Study Abroad

Study Abroad students may also refer to the ISU Study Abroad Center to learn more about opportunities for financial aid. Most aid awarded for the regular semester at ISU can be used for study abroad with the exception of Work-Study.

National Merit Scholars, Science Bound, George Washington Carver, and Multicultural Vision Program recipients who receive a tuition award may receive their award up to the value of tuition at Iowa State for the semester, but cannot exceed their tuition charge for the study abroad program. For questions regarding these awards, please e-mail studyabroadaid@iastate.edu.

State Aid recipients (All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship, Iowa National Guard Service Scholarship, GEAR Up Iowa Scholarship) may not be able to receive these awards when studying abroad. For questions regarding these awards, please email studyabroadaid@iastate.edu.

Fall and Spring Semesters

• Students who already have a FAFSA on file for the current academic year, will have their financial aid automatically adjusted based on the class list and program cost provided by the program coordinator. An appointment is not necessary for this adjustment to be made.
• Program costs include:
  • Round-trip Transportation
  • Program fee, if applicable
  • Tuition and Fees
  • Food and Housing
  • Books, Course Materials, Supplies, and Equipment
  • Insurance
  • Incidentals
  • Student I.D. Card
  • Visa and Mailing Cost
  • Passport and Mailing Cost
  • Inoculations
• Financial aid for fall programs will be adjusted in mid-June; aid for spring programs will be adjusted in mid-November. An email will be sent to each student after aid has been adjusted. Students will be directed to AccessPlus to view increased loan eligibility and an application will need to be completed to receive the additional loan amount.
• Study abroad programs with a total budget that is greater than the cost of attendance of Iowa State University will have loan eligibility increased to meet this new budget for that semester. Likewise programs with a lower cost of attendance will have aid reduced.

Summer Term

• In late April, students who have a FAFSA on file for the previous academic year and fill out the Summer Aid Application on AccessPlus will have aid packaged for their study abroad program based on cost of program (see above) and the class list.
• Summer aid is primarily comprised of student loans. Federal Direct Loans will be awarded first, followed by Federal PLUS and/or private loan eligibility. An email will be sent to each student after aid has been packaged for summer and applications will need to be completed to receive the Federal PLUS and/or private loans.

For more information, email studyabroadaid@iastate.edu or use Navigate to schedule a Study Abroad Financial Aid appointment.