If you’ve decided to make the exciting move to study away from your home country at an international school, it shows you are ready for a challenge. You may have concerns about going abroad, away from your family in a strange country, perhaps for the first time. The good thing to know is that you are entitled to the same Federal student aid as you would be if you were studying at home. There may be additional costs involved with studying at an international school, primarily associated with travel and accommodation, but loans are available to cover these expenses.
The actual steps in applying for a student loan are exactly the same as they would be if you were studying Stateside. You will need a letter of accreditation from the international school as proof that you will be enrolled there for the necessary number of hours, and with that you begin the standard search for any scholarships of grants which could help you fund your studies.
As with any student you will need to put in an application for a Federal Student Aid loan, to obtain the most affordable financing. This comes in the form of a Stafford loan, which is offered at a low fixed interest rate. This is standard for any type of student loan and you should borrow as much as possible through a Stafford loan, though you will need to reapply annually.
As an international student you need to throw the net a little wider to ensure you have all the funding you need in place, as it may be more difficult to arrange once you are outside of the country. It would be recommended to see if any assistance can be offered either through the school itself or from your own state.
Another source of financing for international schools, after you have borrowed the maximum you can on a Stafford loan, may be forthcoming from sources associated with the International Student Loan Centre (I.S.L.) This will introduce you to additional financial access to international loans and may be more suitable in repayment terms than private student loans. However private loans should not be ruled out as the final option, and are again obtained in exactly the same way as a student studying in the US would obtain them.
When applying for loans for international schools you have exactly the same options open to you loans wise as those studying at home. It is certainly worth checking if the I.S.L. can give additional assistance and advice to you. Ensure that all your applications are made in good time and that the loan bodies you use are used to dealing with international schools. With your loans sorted before your travels begin you will be able to settle more easily into your new international school.