Financing Your Study Abroad Program
One of the biggest concerns about studying abroad is how to finance the program. While studying abroad can be very costly, many students in financial need manage to do so every year! Plan early and strategize with International Education Center (Bone House) and Financial Aid (103 Parks Hall) staff.
Georgia College Study Abroad Scholarships
- The GC Study Abroad Scholarship is open to any Georgia College student who has applied for any credit-bearing study abroad, internship abroad, or service-learning abroad program. Georgia College is able to award many students each year, so all students going abroad are encouraged to apply! Note that students who apply to either the New Horizons Scholarship or GC Global Citizen Award (below) do not need to also submit an application for the GC Study Abroad Scholarship as they will automatically be considered for this award.
- The New Horizons Scholarship is open to any GC undergraduate student of under-represented populations (including students of color, students registered with the GC Student Disability Resource Center, and students with financial need) who has applied for a credit-bearing study abroad, internship abroad, or service-learning abroad program. Students who apply for the New Horizons scholarship will automatically be considered for the GC Study Abroad Scholarship; only one application is necessary.
- The GC Global Citizen Award is open to any GC undergraduate student who has applied for a credit-bearing study abroad, internship abroad, or service-learning abroad program, interested in pursuing research as a part of their program. This scholarship offers a much larger award, but is also much more competitive. Students who apply for, but are not accepted to the Global Citizen Award, will automatically be considered for the GC Study Abroad Scholarship; only one application is necessary.
Other possibilities:
-
Other organizations also offer study abroad scholarships, primarily for longer, more intensive programs, financially needy students, and students taking less studied languages. Check out the Institute for International Education (IIE) database of available scholarships.
- Find out if you are eligible to receive a study abroad scholarship from any of these organizations: Benjamin A. Gilman for Pell recipients, NSEP/Boren Scholars, Rotary International, Fund for Education Abroad, DAAD for programs in Germany, Phi Kappa Phi for students with a GPA of 3.75 or higher, Alpha Lambda Delta, for ALD members, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars for NSCS members.
- Some scholarships are specificially focused on diversifying the student population that chooses to study abroad and/or the destinations to which they study abroad: Diversity Abroad Network, NAFSA Tamara H. Bryant Memorial Scholarship, Fund for Education Abroad, Fund for Education Abroad Rainbow Scholarship, and the Fund for Education Abroad Athlete Scholarship.
Hope Scholarship pay some in-state tuition for eligible students. Information is available in the Financial Aid Office.
Out-of-state waivers are available to out-of-state students going on Georgia College programs. Information is available in the International Education Center.
Federal Aid – both Pell Grants and Stafford Loans – is available to eligible students for approved study abroad programs. Information is available in the Financial Aid Office.
Ask relatives and friends to contribute birthday and Christmas gifts to a special study abroad fund.
Students often organize fund-raising projects to benefit their study abroad – bake sales, car washes, silent auctions, raffles, etc..
Service organizations and churches to which students, their parents, and friends belong are sometimes interested in helping students in exchange for a presentation on the study abroad experience upon return.