Off Campus Study Financial Policy
Billing/Payment
Students who participate in the College's study abroad or affiliated programs will pay fees as follows:
- Students will pay Franklin & Marshall College tuition fees directly to Franklin & Marshall College (at the F&M rate). Students will be billed by the Business Office at F&M.
- Students will pay non-tuition fees (room, board, program fees, insurance fees, etc.) directly to off-campus study programs. Students will be billed by programs.
Certain off-campus study programs require a different billing structure than the one described above. Students participating in these programs will pay Franklin & Marshall tuition, room, and board. The College will pay required programs fees. Students will be responsible for other costs such as optional field trips, health insurance, and excursions. The programs which require different billing are:
- Venture Consortium/Urban Education Semester*
- Dickinson College
- South India Term Abroad (SITA)
- Swedish Program
Venture Consortium students will not be billed by F&M for a meal plan, since they are on their own for meals.
Deposits should be paid directly to the chosen off-campus study program. In most cases, the deposits will be credited to miscellaneous program fees (on the bill from the off-campus study school).
Families who wish to use the monthly payment plan through Tuition Management Systems (TMS) may do so for fees billed by Franklin & Marshall. Non-tuition fees that are paid to the host institution cannot be included in the TMS monthly plan. Please contact the host institution to determine if they offer a monthly plan for payment of non-tuition fees.
Airfare
Students usually are required to make their own arrangements for flight to and from their programs or to use the assistance of their program in making arrangements. As an acknowledgement that off-campus students will be incurring an expense that on-campus students will not, an airfare allowance will be credited to the student's F&M account. The amount of this allowance depends on the student's destination. Generally speaking, parents may figure the airfare credit at the following rates:
- United States: $0
- Canada: $250
- Western/Central Europe, Mexico, Caribbean: $750
- Russia, Central America, South America (except Brazil, Chile, Argentina): $1,000
- Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Asia: $1,250
- Africa, Australia, Middle East, New Zealand: $1,500
The airfare allowance is not provided to students participating in exchange programs.
Financial Aid
Students will be eligible for financial aid for off-campus study. This includes federal and state loans funds, F&M merit scholarships, and need-based grants. Students are required to complete the Off Campus Study Expense Planner for the Office of Financial Aid (in addition to the regular financial aid forms). The planner will be reviewed, and based on the costs provided, an award letter will be sent to the student.
International students are eligible for only one semester of financial aid for off-campus study. No financial aid will be granted for study in the student's home country.
For additional information regarding Financial Aid, please go to the Financial Aid site.
Loans/Refunds
The office of Financial Aid will request an early disbursement of your loan funds in accordance with federal regulations. When all aid has been received and credited to the student account, students whose financial award exceeds the amount of the F&M charges will be sent a refund. Refunds are typically done approximately one to two weeks prior to the start of F&M's current semester, and refunds will be mailed to the student's home address unless otherwise directed. In the event that you wish to have the refund mailed to you at another address or mailed directly to the host institution, please complete the Student Refund Request Form.
