Applying for financial aid is already a confusing experience, even while working in the US. Many students are perplexed about how they can apply for financial aid if they accept an internship abroad. Fortunately, financial aid for internships abroad is available.
Continue reading to learn everything you need to know about applying for financial aid while accepting an internship abroad. We will walk you through everything you need to know about how financial aid relates to abroad internships so that you can relax. Staying stressed out about internships is unnecessary, even if you’re temporarily living out of the country.
Can You Use Financial Aid While Interning Abroad?
Fortunately, students can use financial aid during an abroad internship. This fact is a relief because interning abroad and student fees can be extremely expensive without financial aid. However, to receive financial aid, your university must approve the programs you take on during your internship abroad.
Financial aid can assist with several different situations for students that intern abroad in their field of study. For example, while you can’t just take out financial aid for a standard vacation if you accept a school-approved internship to visit the country you want, you can offset some of those fines by using your financial aid. In addition, financial aid can cover housing costs, food, and tuition fees while you study and intern abroad.
How Abroad Internships Affect Financial Aid
You must follow specific requirements for entering ships abroad if you want to use your financial aid. The following are situations to consider when figuring out how financial aid affects your abroad internship.
- School approval: Before accepting an internship abroad, you must ensure that your university approves the internship. If your university does not approve your internship, you will not be eligible to receive financial aid for your internship. Abroad internships can be very expensive, and going about them without financial aid can be very difficult.
- Relevancy to your degree: Some universities won’t approve internships if they don’t relate to the career that you’re studying for. Also, finding an internship that benefits your degree would be best because you will have more work opportunities post-graduation if you find an internship with degree relevance.
- Covered costs: Financial aid can cover many costs associated with the error abroad internship. Costs that are covered can include food, housing, and classes. However, many costs are not covered by financial aid. Please consult with your financial aid representatives about which costs they will cover and what they will not.
- Paid internships: paid abroad internships can significantly impact the amount you receive from financial aid. Your financial aid may be impacted because paid internships are seen as additional income. If your internship is paid, you must report to financial aid how much you’re making from that internship to receive the correct amount of money for your financial aid. You may be disqualified from financial aid depending on how much you make from your internship.
- Work-study versus internship: When signing up for financial aid, it is essential to distinguish between a work-study and an internship. During work studies, the wages that you make during the study will not count against you for financial aid. However, wages that you make during an internship will count as additional income and can severely impact your financial aid qualifications.
If you have any more questions about how an abroad internship will affect your financial aid qualifications, you should consult with a financial aid representative or a school counselor. These resources are an excellent way to ensure that you are ready for an internship and that your financial aid will cover it. Neglecting to cover these things can lead you to a bad financial situation if your financial aid does not cover your abroad internship.
Steps for Applying for Financial Aid Abroad
Fortunately, the steps you need to take to apply for financial aid when accepting an abroad internship are the same as applying for financial aid without an internship. This situation makes it simple for students to get financial aid while they accept an internship abroad. Financial aid can already be pretty stressful to deal with, so, fortunately, studying abroad does not have much impact on that Application process.
- Consult with a school counselor to see if you will be approved for your abroad internships. Financial aid will not cover any internships that are not approved by your school or university.
- Go to the financial aid website and follow the application process on the website.
- If you have any questions while applying for financial aid, call the financial aid office to get a human to help you.
- Make sure that you have all of your tax documents together and your identification documents together before applying for financial aid.
- If you receive income from your internship, make sure that it’s stated on your internship term so that financial aid is aware of how much money you receive from your internship.
If you are still having difficulty applying for financial aid after following these steps, it would be best to contact the financial aid office directly. Sometimes, a human can help you with any questions that you have, and applying for financial aid for an abroad internship can be stressful and confusing. The important thing to note when I’m planning for an internship abroad is that you have all of your information together before you apply.
Who is Eligible for Financial Aid Abroad?
For the most part, the same people who are eligible for financial aid before accepting an abroad internship are also eligible for financial aid after they accept an abroad internship. However, depending on the circumstances of the internship can impact some people’s eligibility. The following scenarios are ways to know if you are eligible to receive financial aid prior to accepting an abroad internship.
- Despite the fact that you will be temporarily living in a different country, you must verify that you are a US citizen to qualify for financial aid.
- If you are not a US citizen, you must be considered an eligible noncitizen and have the correct certification to prove that. This is granted if you are a permanent resident and the United States, but you weren’t born there.
- You must be enrolled in a college or university that financial aid accepts. Some people are enrolled in a university in the United States but conduct their studies and internships outside of the country. As long as you’re college qualifies for financial aid, this is not an issue.
- You must have a valid Social Security number to apply for financial aid. However, there are a few exceptions to this, and you can consult a financial aid representative to verify the exceptions.
- Your school or university must approve the internship that you accept abroad. If you’re school or university does not approve the internship, then your internship will not qualify for financial aid.
- To get financial aid, you must have decent grades that the financial aid office finds satisfactory. If your grades are slipping, you may be disqualified from financial aid.
- Maintain up-to-date tax information and be able to provide any forms asked of you by the financial aid office.
- If your internship is paid, this can have a massive effect on your financial aid eligibility. Unlike work studies, internships that are paid are considered income. So, if you accept an internship and it’s paid, you may not receive as many financial aid benefits. Paid internships can even disqualify you from receiving financial aid altogether.
If any of these circumstances fall through while performing an internship abroad, you can lose your qualifications to receive financial aid. Verify with your school counselors and with the financial aid office to ensure that you don’t end up in a tough situation when you accept an internship abroad. Ensure that you have all of your paperwork together and all of the statements and terms of the internships before talking with either a school counselor or the financial aid office.
Abroad internships can have a substantial positive impact on your future career pursuits and give you hands-on experience in your field of study. Most universities will approve abroad internships as long as they relate here degree and meet the qualifications that the university or school requires. If your internship is unpaid and your school approves it, your financial aid situation will not change from what it was before.
Final Thoughts on Using Financial Aid During an Abroad Internship
With how confusing financial aid can be even while living and working in your home country, many students stress the impacts interning abroad can have on financial aid. However, financial aid does not have a significant impact when students accept an internship abroad. The only times this is changed is if the school does not approve the internship or the internship is paid. Paid internships can disqualify students from receiving financial aid because the payment is considered part of the student’s income.
