Student on top of the Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki, New Zealand

If you are studying abroad on an approved external program provider-run program, you may be required to make a budget sheet that will detail the estimated costs of your program in the post-acceptance phase of GoAbroad. You will know whether or not you need to do this because Student Financial Services will contact you via your UVM email once you are in the post-acceptance phase of GoAbroad and tell you. There may be varying reasons why you might need to complete a budget sheet, but one very common one is that some of your state and/or federal financial aid package may be able to apply to your study abroad expenses. You can find out what sorts of financial aid can apply to which types of programs on our Finances page. 

If you need to complete a budget sheet, you can find the appropriate template for your program on our Study Abroad Forms page. Please make sure to use the right template for the length of your program, and for the program provider (all program providers EXCEPT for Round River use the same templates, Round River students have a specific template regardless of program length). 

 

Important Tips for Completing your Budget Sheet

  • All cost estimates you list need to be based on evidence that is current to the time period of your study abroad plans. Do not use estimates from past semesters, as these could be out of date. If updated information is not available, please contact your program provider.
  • Make sure to print out the back up documentation for where you found each cost you filled in on your budget sheet, plus the currency exchange rate and program dates. You will need to bring this documentation to your meeting with Student Financial Services, who will need to examine it and keep it on file.
  • If you have not yet bought your airfare, please complete a sample airfare search (using a website like Google Flights, Student Universe, Kayak.com, etc) using the appropriate arrival and departure dates, then print out a sample airfare from that search and use that as your budget sheet estimate. If you have already purchased your airfare, you can use your actual airfare receipt.
  • You do not need to fill in the Cost of Living line on the budget sheet. Student Financial Services will fill it in when you meet with them.
  • Remember- the budget sheet lists the total estimated costs of study abroad BEFORE your financial aid is applied. Do not attempt to add in your financial aid- Student Financial Services will be able to calculate how much aid you will receive and on what date, and how it can apply to your study abroad term.
  • OIE holds multiple Budget Sheet Help Sessions every semester, so if you try to make your budget sheet using the below directions and have questions, check the Calendar for when these will be offered.

 

Provider-Specific Guidance for Completing your Budget Sheet

AIFS

  • AIFS updates its budget estimates yearly. For the current AIFS price breakdowns and budget estimates, please contact your AIFS program consultant on your program's specific page on the AIFS website.
    • make sure you find the right term for your program
    • optional excursions, personal expenses, and local transportation cannot be included on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)
    • you do not have to print out the whole packet - just the page for your program

API

  • To request a price breakdown for your program, send an email to financialservices@apiabroad.com and specify the program of interest (including country, city, term, and program name).
  • You may not include personal expenses, any optional excursions, any refundable security deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)

CIEE

  • Find your program's page on CIEE's website
  • Right next to the listed cost of the program, click on the link that says "see full breakdown"
  • For traditional semester/year/summer programs you will need to click on the blue "Fees and Housing" number next to the right term
  • For Open Campus programs you will need to find the correct blocks that you will be in that location and click on the blue "Fees and Housing" number next to it
  • You may not include personal expenses/spending, local transportation, any optional excursions, any refundable security deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)
  • If budget estimates are not available by the time you need to make a budget sheet, please contact your CIEE admissions representative for the information.

DIS

  • Go to DIS's Tuition & Fees section of their website
  • In the menu on the left side, click on the correct term for your program
  • You will then be brought to a page that details your tuition and fees, and then if you scroll down, also provides estimated budget information
  • You may not include personal expenses/spending, local transportation, any optional excursions, any refundable security deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)

EcoQuest

  • Go to EcoQuest's fees page
  • Here you will find information about tuition and fees, plus estimated detailed budgets. Please open the detailed budget for your program's term and use it to inform your budget sheet.
  • If your correct term is not yet available, contact EcoQuest
  • You may not include personal expenses/spending, local transportation, any optional excursions, any refundable security or textbook deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)

IES

  • Find your program on IES's website and click on it
  • On the blue bar under the banner photo of the program, click on Cost
  • Find your term and click on the total cost of the program to be brought to the full breakdown, use this full breakdown to complete your budget sheet
  • If your term is not yet available, contact IES
  • You may not include personal expenses/spending, local transportation, any optional excursions, any refundable security deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)

IFSA

  • Find your program on IFSA's website
  • Click on the Dates & Fees tab on the left side menu
  • Find your correct term and use this information to fill in your budget sheet
  • If the information is not yet updated for your term, contact IFSA
  • You may not include personal expenses/spending, local transportation, any optional excursions, any refundable security deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)

ISI / Umbra Institute

ISI

  • Please go to ISI's tuition and fees page to find your total tuition and fees.
  • ISI does not have a specific breakdown or budget estimate that will help you fill in UVM's required budget sheet (the information in their pre-departure guide, with percentages of past students and ranges of cost estimates, does not give specific enough costs).  Please contact ISI for specific cost estimates for meals (not including toiletries or cleaning supplies), textbooks, visa costs, and any other items you are unable to find elsewhere. You can also try to use the directions from a different program offered in Florence to find estimates for these costs (though make sure that your dates and tuition and housing fees you use for your budget sheet are from ISI).
  • You may not include personal expenses/spending, local transportation, any optional excursions, any refundable security deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)

Umbra

  • Go to Umbra Institute's page on tuition and fees to find your program and its costs (both semester and summer programs are listed).
  • Use this information to help fill in your budget sheet. If you are missing any information, please contact the Umbra Institute for updated estimates.
  • You may not include personal expenses/spending, local transportation, any optional excursions, any refundable security deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)

Middlebury

  • Find your destination country on Middlebury's Schools listing and click on it
  • See the Dates and Fees subheading on your destination country's page and click on it
  • See your tuition and fees costs below the dates of the programs
  • Find the estimated out-of-pocket expenses listed for your specific site (some countries have more than one program site), use these to fill out your budget sheet
  • You may not include personal expenses/spending, local transportation, any optional excursions, any refundable security deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)

Round River

  • You should receive a pre-arrival packet from Round River that should detail what you need to include on your budget sheet.
  • If you have not yet received this pre-arrival packet before you need to make your budget sheet (i.e., you have not received it by October 15 or March 15) please ask your Study Abroad Advisor to see if they can request this information for you.
  • Make sure you are using the Round River budget sheet template since Round River students need different types of items on their budget sheets.
  • You may not include personal expenses/spending, local transportation, any optional excursions, any refundable security deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)

School for Field Studies

  • Go to the School for Field Studies' website and find your program, click on it
  • Scroll down to Program Costs & Financial Aid" and click on it
  • This provides you with your tuition and fees plus additional estimated expenses for you to use when filling out your budget sheet
  • You may not include personal expenses/spending, local transportation, any optional excursions, any refundable security deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)

SIT

  • Go to SIT's finances webpage and find your program. Click on the "costs and scholarships" button on your program's listing.
  • Use this information to fill in your budget sheet. Typically SIT does estimate textbook costs but may not estimate travel or visa costs, you may need to estimate these in other ways (by doing a sample airfare search for the right dates, and by looking at your host country's rules and fees for visa applications on their embassy/consulate website).
  • You may not include personal expenses/spending, local transportation, any optional excursions, any refundable security deposits, or independent travel on your budget sheet (additional required expenses will be incorporated into the Cost of Living estimate provided by SFS)