You can receive financial aid to study abroad, but you must plan well in advance. To receive financial aid for studying abroad, follow these procedures.

File for Financial Aid. You must file a complete financial aid application with the Office of Student Financial Aid and must meet all the terms and conditions required by the federal financial aid programs. Be sure you have filed all the necessary financial aid papers. These are:

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid plus all required documents
• Promissory notes for all loans you accept
• Complete Entrance Counseling if you are a first-time Federal Direct Loan borrower

Apply to a Study Abroad Program. This step will vary depending upon which study abroad program you have chosen.

• For study abroad programs administered or co-sponsored by The University of Iowa Office, you must meet with an adviser in the Office for Study Abroad. The adviser will notify the Office of Student Financial Aid of your participation in the program. Your financial aid will automatically be adjusted based on your study abroad costs and term dates.

• For study abroad programs sponsored by other institutions, you must meet with an adviser in the Office for Study Abroad and obtain a Study Abroad Credit Approval Form. When you have completed this form and your proposed plan of study has been approved by your academic adviser, visit the Office of Student Financial Aid and meet with the walk-in counselor. Be sure you have the Credit Approval Form and contact information (name, phone number and fax number) from your study abroad program with you. The counselor will determine whether you are eligible to receive financial aid. If you are, the counselor will initiate a consortium agreement with the host institution. Typically it takes three weeks to process a consortium agreement. Financial aid cannot be disbursed to you without this agreement.

• If you are on a program administered or co-sponsored by The University of Iowa, the Office for Study Abroad will tell you how to register.

• If you are on a program sponsored by another institution, you should register for 00 hours in 165:500. There is a charge for this enrollment. After the Office of Student Financial Aid receives the signed consortium agreement from the other institution, your registration will be changed to reflect the number of anticipated enrollment hours at the foreign institution. Important Note: Once your registration has been changed to full-time enrollment, you will not be able to drop or add hours. If you decide not to study abroad, you must notify the Office of Student Financial Aid. We will then cancel this registration, freeing you to register for UI classes.

• You must take enough hours to qualify for financial aid—at least six hours for undergraduates and five hours for graduate students.

• The maximum number of hours an undergraduate may register for is 18. If you take an independent study class at UI in addition to the hours at the foreign institution, be sure you carry a total load of 18 hours or less. If you have preregistered for UI hours and later decide to study abroad, be sure to drop your UI classes.

• To facilitate receipt of financial aid while you are abroad, you may wish to authorize the University Billing Office to deposit funds directly into your bank account. You can do this on ISIS. (Click on the heading Student Records, under the heading Finances & Billing click on Bank Information - Financial Aid Refund.

• You are strongly encouraged to give a parent or other responsible adult power of attorney to sign legal documents on your behalf while you are abroad. You must specifically authorize this person to sign promissory notes for educational loans in order for the Direct Loan Servicing Center to accept his or her signature on a loan note.

• If you are on a program sponsored by The University of Iowa, financial aid will be credited to your U-bill to cover your program fees. The balance of your financial aid will be refunded to you to help you cover incidental expenses.

• For all programs sponsored by other institutions, financial aid will be disbursed to you and you are responsible for paying all program fees.

• The earliest financial aid can be disbursed is ten days prior to the start of your classes.

• If you receive financial aid for study abroad, the classes you take abroad must transfer back to UI and count toward your degree. It is your responsibility to provide an official transcript to the Office for Study Abroad at The University of Iowa. You will not be permitted to re-register at The University of Iowa until the official transcript is received. Moreover, if you have early registered for a subsequent semester and the official transcript is not received in a timely fashion, your early registration will be voided. If you have difficulty receiving a transcript from the foreign institution, please ask the Office for Study Abroad for help.