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Study Abroad: Making Sense of Your Budget and Bills

Study Abroad: Making Sense of Your Budget and Bills. Wellesley College Office of International Study Student Financial Services. Agenda. Understanding your total cost (a.k.a. your budget) Impact on financial aid How you will be billed How to pay your bills Important considerations.

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Study Abroad: Making Sense of Your Budget and Bills

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  1. Study Abroad:Making Sense of Your Budget and Bills Wellesley College Office of International Study Student Financial Services

  2. Agenda • Understanding your total cost (a.k.a. your budget) • Impact on financial aid • How you will be billed • How to pay your bills • Important considerations

  3. Study Abroad Budget • The OIS creates study abroad budgets for all approved programs based on published & estimated costs. • OIS shares these budgets with SFS and makes them available online. • You can access program budgets online at OIS > Handbook > Costs > click on link Cost Estimate Worksheet • You must submit a Study Away Agreement for your aid to be calculated based on your study abroad budget. • Deadlines- April 1 for the Fall / Full-Year and November 1 for the Spring. • Budget will be used by SFS to calculate your financial aid eligibility and prepare your term bill.

  4. What’s Included in Your Budget • Wellesley Collegetuition • Room and board • Estimated airfare for one-round trip between the East coast and your study abroad destination • Estimated books • Estimated personal / other expenses (including local transportation)

  5. What’s NOT Included in Your Budget These are additional costs for which you will be responsible • Health insurance • Exception: If you enroll in the College’s plan and automatically qualify for the Health Insurance Grant, then health insurance has already been included in the budget. • Passport fees • Visa fees are typically the responsibility of the student • Tourist activity, souvenirs, and extracurricular travel

  6. Sample Budget for One Semester in 2014-15

  7. Studying Abroad is Affordable Impact on Financial Aid: What Stays the Same • Financial Aid Application and Priority Due Date • No additional forms are required for study abroad. • Awards can be viewed online through Banner Self-Service. You’ll receive an email when it’s ready. • How we calculate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). • How we calculate and meet 100% of your Financial Need. • Budget - EFC = Financial Need • Your total “self-help” aid (i.e., work study and student loan) remains at the same dollar level.

  8. Impact on Financial Aid: What’s Different • Your Wellesley Grant will be adjusted based on your Study Abroad Budget • Wellesley Grant increases if your Study Abroad Budget is greater than being at Wellesley or reduces if your Study Abroad Budget is less than being at Wellesley. • Work study will be replaced by a student loan • If you have no loan, one will be added. • Loans do not have to be accepted if you can replace them with personal or outside resources.

  9. Sample Financial Aid Awards

  10. International Study Scholarships • Apply for scholarships specifically for study abroad. • Examples include Gilman, Freeman, Boren, or funding offered by your program. • International Study scholarships are treated like any other outside scholarship. • They replace your student loan, and in many cases, your student contribution. • All scholarships need to be reported to SFS by all students, regardless if you receive financial aid.

  11. How You Will Be Billed • Billed expenses include charges on your Wellesley and Program term bills. • Non-billed expenses are costs that you will encounter on your own. • Examples of non-billed expenses: • Additional food expense not provided by your program • Local transportation (subway passes) • Books and supplies • Flights (for certain programs)

  12. What May Your Program Charge You? (it varies) • Program deposit, to secure your place in the program. • Non-tuition expenses, such as room and board. • In most cases, bills for your accommodation will be issued after you arrive at your program. • Program bills vary – some will include all charges on one bill, others will bill charges separately.

  13. What will Wellesley charge you? • Wellesley College tuition ($22,401). • Health insurance, unless you waive enrollment. • For most students, this charge only appears on your Fall term bill. • You’ll receive an eBill, just like if you were on campus. • Access your eBill through your MyWellesley portal. • Add shared users to help manage your account while you’re away.

  14. How Do You Pay Wellesley? • All aid will be deposited to your Wellesley student account. • If your total charges are greater than your aid, then you owe Wellesley money. • i.e., It’s time to pay part of your EFC. • Payment options remain the same. • We recommend making one-time payments with www.afford.com • TMS Contracts: Adjust your contract so you only pay Wellesley tuition while abroad. • You’re still required to pay by the established deadlines • Fall: July 25, 2014 • Spring: January 2, 2015

  15. What if Wellesley Owes You Money? • If your total charges are less than your aid, then the difference appears as a credit on your account. • This credit can be refunded to you so you can pay your other study abroad bills / expenses. • Refunds cannot be issued until your credit actively appears on your account and they are not issued automatically. • Monitor your Wellesley account to see when there is a credit and submit a Refund Request Form to SFS. • If you’ll be off-campus, submit form information in the body of an email to sfs@wellesley.edu. • Refunds are directly deposited into your bank account on file.

  16. Sample Breakdown for a Provider Program

  17. Important Considerations • Payments may be due to your program before your aid is available. • Talk to SFS if you need additional resources. • You are subject to your program’s payment deadlines even if your aid is not available yet. • Some programs will defer payment until your aid is available if SFS completes a deferment form or writes on your behalf. • Ask your program and let us know! • Late payments can affect your registration and housing.

  18. Final Thoughts Understand how you will be billed and don’t ignore any bill that you receive. Share this knowledge with your parent(s) or financially responsible party. Avoid problems abroad by planning and asking questions before you leave. Check your wellesley.edu email because that’s how we will communicate with you. Don’t forget to apply for financial aid for 2015-2016.

  19. Contact Info

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