How To Apply Study Abroad

Students Enrolled In A Calendar Year Study Abroad Program If you are planning to attend a study abroad program for a calendar year (spring term followed by fall term) rather than an academic year (fall term followed by spring term) or a single term, special conditions apply. All your study abroad financial aid, including parent PLUS and alternative student loans, must be processed separately by term because the spring term is part of one academic year and the fall term is part of the next. Your financial aid may be significantly different for each term due to the variables which affect eligibility from year to year.  For example, your spring eligibility will be based on FAFSA data from one year while your fall eligibility will be based on FAFSA data from the following year. Financial aid is not available for periods when the study abroad program is not in session. Students enrolled in a study abroad program for a calendar year and who choose to stay overseas for the summer must pay their own way. If you or your parent will be financing your calendar year study abroad using a parent PLUS loan or an alternative student loan, you will have to apply for two separate loans.  We can not process a single loan for terms in two different academic years.  Apply for one loan using the dates for the spring term as the loan period.  Some time in the early summer, after your eligibility for financial aid for the fall term has been determined, you can evaluate your need for an additional loan and apply for the second loan using the dates for the fall term as the loan period. To ensure that your study abroad financial aid for your calendar year study abroad program is processed on time and accurately: Submit all application materials for the spring term by the Study Abroad Deadline date. File the FAFSA for the appropriate year for the fall term as early as possible, but no later than March 15. Submit the official estimate of program cost for the fall term as early as possible, but no later than June 1. Pre-register for the fall term as soon as soon as you have secured the necessary academic permission.  Financial Aid can not process your fall financial aid until you have registered. We recommend that all UAlbany students who plan to use financial aid to help finance a study abroad program meet with a customer service representative in the Student Services Center, Campus Center G-26, to make arrangements that ensure the proceeds of your financial aid are appropriately disbursed to the host school.