Financial Aid and Scholarships

Financing your study abroad can be a daunting task, but that shouldn’t stop you from investing in international opportunities. The personal, academic, and professional rewards that you will gain from studying abroad will last a lifetime.   The Office of International Studies and the Office of Financial Aid work hard to help you finance your study abroad.

During your first visit with a study abroad advisor, you will learn more about financing study abroad.

Financial aid sources come from:

  • federal student grants
  • federal student loans
  • private student loans
  • scholarships
  • program discounts
  • family and friends
  • many other sources

Metro Financial Aid

Metro State recognizes Study Abroad as an academic experience first and foremost and we realize that Study Abroad not only replaces academic work a student might otherwise complete on-campus, but the international experience also enhances a student’s curriculum on-campus. As such, our policy is to provide support for financial services necessary for Study Abroad just as we would on-campus.

  1. Do not assume that Study Abroad is too expensive for you!
  2. Every student exploring Study Abroad options should meet with their study abroad advisor to find out about financial aid options and who their study abroad financial advisor is.
  3. Even if a student has not previously qualified for financial aid to attend Metro, does not mean you will not be eligible for financial aid for Study Abroad.
  4. Because the cost of Study Abroad may be more than your cost of attending Metro State, it is important to submit a specific Study Abroad budget to see if you qualify for financial aid when attending Study Abroad.
    The costs involved in an academic budget include:
    1. Tuition and fees
    2. Room and Board
    3. Books and supplies
    4. Transportation necessary to get from home to school
  5. The Study Abroad program you plan to attend should provide you with a budget breakdown of actual costs of the program fee and estimated costs of personal expenses while on the program.

Thus, if your program fee is $9,500, but it does not include meals and airfare to your international location, your Financial Aid Advisor will add the additional estimated cost of airfare and meals in your host country. The combined amount will be the academic costs which your Financial Aid Advisor will use to determine your financial aid eligibility.

  1. It is possible that you may be eligible for federal financial aid, federal student loans, institutional scholarships, outside scholarships, and/or other sources of funding for Study Abroad. Again, even if you have not been eligible for financial aid previously, it is possible that you will be eligible for financial aid for Study Abroad.
  2. If you qualify for financial aid, the Financial Aid Office will have you fill out forms that indicate when and where your financial aid will be disbursed. It is common that the disbursement of financial aid occurs after your Study Abroad semester is supposed to begin. Most Study Abroad programs will allow you to defer program payment until your financial aid is disbursed, IF you get the Financial Aid Office to verify when and how much financial aid you are scheduled to receive.
  3. Your financial aid will be disbursed to you via electronic deposit into the designated bank account you authorize. You will then have access to your funds and are responsible for paying your program fees directly.
  4. If you do not pay your program fees within 10 days of verified financial aid disbursement, you are responsible for the cost of late payment fees incurred.
  5. Most financial aid is contingent upon full-time enrollment, and satisfactory academic progress. This means that students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits (or the equivalent) in a semester, and students must earn a minimum of a “C” (2.0 on a 4.0 scale) in a course to receive transfer credit.
  6. If a student should fall below full-time enrollment, and/or does not earn at least a “C” (2.0 on a 4.0 scale) in any course, the student will be required to repay financial aid for that semester.



Scholarships/Grants

under construction