Finance Your Study Abroad

July 11th, 2012 by Jennifer Frankel

Study abroad is one of the most rewarding experiences for students. After studying abroad, many students return home with memories that last a lifetime. If you don’t agree, just look at the numbers! According to the Open Doors Report, 270,604 US students studied abroad in 2009-2010. This milestone represents the largest number of US study abroad students, marking a 3.9% increase over last year. Whether the attraction is cultural immersion, learning a new language, building professional skills, or to gaining international experience, you may not be able to afford NOT to go.

So then comes the question, how do you finance your study abroad so that you can take advantage of these opportunities as well?

If you are looking to finance your study abroad, you first need to look for opportunities that are free gifts and do not require you to pay back the money. This includes scholarships and grants offered to students. Your financial aid counselors or advisors can be an enormous resource as they may be able to recommend funding options and help you budget wisely. To make sure you take advantage of all of the scholarship opportunities, you should not only contact your financial aid office, but also your study abroad office, academic department, clubs and organizations, national organizations with ties to international education, religious and civic organizations, and perhaps even places of work for you and your parents.

Once you’ve maximized your grants and scholarships, you may find that you need additional financial assistance. Stafford loans are another great way to help fund even more of the expenses. It’s important to note, however, that federal loans have limits on how much you can borrow. To put this in prospective, the maximum Stafford loan that students can borrow is $5,500.

Finally, private study abroad loans are another avenue to finance your study abroad. While you should always maximize scholarships and grants followed by federally backed loans, private student loans can also help you get the financing you need to make your study abroad a reality. If you are thinking about taking out a loan, it is important to realize that loans will need to be paid back along with interest. Consider how this debt will affect you, and develop a plan that will allow you to pay back your loan on time.

Financing your study abroad is no easy task – especially as costs can easily add up while you try to make the most of your international experience. The payoffs, however, are unquantifiable especially in this day in age where the world is interconnected no matter what career path you choose.

Other Interesting Posts:


Stafford Student Loan Rates Held

July 4th, 2012 by Jennifer Frankel

What a difference a week makes in the world of financial aid. After all, at this point a week ago, there was every indication that federal student loan interest rates – which had been set to double on July 1st due – would do exactly that. Although both US President Obama and Mitt Romney, his Republican challenger – not mention quite a few members of Congress besides – voiced support for measures that would prevent this automatic increase of interest rates.

With such broad support, in and of itself, there was not enough to reconcile differences between the two parties on how to pay for the bill or, ultimately, to bring the matter to a vote. With the issue of funding unresolved, as Congress approached the weekend (and its weeklong recess to commemorate the US’s Independence Day), the general consensus at the Capitol was that, come the new month, the interest rate on federally backed student loans would jump from 3.4% to 6.8%. While this measure only affects federal loans – and not private international student loans – this would indeed affect those students who plan to study abroad with federally-backed student loans.

In the end, though, what a difference a week makes. In a rare flurry of bipartisanship in the United States, an 11th hour compromise was reached. The leaders of the two major parties in the Senate found common ground on how to pay for the nearly $6 billion cost of the measure on Tuesday and it was this compromise measure that passed the House 373 to 52 Friday and, later the same day, the Senate itself 74 to 19. The US President, who actively called for the legislation, signed it into law on Friday. In so doing, the change is estimated to help more than 7 million students who currently receive Stafford loans by saving them an average of $1,000 each on their loans.


Steps to Apply for an International Student Loan

June 11th, 2012 by Jennifer Frankel

Are you an international student looking to apply for a loan? With the added cost of travel, living expenses, tuition, and books, students may sometimes find that they need additional financial aid to support their dream of studying overseas.

If you are going to apply for a student loan, you may find that some US lenders don’t work for international students. You may also find that if they do – lenders only work with select colleges and universities.

If you are an international, study abroad, or foreign enrolled students, we’ve made the steps to apply for an international student loan even easier. We’ve streamlined the process so that you can quickly be matched with lenders that work for you.

Here is a simple guide with the steps to apply for an international student loan:

  • Step 1. You can complete the compare student loan tool by selecting your citizenship and school on our International Student Loans partner site.
  • Step 2. Click compare student loans.
  • Step 3. Review the basic terms and conditions of each lender – and choose the one that’s right for you.
  • Step 4. When you’ve decided on your loan, “Apply Now” to begin the application right online.

It’s just as simple as these easy steps to apply for an international student loan. You can get initial approval as early as a few weeks of completing your application. Keep in mind, student loans require you to pay back the amount you borrow along with interest. It is important to consider all of your financial aid alternatives and maximize funding from scholarships and grants first before applying for a loan.

Compare international student loans and apply online today!

Other Interesting Posts:


International Student Loan Launches New Website

May 14th, 2010 by IEFA

International Student Loan has re-launched its website, with a new loan matching system, improved navigation and an updated design.  International students will now be matched to an appropriate loan product much more quickly, simplifying product selection and application.

Instead of requiring a student to navigate through the site to the appropriate loan product, now students can use the simple form to quickly find out if they are eligible to apply for a loan, and if so, what loan is appropriate. The new system will also allow International Student Loan to work more easily with multiple lenders, making sure that they can keep up with the rapidly changing market and deliver the best loan products to students.

The new site also has a cool new look – wider, with more images and a more current look. The content has been updated and added to, so students can get the information they need quickly.

For international students studying in the USA, and for US students studying overseas, the financing options are more limited than for domestic study.  Through International Student Loan, students can apply for up to the total cost of education, minus any other aid received.  A US co-signer is required for all international students and most US students.

Check out the new site: http://www.InternationalStudentLoan.com

Click here to subscribe to our blog and get an update when the next post comes out.


IEFA logo
Thank you for visiting IEFA.org
Providing information about international financial aid & scholarships since 1998
2024 MPOWER Financing, Public Benefit Corporation
1101 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036