When you study abroad you may see slight changes in your financial aid and student account charges. Familiarize yourself with the changes before you go abroad.
Costs
Students who participate in Oxy’s Study Abroad programs (i.e. study & research abroad, United Nations, Campaign Semester, Washington Internship) are charged a comprehensive fee for study abroad comparable to living on-campus. As a result, you will receive the same level of merit and need-based scholarships if you go abroad as you would if you stayed on-campus.
However, keep in mind that while your scholarships stay the same, your charges may differ. The standard study abroad fee includes the costs of a double room and Meal Plan B. Thus, if you normally have Meal Plan C, you will see an increase in your charges.
Please visit the International Programs Office (IPO) for more information regarding Study Abroad Finances.
Change to Work & Loan Eligibility
When you participate in study abroad, your loan and work eligibility changes. Since you cannot work under the Federal Work Study or the Oxy Work Award programs while you are abroad, the work component of your financial aid award is replaced by a student loan (to accommodate the loss of work study income).
|
Example |
Fall On-Campus |
Spring Abroad |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scholarship/Grant | $9,600 | $9,600 | $19,200 |
| Loan #1 | $2,750 | $2,750 | $5,500 |
| Loan #2 | $1,100 | $2,650 | $3,750 |
| Work Study | $1,550 | $0 | $1,550 |
| Total | $15,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
If you normally receive $3,100 in work award for the academic year, you can expect your award to be $0 for the semester you are abroad, and replaced by an increase in one of your student loans. You are not required to borrow the increased loan amount and can choose to decrease/decline the loan should you not need the additional funding. Please note, you will not have your full work award available to you in one semester. You must stop working on-campus once you reach your semester work award limit.
Travel Grants
Financial aid may be available to assist you with your travel costs. This determination is made by the Office of Financial Aid based on your financial need. This grant will be an estimate of your airfare expenses. This grant will not be a reimbursement of your actual flight costs; your actual costs will vary from your travel grant.
To determine your travel grant, we look at the flight costs on Travelocity, Orbitz, and Expedia. We use the international airport closest to your hometown as the departure location and the international airport closest to your abroad program as the destination. The departure date is 3 days before your program begins and the return date is 3 days after your program ends.
If the closest international airport is several hours away from your hometown, we may determine your travel grant departure location from the closest airport to your home.
Travel grant amounts are non-negotiable once determined by the Office of Financial Aid, and you are encouraged to find the least expensive flight available.
Courses Abroad Program
If you enroll in a class that has an abroad requirement, the Office of Financial Aid is available to offer assistance.
For your course, you will be charged (to your Student Account) a comprehensive fee to cover the direct cost of the program. In addition, you will have to budget for indirect costs for things like travel and food. You will not be charged for the indirect costs, but you should plan to have these costs. The comprehensive fee and indirect costs vary dependening on the program. Please contact IPO for more information on costs.
If the Office of Financial Aid determines that you have financial need, your total program costs (comprehensive fee & indirect costs) will be covered by financial aid. Please note that a portion of your costs will be covered by a loan while the remaining costs will be covered by a grant. Ratio of grant to loan is redetermined each semester based on funding and number of students on need-based aid.
For more information please visit the IPO website on Courses Abroad.