Funding FAQs
Costs and Funding FAQs
It can also be helpful to ask yourself the following questions when considering more expensive programs:
- If I’m not selected for a Study Abroad Office Scholarship, how will I plan to cover extra expenses?
- Am I willing to borrow additional loans to help cover higher programs costs?
- Do I have other resources that can help cover costs (earnings from a job, money in savings, family or friends’ financial support)?
If you will be participating in a less expensive program, your financial aid may be reduced to match reduced costs per federal and student aid regulations. OSSA will always reduce loans first, to preserve as much grant and scholarship funding as possible.
Email fa_studyabroad@unc.edu with the following:
- your name
- PID number
- the term you are planning to study abroad
- a link to your study abroad program’s budget sheet
The OSSA study abroad team will respond within a few days, on average.
Line items on the budget sheet are sorted into two sections:
- Cashier Billed Expenses (billable subtotal): These are charges applied to your UNC Student Account. Tuition and Program Fees are not paid to the host institution. Each program budget is different and may include some but not all of the following:
- Study Abroad Fee
- Tuition & Fees – costs related to the academic delivery of the program
- Program Costs – can include things such as housing, meals, included excursions, activity fees, and other costs required by host institution
- GeoBlue Insurance – international health insurance
- Out-of-Pocket Estimates (non-billable subtotal): These are costs you pay yourself, and most will vary based on your personal spending habits.
Refer to the Budget Notes at the bottom of the page for details on various line items. Remember that even fixed costs, such as a visa application fee, are subject to change without notice.
For summer, typically the COA for a single session (with 6 credit hours) for in-state students totals $4,000; typically, the COA for out-of-state students totals $8,000.
Your financial aid (scholarships, grants, or loans) will post to your UNC student account right around when UNC classes begin for the study abroad term (regardless of your study abroad program start date). All funding is first applied to your Cashier Billed Expenses and anything leftover, called a credit balance, is generated as a refund to you to use for out-of-pocket estimates. The Study Abroad Office budget sheets show how to locate these expenses.
Please note that some out-of-pocket expenses will be incurred before this time, such as passport/visa fees or airfare. If you receive a refund, you can use some of this to reimburse yourself for those early out-of-pocket expenses.
Be sure to set up electronic refunds with the Cashier’s Office to receive your refund directly to your personal bank account, especially since you may already be abroad at the time your refund is generated.