Funding your Program

Good morning!

So you've found a program, you've applied and been accepted, and now you need a way to pay for it. Funding can be difficult, and study abroad programs can be pricey, but that's why I'm here: to tell you all about scholarships and applying for them!

There are PLENTY of scholarships to apply for. Your home university will have some, your program provider might have some, and there are third-party scholarships as well. Talking to your study abroad advisor about scholarships and funding is a big help, because they know exactly which ones are available and which ones you qualify for. I applied to some scholarships offered by my university and ended up being awarded 2 of them, and I was also awarded a third-party scholarship. If you typically have a scholarship for your home university, you may even have a study abroad stipend through that as well, and that would say on any documentation you got when awarded the scholarship, or you could always ask a financial aid advisor if you're not sure. The biggest help for my funding was the Gilman Scholarship, which is a grant program through the U.S Department of State, and it's available to U.S. Citizen undergrads who receive federal Pell Grant funding. In order to be eligible for the scholarship, you must have already been accepted or be in the process of applying to a study abroad or internship program in a single country that lasts at least 3 weeks for a 4 year uni, or 2 weeks for a community college. I believe they award scholarships up to $5000 depending on need, program length, and other factors. Their goal is to help students who might otherwise be unable to study abroad due to financial constraints. The Gilman Scholarship also requires a follow-up project within 6 months of returning to your home institution, to help share your experience, encourage other students to have their own international experience, and encourage them to apply for the Gilman Scholarship themselves. The Gilman Scholarship is the main reason I was able to afford participating in my study abroad program, so I highly recommend everyone check it out and apply if you're eligible, and I'll share the link here: https://www.gilmanscholarship.org/.

As you can see, there are many options for funding your study abroad program, but you should also be sure to start applying to them early. Many of the applications have early deadlines in order to get the funding out as for the programs as quickly as possible. The applications also require a lot of supporting documents, such as information from your home-institution, transcripts, program information, travel information, and more, so you really need to give yourself enough time to apply for each scholarship. While it may seem like a lot of work, it's definitely worth it because it can really help with funding and make-or-break whether you're able to pay for your program or not. To wrap this up, I'll just leave a short list as a summary:

-Find out about all possible scholarships, ask your advisor and search online.
-Apply to all scholarships you're eligible for.
-Apply early and give yourself time to collect documents and information.
-Check out the Gilman Scholarship!

Hopefully this helps ease some of your worries about funding.

Talk later,

-Kendra