UW Exploration Seminars: Study Abroad

University of Washington Exploration Seminars: Month-Long Study Abroad

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Need-based Exploration Seminar scholarships will be made to students going on 2008 Seminars who are already Financial Aid eligible for Fall 2008, and who have submitted a budget of student expenses for the program you are applying for. These can be obtained from the IPE office, and are submitted to the UW Office of Financial Aid (both in Schmitz Hall). You do not need to apply for the scholarship but if you want to be automatically considered you must follow this simple procedure.
Need-based "Go! Grant" scholarships will be made available from the UW Office of Int'l Programs & Exchanges (Deadline April 15) for students who are either Pell Grant or Husky Promise-eligible. Applications at: http://www.ipe.washington.edu/forms
Fritz grants will made to students who are either Social Science or Humanities majors, and these are also administered through the UW Office of Int'l Programs & Exchanges. See http://www.ipe.washington.edu/forms for an application.

Most forms of financial aid can be utilized during participation in early fall UW departmental programs. UW program participants who are recipients of financial aid should contact the UW Financial Aid Office to verify that their awards will apply. For eligible participants, Autumn Quarter financial aid is used to pay for early fall programs (not summer aid).

Students may apply for increased financial aid for Autumn Quarter 2008 to help cover the extra expenses. Generally, only student loans are available for early fall programs, and students should consider the costs of borrowing before accepting additional loans (visit the Direct Loan Calculator for a quick interest calculation). If a student’s current financial aid package already includes the maximum loan amount for the year, loan funds can be shifted from Winter/Spring to Fall Quarter for the additional costs, but this can leave future quarters’ costs uncovered. The financial aid counselors in 105 Schmitz can help with planning and evaluating other funding options, such as Parent Loans and alternative private student loans. A very limited amount of scholarship money may be available — no separate application is required, but students should turn in their revision requests as early as possible.

Applying for Additional Financial Aid

To apply for additional financial aid funding for study abroad:

complete the Revision Request for Additional Expenses form available on the UW Financial Aid website. You will also need to request a "Budget Sheet" for your program from the IPE Office in 459 Schmitz Hall or by emailing explore@u.washington.edu.
Submit both your "Revision Request for Additional Expenses" form and your program's "Budget Sheet" to the UW Financial Aid Office in 105 Schmitz Hall. It may take Financial Aid a few weeks to process your request, so plan accordingly!

Revision request forms for 2008-09 should be available in March/April for study abroad (students may check with the office if the form isn’t on the web page). Since information about aid packages and revisions for study abroad costs won’t be available until late spring or over the summer, students may need to make decisions before getting the details on their financial aid. In the meantime, in order to help make those decisions, financial aid counselors are available to make general assessments of possible eligibility for funding increases.

Covering the Gap for Financial Aid Recipients

Early fall program participants need to be prepared to pay $850 for initial program costs ($350 non-refundable deposit and $500 program fee payment) and for their travel costs (airfare, food and spending money) before they receive their fall aid. The balance of the program fee and the IPE fee will both be due on October 12, 2008, to allow aid recipients to pay the balance of their fees with their Fall financial aid.

If program participants do not have the personal savings or other resources to pay the upfront costs while waiting for their Fall aid, they may wish to look into the Short-Term Loan program. The Financial Aid Office has funds of up to $2500 (for undergraduate students) and $3200 (for graduates) available for short-term loans to assist students with temporary cash flow problems. Funds are generally available within one to three working days, only to students who are currently enrolled at the University.

Please Note: UW Short-Term Loans cannot be processed between quarters or for students who aren’t registered. Students who need a short-term loan while waiting for fall aid can apply on MyUW during Summer Quarter if enrolled in summer school. Students not attending summer will need to apply for a short-term loan before the end of Spring Quarter 2008 and will then need to use the extension request form under Student Personal Services on MyUW to postpone the repayment due-date to October 19.

Repayment of UW Short-Term Loans is due the next quarter, or whenever additional funds such as financial aid arrive on the student’s account, whichever comes first. There is no interest on short-term loans, but there is a $30 service charge added to the repayment amount.

Taking out a loan is an important responsibility. Students should feel free to talk to a financial aid counselor before choosing this option and should bear in mind that they will need to use part of their Fall aid to repay the loan. (Aid for 2008-09 cannot directly repay a short-term from Spring Quarter 2008; the student is responsible for making sure the loan is repaid on time.)

Student Fiscal Services offers a money management seminar designed to assist with budgeting and other financial matters. More information on "Money 101" can be found at http://www.washington.edu/students/sfs/outreach/index.html

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