{"id":9324,"date":"2022-05-25T15:40:24","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T19:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/?page_id=9324"},"modified":"2026-06-17T10:13:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T14:13:17","slug":"studyabroad","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/how-aid-works\/eligibility\/studyabroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Study Abroad and Financial Aid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boston University students are encouraged to <\/span>study abroad<\/span><\/a>. BU has over 70 study abroad programs in over 15 countries. Nearly half of our students are studying, researching, and interning on five continents!<\/span><\/p>\n

What if I am attending a BU Study Abroad Program?<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

If you are attending a BU Study Abroad program and have completed the study agreement prior to registering, the charges on your account will reflect your Study Abroad program charges. The BU Study Abroad Office works with BU Financial Assistance over the summer to help identify any students who may be attending a study abroad program with a cost less than a standard on-campus BU semester. This might require a change to your financial aid award after your initial award is posted.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you know if your award will be impacted by Studying Abroad with BU?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Your financial aid award cannot exceed the total cost of attendance for your study abroad program. You can determine this, as well as see all of the included expenses with your program, by\u00a0<\/span>reviewing the budget sheet for your specific program<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at two examples:<\/span><\/p>\n

In the first example, your total financial aid award is $40,000 per semester and you are attending the Italy Milan Bocconi University Exchange:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Budget<\/p>\n

In this example, the total estimated expenses for this program (the red box at the bottom) is $46,574. Since your award ($40,000) is less than the cost of attendance for this program there will not need to be any change to your award. You can also see that the estimated additional expenses for this program includes housing, meals, and airfare. These estimated expenses are not included in the program charges on your student account ($33,834) and you will need to plan to pay for them separately. Good news, since the award in this example is more than the program charges, you will have a credit available for the difference ($6,166) which you can use towards the additional estimated expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a second example, you have the same financial aid award ($40,000 per semester), but are instead attending the England London Internship: Arts and Arts Administration:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Budget<\/p>\n

In this example, since the Total Estimated Expenses ($36,907) are less than your financial aid award ($40,000) your award will need to be reduced as it cannot exceed the total cost of attendance for your program. In this example your award would be reduced to $36,907\u00a0<\/span>for only the semester you are studying abroad<\/span>. Since your award equals the total cost of attendance for your program it will not only cover the total program charges, but you will also have a refund available to apply to all of the estimated additional expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can determine if your award will change by looking at your program budget sheet and estimating your award for the upcoming year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Federal and State Aid<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Your eligibility for Federal and State aid may change depending on your recent FAFSA submission and changes to your award may be required to keep federal and state aid within your federal eligibility for financial aid.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tuition-based Awards<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 If you are the recipient of a scholarship that covers full-tuition (specifically covers the full tuition charge) such as the Trustee scholarship, your award with be adjusted to cover the new tuition charge of your study abroad program if it is less than standard BU tuition. Tuition Remission will also be adjusted to the new percentage of your program\u2019s tuition.<\/p>\n

In both examples – some students might select optional charges such as charging their flight or visa to their student account, optional activity fees, or housing options while abroad that will increase the billed expenses. These options would decrease the amount available for a refund towards the unbilled expenses. If optional charges are added after taking a refund, a balance may be due later in the semester.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Generally, study abroad tuition and housing is comparable to on-campus costs in Boston. If you have financial aid, most of it can be used while you\u2019re studying abroad. There are a few exceptions:<\/span><\/p>\n