Using Your Financial Aid and Scholarships on Study Abroad Programs
Financial Aid and Scholarships: You must apply for your federal financial aid (loans, Pell Grant) and UMBC merit scholarships to transfer by December 10 for winter and spring programs and May 10 for summer and fall/academic year programs. For this you need to complete these two tasks:
Request an Official Study Abroad Budget from the Education Abroad Office.
Instructions on how to request a budget sheet can be found in your Study Abroad application.
Take your budget to your financial aid counselor.
Students must schedule an appointment with their Financial Aid Counselor at least 60 days prior to their departure date, or UMBC’s semester start date, whichever is earlier.
If you want to transfer your financial aid or scholarships, you must request an Official Study Abroad Budget from the EAO.
Your Official Budget consists of tuition, fees, room, board, airfare, passport, visa, and personal spending money. Instructions on how to request a budget sheet can be found through UMBC’s Education Abroad application.
- You do not need to request this if you do not plan to use financial aid or scholarship funds.
- You will be contacted when your budget is ready, please allow 4-5 business days for this to be completed.
For more specific instructions and information on the transfer of your aid, please contact your financial aid counselor.
You are encouraged to apply for outside scholarships.
For UMBC Merit Scholarships you need to submit the Official Study Abroad Budget, a copy of your completed VOT form and letter of acceptance to your financial aid counselor in the Financial Aid & Scholarships Office. Meyerhoff Scholars must take at least two science courses abroad. NOTE: Merit scholarships transfer for one semester only. You must apply prior to departure to have them transfer for more than one semester.
For Federal or Maryland State Aid you need to bring the Official Study Abroad Budget, a copy of your completed VOT form and an acceptance letter to your financial aid counselor in the Financial Aid & Scholarships Office and sign their Statement of Understanding. Maryland State Aid can only be used for University System of Maryland programs.
For Private Scholarships you need to confirm requirements with the scholarship provider and contact the SAO if they require support documentation.
Tuition remission and study abroad
USM tuition remission may be used to cover the per credit cost of tuition only of participation in UMBC tuition exchange programs or ISEP programs. The maximum hours of tuition remission is based on eligibility of the employee or parent (if a dependent of an employee); please see the tuition remission website for more information. Mandatory UMBC student fees and/or program fees associated with the exchange program are the responsibility of the employee and/or student. In addition, tuition remission does not cover program fees associated with faculty-led study abroad programs.
Using VA benefits and study abroad
It can be possible to use your VA benefits to study abroad. Each case is different however you will need to check with the VA office if you intend to use your VA benefits to study abroad. The VA office has provided a brief summary of how benefits work with studying abroad.