While tuition fees tend to be lower than the U.S. at many of the universities CIS represents, you may still require financial assistance. The options that you can choose from include U.S. Federal Financial Aid, institutional scholarships and private aid. While CIS cannot process student financial aid, we can assist you and advise you about the procedures for applying.

U.S. Federal Financial Aid

If you are a U.S. citizen, the federal government allows you to use U.S. Federal Student Aid at all the universities (except those in Switzerland) with which CIS has a relationship. You may be eligible for the Stafford Loan and/or PLUS Loans for your degree and the repayment and deferment schemes that it includes. The amount of aid will depend upon the type of degree that you are studying and your status (dependent or independent). If you are studying for a bachelor degree and are considered a dependant you are eligible up to $5,500 as a freshman, up to $6,500 as a sophomore, and up to $7,500 as a junior and senior. Graduate students are eligible for up to $20,500 per year in loans. Portions of all of the above loans are unsubsidized, meaning that repayment of the interest is payable immediately.

To apply for any U.S. Federal Financial Aid you will need to submit the FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, usually available from the U.S. government beginning in November of the previous year for which it is applicable. Again, while CIS cannot process this application, we can guide you through this sometimes-complicated process. Here is a link to that form: www.fafsa.ed.gov

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Private Aid

CIS works closely with an agency to assist you in processing your full degree financial aid. The International Education Finance Corporation, IEFC, will assist you with all of the processing and also answer any questions that you might have.

You can also apply for specialized educational loans from private agencies. Again, the International Educational Finance Corporation, www.iefc.com , can assist you in finding information about these supplemental loans.

Finally, individual research can lead you to other forms of aid including private loans and scholarships. A variety of foundations, professional societies, clubs and organizations provide funding for foreign study opportunities.

Useful links for researching financial aid include:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oiia/ircfaq-finaid.html
http://www.IEFA.org
http://www.finaid.com

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G.I. Bill

You must contact the Department of Veterans Affairs in order to determine which schools are approved for the GI Bill. You should begin by narrowing down your university choices before contacting them. The Department of Veterans Affairs and any approved university abroad will have a method in place with certain appointed administrators to help process the GI Bill - unfortunately, CIS is not part of this process. If the university you choose has not already been approved, be aware that it can be difficult to gain approval and you may want to look at other institutions that have already been approved.

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