Parents | Financial Information

Illinois Wesleyan believes that study abroad is a part of an IWU education.  As such, all credit from students' study abroad experience transfers back, applies toward graduation, and appears on students' transcripts. You can learn more about academic policies relating to study abroad on the Academic Credit  page.

Moreover, all Illinois Wesleyan financial aid (with the exception of work-study aid, which requires students to be on campus) is applied to the cost of study abroad.  For more on how this works, see the Study Abroad Financial Aid page.

To make this transfer of aid possible, the University has a home-school tuition policy, which means that students studying abroad pay the regular IWU tuition--unless the study abroad tuition is higher, in which case the student pays that higher cost. Students do not, however, pay IWU room and board fees; rather, they pay the room and board costs of the program. (The exceptions to this policy are students participating in the IWU Spain and IWU London programs, as well as our exchange program with AUI in Morocco those students pay IWU tuition, room, and board). For more details, please see our Costs & Billing page.

Of course, the cost of study abroad is more than the cost of tuition. Room and board costs vary depending on location and on inflation rates abroad as well as the value of the U.S. dollar. Moreover, there will be additional costs, such as round-trip airfare, passport fees,  visa application fees, and additional personal expenses. Our program providers, on their websites, generally provide a breakdown of such expected additional costs.

There are, however, options to help students finance their study abroad experience. All of our affiliated study abroad providers have scholarship programs and there are additional outside scholarships available. Students can also take out a loan to cover additional program fees or expenses.  Details on some of the scholarship opportunities available to students can be found on our Scholarships page.