Does FAFSA cover study abroad programs? Daughter wants to study in Rome
Hi everyone! I'm working on my daughter's FAFSA for next year (her sophomore year) and could use some advice. She just told me she wants to do a semester in Rome through her university's study abroad program. Is there a specific place in the FAFSA application where I need to indicate this? Or does the financial aid automatically transfer to study abroad programs? This is our second time filing but first with this situation, and I don't want to mess anything up. The program costs about $8,000 more than a regular semester. Thanks for any help!
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Luca Bianchi
The FAFSA itself doesn't have a specific section for study abroad programs. Your daughter's financial aid eligibility is determined the same way regardless of location. However, what you need to do is contact her school's financial aid office directly after submitting the FAFSA. They have separate forms for study abroad programs that determine how her aid package applies to the international program.
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Zara Shah
•Thank you! That's really helpful. I was searching all over the FAFSA form for some kind of checkbox or section. Should I mention anything about the study abroad plans in the comments section, or just submit normally and then follow up with the financial aid office?
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GalacticGuardian
my son did semester in barcelona last year. the fafsa doesnt change but you need to talk to finaid office at her school. some schools have different policies about how much aid transfers to study abroad
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Zara Shah
•Oh that's good to know. Did your son's financial aid cover the full cost difference for the study abroad program? We're worried about that extra $8,000.
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GalacticGuardian
•it was complicated. some of his aid transferred 100% but his merit scholarship only gave half the normal amount for study abroad. check with her specific program. they probably have someone who specializes in study abroad financial aid
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Nia Harris
I work in a university financial aid office, and this comes up a lot. Here's what you need to know: 1. Complete the FAFSA as normal - there's no special section for study abroad 2. Your daughter needs to fill out a "Consortium Agreement" from her home institution that indicates she'll be studying abroad 3. Federal aid (Pell Grants, Direct Loans) will typically transfer to approved study abroad programs 4. Institutional scholarships and grants vary WIDELY by school - some transfer 100%, others not at all 5. The extra $8,000 can sometimes be covered by additional unsubsidized loans if you request them specifically for the study abroad expense I recommend making an appointment with financial aid as soon as you submit the FAFSA to discuss this specific situation. Every school handles it differently.
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Zara Shah
•This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I didn't know about the Consortium Agreement at all. We'll definitely make an appointment with financial aid. Do you know roughly when would be the best time to do this? Her study abroad would be for Spring 2026 semester.
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Nia Harris
•For Spring 2026, I'd recommend meeting with financial aid by March or April 2025 at the latest. The study abroad office will have deadlines for the program applications (usually 6-9 months before departure), and you'll want to have the financial picture clear before she fully commits. The Consortium Agreement typically needs to be completed after she's accepted to the program but before she leaves.
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Mateo Gonzalez
DONT DO IT!!!! My daughter did study abroad in Greece and we got SCREWED on financial aid!!!! Her regular scholarships didn't transfer and we ended up paying $14,000 more than we expected!!!! The financial aid office never warned us until it was too late to back out!!!!!
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Luca Bianchi
•This can definitely happen, but it varies greatly by institution. Some schools transfer 100% of financial aid to affiliated study abroad programs, while others have strict policies limiting what transfers. It's not that study abroad is a bad choice - it's that you need to get clear answers in writing from your specific school before committing.
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Aisha Ali
I had so many problems trying to get through to someone at the financial aid office when my son was trying to do study abroad in Japan. Kept getting disconnected or waiting on hold for literally hours. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to connect with an FSA agent who explained exactly how the federal aid would transfer and helped us sort out the consortium agreement. They have a video demo of how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Totally worth it because we found out he was eligible for additional unsubsidized loans specifically for the higher cost of the program that we wouldn't have known about otherwise.
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Zara Shah
•I've never heard of this service before! Did they help you specifically with the study abroad questions or just with general FAFSA questions? I've been trying to call our financial aid office for days.
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Aisha Ali
•They connected me directly to Federal Student Aid, not my son's specific school. The FSA agent walked me through how federal aid works with study abroad and what questions to specifically ask our school's financial aid office. It saved me from getting generic answers and helped me know exactly what to request from our school.
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Ethan Moore
My daughter just got back from studying in Florence last semester! One thing to keep in mind is that there are special study abroad scholarships that aren't part of FAFSA but can help with that extra cost. Have her check with: 1. The study abroad office at her school 2. The specific Rome program she's applying to 3. External scholarships like Gilman (if she receives Pell Grant) 4. Sometimes academic departments have travel grants My daughter got a $3,500 scholarship just for writing an essay about why she wanted to study in Italy. Definitely explore all options beyond just the regular financial aid.
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Zara Shah
•That's fantastic advice! I didn't even think about program-specific scholarships. Do you remember any of the names of the scholarships your daughter applied for? My daughter is a History major, so Italy is perfect for her studies.
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Ethan Moore
•For a History major, definitely check if her department has any study abroad funds! My daughter got the API scholarship (her program provider), the Gilman (she had Pell Grant), and one from our state's Italian-American foundation. Also check the Fund for Education Abroad and if she has any heritage connections to Italy, there are sometimes scholarships for that too. The study abroad office should have a list of options!
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Yuki Nakamura
so like when i went to spain for a semester my fafsa was the same but i had to do a bunch of extra paperwork with my school. but then i still had a gap of like $5000 that my regular aid didnt cover. ended up having to take an extra loan just for the study abroad. make sure ur daughter knows all the costs including spending money and weekend trips cause everyone does those and its not in the program price lol. i spent wayyyy more than i planned.
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Zara Shah
•That's a really good point about the extra expenses. I was just focused on the program fee, but I'm sure there will be lots of travel opportunities and other costs. Did you take out a private loan or were you able to increase your federal loans for the study abroad?
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Yuki Nakamura
•i got more federal loans bc of the study abroad. u can get extra unsubsidized loans specifically for study abroad programs! way better than private loans. def ask about that. my finaid advisor didnt tell me until i specifically asked if i could get more federal aid
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