Financial Planning

Whether or not you receive financial aid, there are a few things you should know about Mount Holyoke’s financial policies as you plan ahead for study abroad.

Cost of Study Abroad
MHC Financial Aid (Laurel Fellowships)

Cost of Study Abroad

• Students participating in Mount Holyoke programs and exchanges and in some affiliated programs, pay tuition and fees to Mount Holyoke College.
  
• Students participating in other programs pay tuition and fees directly to their program or host university.  Program costs vary, but most programs cost less than studying at Mount Holyoke.
• Some programs have inclusive fees that cover everything except personal expenses; others list only the tuition charge; most fall somewhere in between. Ask for information about costs not covered in the basic fee to determine the total cost of a program.
• Mount Holyoke charges each student studying abroad an administrative fee of $750 per semester. This fee contributes directly to the support of study abroad and to our provision of services to students studying abroad. If you are awarded a Laurel Fellowship, the fee is taken into account in determining the amount of your award.
  
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MHC Financial Aid (Laurel Fellowships)

• Mount Holyoke financial aid does not travel automatically. However, because most programs cost less than studying at Mount Holyoke, many students find that they are able to cover the cost of study abroad with their own resources (family contribution, federal and state loans and grants, etc.).  Most federal aid (including federal direct student loans and Pell Grants) and some state aid will travel abroad, provided that Mount Holyoke approves you for an academic leave of absence and that you qualify on the basis of the cost of the program abroad.  (If you study abroad for one semester, you would apply half of your resources toward the program abroad and half to the semester at Mount Holyoke.)
• For financial aid students whose own resources are not sufficient to cover the cost of study abroad, Mount Holyoke offers the Laurel Fellowships for Off-Campus Study. These fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis. For study abroad in 2009-10, we funded approximately 97% of eligible applicants. The College is committed to making study abroad a real option for as many students as possible.
• Eligible students who are selected for most of Mount Holyoke’s own programs and exchanges are guaranteed Laurel Fellowships provided that they complete the Laurel Fellowship application according to the appropriate deadline.  Programs and exchanges for which Laurel is guaranteed are the Mount Holyoke programs in Montpellier, Monteverde, and Dakar, and our reciprocal exchanges with Sciences Po, Berlin School of Economics and Law, University of Hong Kong, Ewha Womans University,  Sookmyung Women's University, University of Essex, University of Kent, Royal Holloway University of London, University of Sussex, University of York, and University of Potsdam.  (Students selected for exchange with the University of Bonn, the University of Leipzig, the University of Costa Rica, the University of Cordoba, or Universidad Hurtado are not guaranteed Laurel, but receive tuition waivers and/or stipends that likely will cover their financial need.)  Places may be limited.
• Laurel Fellowships substitute for the need-based aid that students receive for study at Mount Holyoke. They are the only form of financial aid given by Mount Holyoke for study abroad or for one of the College’s affiliated programs in the U.S. (Twelve College Exchange, the American University Washington Semester Programs, and the Semester in Environmental Science at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory).
• The amount of the Laurel Fellowship award is based on your demonstrated need according to the program budget.  The budget will include tuition and other required program fees, room, board, and allowances toward airfare, books, and personal expenses.  You may not receive more aid to study abroad than you would have received here. You will be expected to make the same family contribution as if you were here, and to carry the appropriate loans and outside aid.
• Mount Holyoke Leadership Awards, town grants, and employment-based aid (such as tuition exchange) generally do not travel. Students who would be eligible for need-based aid if they were not receiving these awards may apply for Laurel Fellowships.
• Students may use Mount Holyoke Leadership Awards to participate in certain reciprocal exchanges in which they would pay Mount Holyoke tuition. These exchanges are with Ewha Woman's University, Sookmyung Women's University, Japan Women's University, Hong Kong University, and Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). However, exchange places are limited, and we generally will give priority to students who are eligible for need-based financial aid.
• All students applying for Laurel Fellowships are expected to apply for financial aid/scholarships from their program (if available) and for the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarships for Undergraduate Study Abroad (if eligible).
  
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