Studying abroad can be an enriching part of your college experience. As many people already know, studying abroad involves attending a foreign college for a semester or two so that the students can earn academic credits and experience the culture of a foreign country. However, studying abroad with financial aid can be tricky. Nevertheless, if you keep a few things in mind, it is possible to study abroad without greatly impacting your bottom line.
When I was a college student, I thought seriously about studying abroad. I heard upperclassmen positively discuss their experiences studying abroad, and I was interested in studying abroad in the United Kingdom, or perhaps Australia. During my second year of college, I attended an information session in order to learn more details about studying abroad with financial aid. I was relying on various sources of financial assistance to pay for college, and I wanted to see if I could minimize my student loans and still study abroad.
At the information session, I discovered that studying abroad with financial aid would be difficult. All of the institutional financial aid that I received to attend college could not be used to study abroad. This made sense, since my alma mater was willing to discount its tuition for me, but did not want to pay funds to another university so that I could study abroad.
I did learn that I might be able to use outside scholarships to study abroad. As previously mentioned on this website, I received up to $15,000 a year as a college student from an outside foundation to study American history. So long as I could convince the foundation that I was studying American history at a foreign university, I might have plausibly used these funds in order to study abroad.
Since studying abroad with financial aid is extremely difficult, and the sources of funding are limited, I decided not to study abroad. I knew that I would have to borrow additional funds to pay for study abroad costs, and I could not justify the expense, since I was attending college in the United States for a reasonable amount of money. In addition, I was receiving free housing as an undergraduate, since I was a Community Advisor, and I risked my ability to continue in this role if I studied abroad. Furthermore, I would have to pay significant housing costs out-of-pocket if I studied at a foreign university.
There were other practical reasons why I did not study abroad. I obtained my Master’s degree during my senior year of college through a rigorous four-year B.A./M.A. program. I was unsure if I would be able to complete this program if I enrolled in a study abroad program. My college did not accept all credits earned at foreign universities to meet certain institutional requirements, so I would have had to go to summer school or made other arrangements to complete requirements if I studied abroad. I ended up saving a substantial sum of money on a graduate degree by enrolling in this dual program, and I could not risk this benefit by studying abroad.
I also had a number of social reasons for not studying abroad with financial aid. I enjoyed being on campus, and I was involved in a number of clubs and organizations at my college, including the track team, debate club, student government, and other activities. I knew that studying abroad could interrupt my participation in such activities, and could make it harder for me to earn leadership roles in this organization. Since graduate schools make admissions and scholarship determinations in part on an applicant’s participation in activities as a college student, I was afraid that studying abroad could hurt my bottom line when it came to apply for law school.
However, there are ways that you can have a study abroad experience without breaking the bank or interrupting your college career. Some study abroad programs take place during the summer on an abbreviated schedule. Indeed, certain programs allow students to take classes in foreign countries for six to eight weeks over the summer and for much less money than studying abroad for a full semester during the academic year. My brother (who has written guest articles for this website) enrolled in one such program, and I am begging him hard to write an article on this topic!
It should also be mentioned that if you will enter a public service field, or do not mind enrolling in income-driven repayment, then studying abroad with financial aid should not be a problem. Since debt forgiveness is available after 10 years with Public Service Loan Forgiveness and 20 years under income-driven repayment, it does not matter how much you spent earning a degree. There may be some difficulty using federal loans for study abroad programs, but this should be the only restriction. Indeed, this was one motivating factor why one of my law school classmates decided to study abroad in the United Kingdom during law school, and he had an amazing experience completing this program.
In the end, studying abroad with financial aid is a difficult prospect. Institutional financial aid typically does not cover study abroad costs, and it might be difficult to take out loans to cover study abroad expenses. However, if you research study abroad summer programs or plan on repaying your student loans through an income-driven repayment plan, studying abroad with financial aid is extremely doable in many circumstances.