Education Abroad Program

  • Availability of Aid

    Your financial aid eligibility will cover the total cost of your program. Your program budget consists of tuition, fees, room and board, insurance, roundtrip airfare, incidentals, transportation. It does not include personal entertainment expenses and leisure travel. In general, if your EAP budget is higher than the UCSB budget, you will be offered more loans to cover the increase. If your EAP budget is lower, you will receive less financial aid.

    Academic Year:

    • All types of financial aid are available during the academic year, including institutional aid, state aid, federal grants, scholarships, federal and private loans, Cal Vet Tuition Waiver, Post 9/11 GI Bill, and other VA Education Benefits (you must be eligible). Work-Study cannot be used abroad and will be converted into additional loan eligibility.

    Summer:

    • Financial aid for summer programs are limited to residual Pell Grant, unaccepted Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans from the academic year or additional Direct Parent Plus Loan/ Private Loans. Students with financial need who filed the FAFSA or CADAA on time, could be eligible for a UCSB Summer Scholarship. The exact amount of the UCSB Summer Scholarship will not be known until closer to the summer. No additional applications are required during the summer to receive financial aid.

    Be sure apply or accept your loans as early as possible in order to avoid delays.

    *View our EAP FAM Guide more information.

  • Receiving Financial Aid

    EAP students apply for Financial Aid in the same way as any other undergraduate student.

    • Submitting your FAFSA or CA Dream Act Application (CADAA) by March 2nd each year. This also applies to graduating seniors participating in a summer abroad program.
    • Submitting all documents requested by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships in a timely manner.

    The UCSB EAP office will provide our office with a list of EAP participants. Once the budget for your EAP program has been determined, your award will be adjusted to your program cost and you will receive notification of your revised award letter approximately 30 days before the start of your program. Your award can be viewed on your My Aid Status portal.

    Our office will notify the University of California Education Abroad Program (UCEAP) Office of the Financial Aid awarded to you.  Those awards committed by our office will be applied to your MyEAP account.

  • Payments and Disbursements

    Financial Aid students are deferred from their first payment deadline until the OFAS notifies UCEAP of their financial aid award. UCEAP will apply the financial aid toward your mandatory program fees.

    • If your financial aid is less than the EAP program fees, you’re responsible for the difference by the second/final payment deadline.
    • If your financial aid exceeds the EAP program fees, you’ll receive a refund no sooner than 10 days before the start of your program.

    To view your balance please go to your MyEAP account.

    For refund/disbursement information please refer to the disbursement dates of your program available at UCEAP.

  • Refund Information

    You can choose to receive your refund through direct deposit or by mail.

    • Direct deposit: Complete UCEAP Direct Deposit electronically by logging in to your MyEAP account and select “eRefund Signup” on the menu. It takes approximately 5-7 business days to receive the money.
    • Mail: Financial aid will be sent to your U.S. address listed on MyEAP account. It takes approximately 10 business days to receive a paper check.
    • Note: E-mail your EAP Student Finance Analyst if you change your financial address in MyEAP account after the program pre-departure withdrawal date.

     *All financial aid will apply to your MyEAP account and pay towards your program fees.

  • Withdrawing

    If you withdraw from your EAP program pre-departure, any aid that has credited to you will be debited from your UUCEAP account. If you attend UCSB, we will reinstate aid for that term once you enroll. If you withdraw from the EAP post-departure, the UCEAP Office will revise your aid and a withdrawal calculation will be done by our office. Once the revision is done, you may need to pay back money to UCEAP.

    Please note, if you're withdrawing post-departure you will incur a minimum charge of $500 and may be subject to additional withdrawal fees. Pre-departure withdrawals may also be subject to a $500 UCEAP withdrawal fee and additional third-party fees. Please be sure to consult with your country’s Finance Accountant and our office.

  • Changes in Your Financial Aid Award Letter

    Financial aid awards to EAP students are based on financial aid eligibility and are subject to change. Any change will affect your UCEAP account balance. You are responsible for payment of any program fees and financial aid disbursements already received that are not covered by a reduced financial aid award letter.