you might ask their track record. Covid is not the only reason they cancel. The UC list had a ton of cancels on it. I was surprised…these schools are market this and don’t deliver.
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