Paying with Financial Aid

Generally, for your financial aid to be "portable" to a study abroad program, you must be enrolled full-time at the foreign institution and receive credit for the program toward your degree at your home institution. There may be other eligibility restrictions, depending on the financial aid program, but usually you will be able to take your Title IV funding (Pell, Stafford and PLUS) overseas with you.

Each student is responsible for reviewing the information below if paying for their ISA program using financial aid. Contact ISA with questions.

Inform Your University

Inform your university study abroad and financial aid offices you want to use financial aid to pay for an ISA study abroad program and ask about their requirements.

Complete and Submit Required Forms

Log in to your ISA Student Portal, access the Forms & Documents section:

Print and sign the ISA Verification of Award (VOA) form

You will complete the student section at the bottom of the VOA form.

Please read the information carefully and then sign. If you do not see the VOA form in your portal, contact ISA.

Go to your Financial Aid office:

Submit the VOA form you signed.

The completed form will indicate your award amount(s), release date(s) and to whom the funds will be sent.

Ask if they require a Contractual (a.k.a. Consortium) Agreement.

Submit all financial aid related documents

Submit all financial aid related documents to financialaid@studiesabroad.com as soon as possible.

It is your responsibility to make sure all forms are submitted to ISA by your program's Final Forms and Payment deadline.

Submit Payment

Failure to follow through with one of the options below by the payment due date could result in added fees to your ISA program cost and/or cancellation of your ISA application.

All required housing deposits and housing commitment fees are in addition to your program fee and must also be paid no later than the final forms and payment due date.

A Good Faith Payment is a payment made to ISA to hold your space in the program while we wait for your aid to be disbursed. Read more about it here .

ISA must receive one of the following by your ISA Final Forms and Payment deadline:

Full payment for the ISA program

Pay for the full program fee out-of-pocket and use your Financial Aid as reimbursement once it is released.

Payments can be made through your ISA Student Portal via credit or debit card. A check or money order can also be mailed to ISA.

or

VOA that guarantees full payment & your good faith payment

Pay your Good Faith Payment out-of-pocket

If your aid is released to you:

When your financial aid is released, you will submit payment online via the ISA Student Portal using a credit or debit card. You will be responsible for payment of your full remaining balance at that time.

Alternatively, you may also pay ISA using a personal check, cashier's check, or a money order.

If your aid is released to ISA no further action is necessary.

Funds released directly to ISA, for an amount equal to or in excess of your balance due, should fulfill your financial obligation to ISA for your program cost.

or

VOA that guarantees partial payment and your payment for the remaining balance

If your aid is released to you:

Pay the portion of your balance that will not be covered by financial aid via the ISA Student Portal using a credit or debit card. (This amount should be no less than your Good Faith Payment amount)

When your financial aid is released, you will submit payment online via the ISA Student Portal using a credit or debit card. You will be responsible for payment of your full remaining balance at that time.

Alternatively, you may also pay ISA using a personal check, cashier's check, or a money order.

If your aid is released to ISA:

Pay the portion of your balance that will not be covered by financial aid. (This amount should be no less than your Good Faith Payment amount)

Submit Verification of Course Enrollment

Once you are abroad and your course schedule has been finalized, you must submit the ISA Verification of Course Enrollment (VOCE) form in your ISA student portal.

This form allows us to confirm for your home university that you are enrolled full time and the approximate number of credits you will receive. Most U.S. universities require this information before they can release any financial aid.

Financial Aid Calculation Tool (FACT)

Confused by all these rel="noopener noreferrer" options?

Use our Financial Aid Calculation (FACT) tool.

Scholarships

Need more funding for rel="noopener noreferrer" your ISA program?

Search rel="noopener noreferrer" for and apply to ISA Scholarships.

Complete scholarship applications and all accompanying items must arrive in the ISA Austin office by:

Summer: February 28

Fall & Year (fall-intake): April 30

Winter/Spring & Year (spring-intake): October 30

Good Faith Payments

• $300 for each 4-week ISA Service-Learning programs
• $500 for each Summer Program, Intensive Month Program, or 8-week ISA Service-Learning programs (with the exception of the specific programs listed below)
• $1,000 for each Semester or Trimester Program or back-to-back Summer Programs (with the exception of the specific programs listed below)
• $1,500 for a Year Program or back-to-back Semester or Trimester Program (with the exception of the specific programs listed below)
• $1,000 for the England (except Westminster), Lima, Berlin, and Italy Summer Programs
• $1,500 for Westminster Summer programs
• $1,500 for the England Semester and Year Programs
• $1,500 for the EuroScholars programs
• $2,000 for the Berlin Semester and Year Programs
• $2,000 for the Valencia FSU Semester and Year Programs
• $2,000 for the Australia and New Zealand Semester and Year programs

*All required housing deposits and housing commitment fees (in addition to the Good Faith Payment) must be paid no later than the final forms and payment due date.

Good Faith Payment Amounts can be made via debit/credit card on the ISA Student Portal or via check or money order (to be deposited immediately upon receipt).

Important Note

Failure to follow through with one of the options by the payment due date could result in added fees to your ISA program cost and/or cancellation of your ISA application. If the VOA is not available by the ISA program due date, you may either submit payment in full or contact ISA so that we can assist you in setting up a payment plan, which will require an initial payment no less that the Good Faith Payment amount. As you may know, it is crucial for you to play an active role in ensuring that the process of getting your aid is carried out properly and in a timely manner.

Still have questions?

Please contact the ISA office if you have questions, need alternative options, or cannot meet a deadline.