Interested in studying for an MBA at INSEAD Business School in France, Dan Hauber applied and was surprised to learn that federal student loans could cover his costs overseas.
“I had no idea, really,” says Hauber, who now runs a New York City-based mattress company. “I got a handful of emails from INSEAD with a couple of loan options, and included in that was a link to the Department of Education’s website.”
Similar to the process of applying for financial aid at a U.S. school, Hauber filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to receive federal student loans for the France-based MBA program.
The now 36-year-old received his financial aid package from INSEAD’s admissions department — he was awarded $20,500 in Stafford loans and $80,000 in PLUS loans for the 12-month program in 2010-2011. The current tuition at the French institution costs 73,500 euros, roughly $80,000.
Find out how to calculate the [cost of earning an overseas degree.]
Of the three types of federal financial aid available — loans, grants and work-study — only the loan portion is available at international schools, financial aid experts say. The loans can come in the form of subsidized or unsubsidized Stafford loans or PLUS loans.
The list of international schools participating in the Department of Education’s federal student loan program continues to grow as more Americans seek full degrees in both undergraduate or graduate studies abroad, says Rajika Bhandari, deputy vice president of research and evaluation at the Institute of International Education, a New York-based nonprofit that promotes international education.
Bhandari says that while the majority of U.S. students seeking a degree abroad are graduate students, there’s a growing interest among American students pursuing an undergraduate degree overseas — usually in English-speaking countries, such as Canada and the U.K.
Read [how college costs are driving U.S. students to British universities.]
“The U.S. Department of Education is seeing certain institutions overseas as being credible where they see American students can study and obtain higher education credentials,” the IIE researcher says.
According to the most recent data from the Department of Education, 400 foreign universities across 38 countries are listed as “eligible” for dispersing federal student loans. More than half of the schools listed as eligible are located in the U.K. Canada tallies the second highest number of schools with 79 institutions listed.
“It’s an extensive list, and I’ve seen it grow over the years. There are so many universities to pick from,” says Kristen Moon, founder of Atlanta-based Moon Prep, a firm that helps prospective students and their families with the college admissions process.
Other institutions around the world participate in the U.S. loan program, such as the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, the University of Haifa in Israel and the University of Cape Town in South Africa — to name a few.
Watch this video for [ steps in applying to U.K. universities.]
“In Germany, I worked with WHU — Otto Beisheim School — it’s a small private business school and I had a student go there and receive aid,” says Moon, who adds that students are looking at other countries other than the U.K. or Canada that offer programs in English.
When students study overseas, the process to disburse federal student loans is the same as when they study in the U.S., Moon says.
“Whether it goes to a U.S. school or international school, it goes through the same process — the funds go directly to the school’s designated bank account,” says the Moon Prep founder. “It’s anywhere from $5,500 to $20,000, and that’s for subsidized and unsubsidized loans in addition to the parent PLUS loans.”
From Moon’s experience counseling students seeking to go overseas for an undergraduate degree, she says the process seems more “smooth and seamless” in Germany and the U.K.
The Atlanta-based college adviser says it’s important for degree-seeking students to fill out the FAFSA, no matter where they plan to go.
Financial aid experts advise students interested in earning a degree abroad to check the Federal S tudent Aid website first for the list of international schools that partner with the federal student loan program. The list is updated regularly, government officials say.
“From the application to the loans to moving and everything else, it’s significantly harder to do all things in another country,” Hauber, the INSEAD graduate, says. “The process is a bit tricky, but in the long run it’s worth the effort.”
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More Universities Overseas Offer U.S. Federal Student Loans originally appeared on usnews.com
