The information compiled for the My Study Australia website by the Australian Education Connection (AEC) is exclusively for semester/year abroad students. It is not relevant to students wanting financial aid information to undertake for full degree programs abroad (such as Bachelors, Masters and PhDs). NOTE: IF YOU ARE A FULL DEGREE APPLICANT (and not a semester or year abroad student) then you need to check out the separate sections we have on `Financial aid' as well as on `Scholarships' which is exclusively for the use of full degree students (Bachelors, Masters and PhDs).

The US Department of Education allows for the following financial aid to be used for study abroad:

• Stafford Loans
• Pell Grants
• Perkins Loans
• SSIG Grant
• PLUS Loans
• other loans (check with your home school Financial Aid Office)

It is important that you understand that if you normally qualify for US financial aid and loans while at your home school, then you have a very good chance of continuing with this aid while studying abroad for a semester or a year. Your home school must agree to allow you to continue your financial aid for your semester or year abroad. You must discuss your options with your home school.

The US Department of Education has been encouraging US schools to send their students abroad for a study abroad experience provided the student undertakes the study abroad program at an accredited university abroad and conforms to subject selection based on home school requirements. Despite these measures, you should be aware that some schools only promote a select group of programs based on familiarity with the programs. Read the information at `Choosing Programs’ so you understand how programs differ in their prices and services.  The AEC asks students and parents to talk to their home schools about the following facts:

• The AEC offers direct enrollment so students pay the overseas university tuition and no program management fees which most programs charge! This allows more students to access study abroad and keeps student debt low. This is important.
• The AEC is the only program that offers semester and year abroad programs to Australia and New Zealand which does not charge management fees.
• The AEC has been in operation for over 12 years.
• The AEC is one of the representatives of schools in Australia and New Zealand advertised on the AEC website. These schools have already been accredited through the overseas government and many of these schools are already accredited by the US Department of Education for US financial aid.

As student debt is at an all time high, we ask students, parents and advisers to read about the direct enrollment service offered by the AEC Program. The direct enrollment service ensures that students still have access to support services which they need when going abroad. We request Advisors and home schools in particular to encourage access by understanding how the direct enrollment service works. The AEC has already been checked out by the overseas university and has already sent students from over 400 US universities abroad. We also ask that students, parents and advisers also read the comments from students and parents on the My Study Australia website.   

You should also investigate the many private, semi-government and government sources that provide grants and scholarship funds to needy, exceptionally gifted and/or other sectors of the student community. Talk to your advisers also about their own scholarships for study abroad.

Some scholarship sources for financial aid for semester and year abroad:

www.scholarships.com
Find money for scholarships here.

http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/exchange.phtml
Finds money for study abroad and exchange.

http://www.iie.org//Content/NavigationMenu/Programs7/Gilman_Awards/Home8/Home.htm
Gilman Scholarships of $5000 for study abroad.

When disbursing financial aid to a program such as the AEC, home schools often request that a "consortia" or a partnership agreement is signed which states that the student is undertaking a program at an accredited university and provides a total breakdown of the fees to be charged to the student (even fees beyond tuition, such as medical insurance, approximate housing and travel cost, incidentals, etc). The AEC often signs such agreements and if your financial aid adviser requests such an agreement, please ask your adviser to contact the AEC.

If your home school prefers to sign the consortia agreement directly with the Host University (the Australian or New Zealand university directly instead of he AEC), even though the AEC Program represents the host school, these arrangements can be worked out so that the consortia agreement can be faxed directly to the home school or to the home school through the AEC.

Where your home school states that you must apply to the overseas school direct, please be aware that you are a directly enrolled student and you get all the benefits of applying as a direct student when you apply through the AEC Program. If in doubt, click here to understand the AEC direct enrollment service. You may check AEC Program Prices HERE

There Students, intending to undertake full degrees in Australia, should also check the following web sites related to financial aid

• http://www.finaid.org/
• http://www.ed.gov/finaid.html
• http://www.studentservices.com/
• http://www.iefc.com