Financial Aid for Study Abroad

Students who attend an approved credit-bearing study abroad program and meet all eligibility requirements may take advantage of an array of financial aid options. The entire cost of a program, including transportation, tuition, fees, and living expenses, is taken into account when determining your financial aid budget. Your award is adjusted according to the actual cost of the program. The types of aid available vary and include state or federal grants, scholarships, and federal or private loans.

Eligibility

SUNY Cobleskill students who plan to participate in a study abroad program and receive financial aid must:

• be matriculated in a program of study and enrolled for a minimum of 6 credit hours through SUNY Cobleskill, another SUNY four-year college or university, a community college, or an institution outside the SUNY system.
• complete the FAFSA by the deadline for the appropriate term. New York State students planning to receive TAP while studying abroad should also complete the TAP Application. (Note: To be eligible for TAP, you must be paying tuition to a host institution located in New York State.) 
• meet with the study abroad coordinator and follow the steps in the Study Abroad Checklist. Study abroad planning ideally should begin at least a year before your planned program departure. 

Credit

If you are attending a SUNY Cobleskill study abroad program, the credit you earn abroad will appear on your transcript as regular SUNY Cobleskill credit.

If you attend another SUNY study abroad program, or a third-party provider program (such as CIS, CIEE, etc.), the credit comes back on your SUNY Cobleskill transcript as transfer credit. If the third party-provider program you attend is approved for credit in advance, and if the sponsor is an accredited Title IV institution, you may be eligible for state and federal financial aid. The aid is transferred through a "consortium agreement." A consortium agreement is a form provided by the SUNY Cobleskill Financial Aid Office. The sponsor of the program you wish to attend must complete and return the consortium agreement, signed by an authorized individual, to the SUNY Cobleskill Financial Aid Office.
All SUNY Cobleskill faculty-led programs are SUNY Cobleskill credit bearing. For financial aid purposes SUNY Cobleskill faculty-led winter session programs are part of your spring semester aid, and scholarship funds and other forms of aid for regular semester costs may be used. Summer programs of at least 6 credits are also eligible for financial aid. 

Adjusting Your Financial Aid for Study Abroad

Determining what aid is available to you is one of many steps toward studying abroad. Your first step should be to consult with the study abroad coordinator and review the study abroad webpages. Once you have researched, identified, received academic approval, and applied for the program(s) of your choice, you will then work with the Financial Aid Office to finalize your financial aid budget, as follows:

SUNY Cobleskill Students Participating in a SUNY Study Abroad Program

• Submit your letter of acceptance into your study abroad program.
• Submit a detailed estimate of program costs.

SUNY Cobleskill Students Participating in a Non-SUNY Study Abroad Program

• Submit your letter of acceptance into the study abroad program.
• Submit the official estimate of program costs.
• Ensure that a consortium agreement from the SUNY Cobleskill Financial Aid Office has been sent to and returned by the host institution.
• If you are a TAP recipient, submit a copy of your bill from the host institution. To be eligible for TAP, you must be paying tuition to a host institution located in New York State.

Non-SUNY Cobleskill Students

If you are not currently enrolled at SUNY Cobleskill but are planning to participate in a SUNY Cobleskill study abroad program, you must apply for financial aid through your home institution. SUNY Cobleskill does not award financial aid to non-Cobleskill students. We can work with your study abroad or financial aid advisor to provide estimated cost information for SUNY Cobleskill programs.

Study Abroad Financial Aid Deadlines

Students should submit all required documentation to the Financial Aid Office a minimum of six weeks in advance of a study abroad trip.

Scholarships

Review this list of scholarships and other information to help fund a study abroad experience.