5 Tips for Tackling Financial Aid & Scholarships for Study Abroad

When it comes to paying for study abroad, there’s a lot of information to process. From questions about affordability to completing applications, it’s totally normal to not know where to start. Luckily, that’s where we come in.

With more than 75 years of experience in study abroad programs and nearly $7.9 million awarded in scholarships and aid, helping students achieve their goal of a semester abroad is our mission. We’re proud to have a dedicated financial aid team that works with students. They’re sharing their biggest tips after meeting countless students to financially plan for study abroad with confidence.

Make an Appointment with Your School's Study Abroad and Financial Aid Offices

Together, these two offices show how your current financial aid package and school’s policies fit together when it comes to study abroad. Some information you’ll want to gather during these meetings are:

Does your school charge our listed price, transfer your on-campus tuition, or something else?
Does your school require you to pay IES Abroad directly, charge your usual home-school tuition, or something else?
How does your current financial aid package transfer to an IES Abroad program?
Are there any academic requirements for study abroad?

Pro Tip: Need help figuring out who to contact? Our College Relations Managers (CRMs) can support with finding your school’s representative! If you need support on where to start, our CRMs work directly with your school, know many of the policies, and can help direct you to who to go to on campus.

Connect with our Financial Aid Advisor

If you find yourself with some questions about our scholarship and aid offerings or process, you can connect directly with our financial aid advisor. The staff on this team wants to help and is ready to meet you wherever you’re at in the process. In your 15-minute meeting, you can discuss our application and next steps.

Complete our Study Abroad Scholarships & Aid Application

Our financial aid application only takes 10 minutes to complete, doesn’t require you to apply to a program beforehand, and you get your decision in 5 business days. These are just a few reasons our financial aid application stands out from the rest, allowing you to know your potential aid package up front, so you can make an informed decision.

Confirm your Home University’s Billing Process for Study Abroad

Similar to our first tip, meet with offices at your school to go over how billing and payments work for expenses abroad. It's also important to know who is responsible for paying them—your future self will "thank you".

Also, consider other factors like:

What’s the payment process for your study abroad bill?
Does your school require you to pay IES Abroad directly?

Understand your Bill and Build out a Budget

We recommend not just making a budget for immediate costs, but also starting a budget for the on-site expenses or add-ons like field trips, personal travel, and coffee. Our article on “7 Costs to Plan for in Your Study Abroad Budget” covers some of these more in-depth.

Pro-Tip: Check out our page on “How to Budget While Abroad” to get started on a plan to navigate expenses from before you go abroad to once you arrive in your host city. Or our “Smart Spending Resources” webpage that was created specifically for students with financial concerns.

“I met with my financial aid advisor to plan a budget and worked with my academic advisor to finalize my course plan. I spent hours researching classes, internships, and field trips. If you’re curious, you’ll find answers. Once I got admitted to IES Abroad Milan, my Program Advisor made everything so easy. Every session, every email, every checklist felt like a roadmap guiding me through the process”

Kashaf I. (IES Abroad Milan | Fall 2025)