Financial Aid

Studying abroad does not need to be an expensive experience. Florida and federal financial aid may be used by students participating in USF-sponsored study abroad programs, and many study abroad scholarships exist as well.

Our office will liaison with the USF Office of Financial Aid, however, students are responsible for:

• Making an appointment to consult with a financial aid advisor to see what of their aid may apply
• Students receiving financial aid and either exchanging for a semester or transferring credits should complete the USF Financial Aid, Education Abroad Certification Contract (SAE):Linked in the "forms" section of the Office of Financial Aid's Website above.  Please note, your main academic advisor must sign off on your intended course selection on part B. They are approving these courses to count towards your degree, not approving the equivalencies (this would already have been done in your course approval form).
• Students completing the SAE must send confirmation of their enrollment from the foreign institution to the Financial Aid Office. Aid for semester exchanges and transfer credit will not be disbursed until after the confirmation of enrollment is processed and aid is disbursed on campus.

Listed below are some of the more popular college funding options and information regarding whether they apply to study abroad:

Florida Prepaid

Usually, students can use their Florida Prepaid funding to help offset the costs of studying abroad.  The total fee amount that Florida Prepaid will cover depends on several factors:

• The number of credit hours the student will receive during his/her study abroad program
• The rate that Florida Prepaid is paying per credit hour
• The total dollar amount that has been accrued in the student's prepaid account

Students interested in using their prepaid funding to help pay the costs of studying abroad should email a statement to EA-Business@usf.edu, expressing his/her wishes to use prepaid funding for this purpose. Education Abroad will partner with the USF Cashier's Office and Florida Prepaid to apply the funding for the student's study abroad trip. Within the term the student should receive a credit on his/her OASIS account for prepaid funding. Please be advised that Florida Prepaid only pays the rate per credit hour that would normally apply if the student were taking courses on-campus.