Program Costs - Colorado College

Colorado College students receiving financial aid (such as federal grants or loans) who plan to study off-campus through a non-affiliated program may be eligible to receive federal financial aid for their study abroad program. Students studying on non-affiliated study abroad programs will be eligible for federal aid only, but not CC grants . If you are studying abroad on a Colorado College, ACM, or affiliated study abroad program, do not follow the instructions in this brochure. Instead, make an appointment with the Office of Financial Aid to discuss the transfer of your financial aid package to your study abroad program.

The Educational Consortium

As your “home institution,” Colorado College can form an agreement called an Educational Consortium with the “host institution” sponsoring your study abroad program. This agreement will allow you to use your federal aid funds for your non-affiliated study abroad program. If you want Colorado College to process your federal aid eligibility for your non-affiliated study abroad program, you must follow the procedures outlined below.

•  File a Leave of Absence form to confirm your leave with the Registrar's Office by March 1 for programs that begin in the fall or November 1 for spring semester programs.

•  Submit a completed Preliminary Course Approval Form to the Office of International Programs, and keep a copy for yourself – you will need to submit a copy of this form to the Office of Financial Aid at CC to show that your coursework will be accepted for credit at CC.

•  Complete a Request to Process Federal Financial Aid form (available from the Financial Aid Office).

•  Provide a copy of your Letter of Acceptance for the study abroad program you will attend to the Financial Aid Office.

Upon receipt of #2, #3, and #4, the Office of Financial Aid will contact the host institution and request that they sign an Educational Consortium agreement. The responsible official at the host institution will complete the agreement by verifying program costs and the dates for the semester or year you will be abroad. The responsible official will return the agreement to the Office of Financial Aid. Once the Educational Consortium has been received from the host institution, the Office of Financial Aid will determine your eligibility for federal funds and notify you of any award decision. You will be eligible for a Federal Stafford Loan if you have filed the FAFSA form, but you still must submit the loan application to the Office of Financial Aid.

Disbursement of Funds

When your federal funds are received by Colorado College , they will be disbursed directly to you (or to your parents). You should notify your study abroad program that your financial aid funds will be paid to you and not to them by Colorado College . You and your parents may want to consider the advantages of a Power of Attorney for them to be able to endorse funds made payable to you. Arrangements for disbursing these funds should be made with the Student Loan and Accounts Office in Armstrong Hall before you leave campus

Applying for Federal Aid

If you haven't in the past, but wish to apply for federal financial aid for study abroad, you must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA form is available at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov .