Financial Aid  

Financial Aid for Semester and Year Abroad

arrow  Navigating Financial Aid
arrow  Direct Enrolment & Consortia Agreements
arrow  Other Information Resources

Navigating Financial Aid

This information 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). If you are interested in financial aid for a full degree abroad, then you must click here.

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 there are sometimes obstacles to the release of financial aid. It is therefore, important that you discuss this with your home school Financial Aid Adviser and find out how you can continue your aid while undertaking an AEC semester or year abroad program. Please contact the AEC if you encounter any difficulties.

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.
Direct Enrolment & Consortia Agreements

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 enrolment service. You may check AEC Program Prices HERE

Other Information Resources

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


image