Financial Aid

If you currently receive federal, state, or institutional financial aid, you may be able to use some or all of your aid toward the cost of your SAI program. This includes scholarships, grants and personal loans. Only your home university can confirm that the financial aid you currently receive may be used to fund your study abroad program.

Financial aid students have two options for payment of program costs:

  • Pay in full for the SAI program and reimburse yourself when financial aid is disbursed. In this case, you will follow SAI’s regular payment schedule.
  • Defer payment of your program cost balance (i.e., the amount that aid will cover) until financial aid is disbursed. Only the amount covered by financial aid may be deferred. In this case, you are required to follow steps 1 – 6 below.

Steps for financial aid students who wish to defer payment

Step 1: Contact your university’s financial aid and study abroad office to confirm that it is possible to use your financial aid toward SAI program costs.

Step 2: Submit your SAI application, noting your intention to utilize financial aid, along with payment of the SAI application fee.

Step 3: Upon acceptance, follow acceptance email instructions to submit the necessary deposits: confirmation deposit, security deposit, and any applicable housing deposits.

Step 4: Speak with your financial aid advisor to find out if a Contractual Agreement, sometimes referred to as a Consortium Agreement, is required between your school and SAI. If so, have the form sent to SAI via email to: financialaid@saiprograms.com or fax to: 707-824-0198 as soon as possible. SAI will complete the form and return it to your school.

Step 5: Shortly after paying your deposits (step 3), you will receive an email from the SAI Business Office confirming your payment was received. This email will include the SAI Financial Aid Verification Forms that must be filled out to process the payment deferment.

Step 6: Print, fill out and submit the completed SAI Financial Aid Verification Forms via email to: financialaid@saiprograms.com or fax to: 707-824-0198. Forms are due to SAI by:

Fall terms: June 15
Spring terms: November 15
Summer, Jan term, Winter Quarter: 75 days prior to program start (see program pages for date)

Please take careful note:

  • Financial aid students are responsible for ensuring that all forms are submitted by the dates listed above. Students who are unable to meet the deadline may be granted an extension by submitting payment to bring their account current.
  • Any SAI program balance not covered by financial aid must be paid to SAI by the regular payment due dates.
  • Financial aid students are bound by the SAI Cancellation and Withdrawal Policy. If a student withdraws from a program before all fees are paid, s/he will still be liable for any penalties reflected in the Cancellation Policy.

SAI Financial Aid instructions and forms: