Study Abroad: Making Sense of Your Budget and Bills

1. Study Abroad:Making Sense of Your Budget and Bills Wellesley College Office of International Studies 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 • Upon receipt of your Leave of Absence Form, OIS will create a study abroad budget for you. • Submit your form by April 1 for the Fall / Full-Year and November 1 for the Spring. • Your budget will be based on published and estimated costs for your program. • OIS will submit your prepared budget to SFS. • You can access program budgets online at OIS > Handbook > Costs > click on link Cost Estimate Worksheet • 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 • Estimated 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 Spring 2013

7. Studying Abroad is Affordable Impact on Financial Aid: What Stays the Same • Financial Aid Application and Priority Due Date • Applications will be reviewed in the order they’re received. • 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 costs more than Wellesley or reduces if your Study Abroad Budget costs less than 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 Studies Scholarships • Apply for scholarships specifically for study abroad. • Examples include Gilman, Freeman, Boren, or funding offered by your program. • International Studies 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: • Food in self-catering accommodations • Local transportation (subway passes) • Books and supplies • Flights (for certain programs)

12. What will Wellesley charge you? • If you enroll in a Wellesley sponsored program, then you will be charged a comprehensive fee ($27,428), which includes Wellesley tuition, room and board, and airfare. • Examples include Aix, Bologna, Cordoba, Puebla, etc. • If you enroll in a Wellesley approved program, then you will be charged Wellesley tuition ($20,912). • 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.

13. 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. Program bills vary – some will include all charges on one bill, others will bill charges separately. This slide is not applicable to Wellesley sponsored programs.

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. • Applicable to Wellesley approved programs only. • You’re still required to pay by the established deadlines • Spring: January 2, 2013

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 Wellesley Approved Programs

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 2013-2014. • Priority due date is April 20, 2013.

19. Contact Info