Costs

The program costs and billing procedures vary by each program. You may pay all of your program costs to OSU, all costs to an outside agency or foreign university, or tuition and fees to OSU and other costs, such as room and board, to the foreign university. Be sure to check with your study abroad coordinator to make sure you understand exactly what you will owe to whom, and when it is due.

In addition to program costs, all students participating in a study abroad program will be charged a study abroad administrative fee. The administrative fee varies per program, so check with your OSU study abroad administrator regarding your fee. Your OSU account may be charged this fee, or you may need to pay by check before departing. Depending on your program, you may be charged an administrative fee each term you are abroad or a one-time fee. For many programs, the administrative fee is $300 per term. If you are paying your fees directly to a study abroad provider or host institution, you still need to plan to pay the OSU administrative fee on your OSU account. If you intend to use financial aid to pay your program fee, remember the administrative fee will be paid out of your award before your refund is issued.

If you pay your study abroad costs to OSU, the same OSU policies apply while you are overseas as if you were on campus.

• Your OSU bill is due by July 31 for summer term, October 31 for fall term, January 31 for winter term, and April 30 for spring term. A 1% late charge will be assessed on any unpaid balance after that date.
• You may pay in monthly installments if you wish; just be aware that you will be charged interest.
• Currently, OSU accepts credit card payments only via the Web.
• Your account balance must be under $2,200 or you will not be able to register for the following term, even if you are still abroad.

Accessing your OSU Account

A billing notification will be sent to your ONID account at the start of each month letting you know that you can log into the ebill system to view your OSU statement.  You can authorize someone (such as your parents) to have access to your OSU account by clicking on the "Authorized users" button once you are in the system and following the steps. If you have any questions about your account, please e-mail accounts.receivable@oregonstate.edu.

Due to federal privacy regulations, the OSU Student Accounts Office cannot discuss your account with anyone but you unless you sign a release form. If someone other than yourself (e.g., a parent, grandparent, bill payer) might need to inquire information about your OSU account, you must sign the release form or no information can be given. The student accounts release form is available at Window 13 on the first floor of Kerr Administration Building. Be sure to inform the Student Accounts Office that you will be abroad so that they will give you the correct form and be sure to list all of the terms you will be studying abroad. You should complete the Student Accounts Release Form at the window 13 so they can witness your signature. If you mail the form, you will need to have it notarized.

Paying your Bill

You can pay your OSU bill via the ebill system, with a credit card via the Student Online Services, or by mailing a check to:

OSU Business Office
PO Box 1086
Corvallis, OR 97339

(Be sure to include your OSU ID number when mailing a payment.)

Financial Aid

Once you have been accepted to participate in an international program, the IDEA Office will work closely with the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships to help you use your aid to study abroad. The IDEA Office provides the financial aid office a budget for each study abroad student's study abroad program cost. Financial Aid office will review your FAFSA record, and then you can discuss with a financial aid advisor about different options for your financial aid package. You will then need to follow up with the Financial Aid office to accept (or decline) the aid and complete all necessary paperwork.

What you need to do to use your financial aid on an international program:

• Complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as early as possible - at least six months before your program starts. Apply online; there is no fee to apply for financial aid, so it is ideal to apply for aid even before you have applied to your program. The earlier you apply, the earlier you can find out your award and plan a budget. Apply early, but not before January 1 for the following academic year. Applications may be submitted until May 1 for the following year. If you have never used financial aid before, consult with financial aid and scholarships about your options and timing.
• Sign and submit all follow-up paperwork to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.
• The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships is not responsible for incomplete aid files, missing signatures, interest charges, missing or outdated addresses, satisfactory academic progress or registration holds that may delay the financial aid process.
• Sign and submit a copy of the OSU award notification to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. You may do this online at: oregonstate.edu/students/onlineservices.
• Sign Perkins and/or Ford Direct Student Loan Promissory Notes. If you are a first-time borrower, you must complete an entrance counseling session before your loans can be disbursed. Entrance counseling is available on the Web at dlservicer.ed.gov. Make sure you sign and return the Rights and Responsibilities checklist to the OSU Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. You may sign your federal Ford promissory note on line at: dlenote.ed.gov.

Plan ahead for emergency funding

Do not expect emergency loan assistance through the Office of Business Affairs. If possible, identify sources for emergency funds before you leave in case an unexpected need arises while you are overseas.

Release of Financial Aid

Your financial aid will be applied to your OSU account at the start of the term. Due to federal regulations, your aid cannot be released sooner even if your program starts earlier. Only the current term's tuition and fees (or the costs you are required to pay to OSU as part of your study abroad program) will be deducted from any federal aid before a refund is issued. Any state-based aid or private loans (such as alternative loans) or scholarships will be applied to current charges and any past due balances you may have before the aid is refunded.

Financial Aid Refunds

Direct Deposit

The easiest and fastest way for you to receive your financial aid refund is to sign up for direct deposit. You can sign up for direct deposit through your account at Student Online Services. The direct deposit form can be found by logging onto Student Online Services, selecting "Personal Information" and then "View or Update Direct Deposit Authorization." Students wishing to set up direct deposit for financial aid refunds should fill out the section labeled "Student Accounts/Employee Payables".

Update your Current Address

If you do not sign up for direct deposit (direct deposit is highly recommended), a refund check will be issued and mailed to your current mailing address. You need to update your address to a safe location (parents or friends address) where your refund check could be sent the first week of the term. You can update your address through Student Online Services. It is your responsibility to update your current mailing address so that your refund check is mailed to the correct address.

Financial Aid Refund Checks are processed each day for the first two weeks of the term. If your aid is applied to your account after the first two weeks, the aid will remain on your account unless you specifically request a refund check to be issued. To request a refund check after the first two weeks of the term, e-mail Charlotte Hughbank (charlotte.hughbank@oregonstate.edu) and provide your name, birthdate, OSU ID number and the address to which you would like the check mailed.

Pay any up front costs

You are encouraged to contact the program directly to determine any up-front cost for the study program or internship. You may need to seek outside funding to pay the program deposit, airline tickets, insurance, visas, etc. Certain expenses may not be covered by federal aid funds.

Federal regulations do not permit the disbursement of aid funds until the beginning of each scheduled term for the OSU campus. For some programs, the disbursement schedule of aid funds may not coincide with the study abroad program billing deadlines and start dates.

Pay off any balance on your OSU account

Scheduled financial aid funds are applied to the student billing account. It is your responsibility to pay any remaining program costs owed to an outside agency or university and not covered by financial aid. Any unpaid balance may result in your grades being held until payment is made in full.

Release of Financial Aid Information

Again, due to federal privacy regulations, you must sign a release form if you want to authorize another person to ask questions or receive information regarding your financial aid. This release does not authorize anyone else to sign anything on your behalf, such as a promissory note, or a financial aid award letter, or to endorse an alternative loan check. It simply allows the financial aid office to discuss your aid situation with whomever you authorize. The financial aid office release form is available at the financial aid office, or it can be downloaded. 

Alternative Loans

An alternative loan is a student loan that you apply for directly with a bank. (NOTE: the Ford loans, Perkins loan, and Direct PLUS loan are NOT alternative loans, so these instructions do not apply to them.) Alternative loans are not automatically applied to your OSU account. If you have an alternative loan, you must contact Charlotte Hughbank in the OSU Cashier's Office (charlotte.hughbank@oregonstate.edu, 737-2597). She will explain the procedure to get the alternative loan check, which will include assigning a power of attorney to someone if the check is scheduled to be sent to OSU after you have left the country.

Direct PLUS (parent) loans

There are several steps in the PLUS loan application process. Accepting your aid award with a PLUS loan offered to you is only the first step. Your parents must complete the application form, submit the necessary financial documentation, and sign the promissory note. Be sure all of these steps are completed before you leave for overseas. When you have completed all of the steps you will receive a disclosure statement showing how the loan will be disbursed.

Athletic Scholarships

If you have an athletic scholarship, contact Sally Wright in the OSU Athletics Department at 541-737-7476, Sally.Wright@oregonstate.edu, to discuss how those funds will be disbursed.

Staff Rates

If you are eligible for staff rates and you are paying tuition to OSU for your exchange program (as opposed to paying tuition to the foreign institution), you can pay OSU tuition at staff rates while you are on exchange. The same paperwork required for on campus staff tuition rates is required to use staff rates on exchange programs.

Financial Aid Compliance

At the end of each term you are abroad, you will receive a letter from the OSU financial aid office stating that you are out of compliance and your future aid is in jeopardy. This is a form letter that goes out to all students who do not have grades posted on the system at the end of the term. Your aid will continue to be released for the academic year, provided there are not other issues with your financial aid eligibility that existed prior to your overseas program.

At the end of spring term, students on spring term or yearlong programs will receive a letter from the OSU financial aid office stating that your aid eligibility has been terminated. As a study abroad student, your grades will not be posted until six to eight weeks after the end of the term. Once your grades for the program have been processed (and provided you completed the required number of credits), your fall term aid eligibility will be reinstated.