Big change made to study abroad program

By Erica Abbott
September 17, 2014

A big change has recently started in the study abroad program. Effective this semester, the financial aspect of the program is making studying abroad more accessible and affordable to students. The financial aid policy was completely revised prior to this semester.

“Students were not permitted to use any of their Cabrini scholarships and grants towards study abroad,” associate professor of romance languages and study abroad coordinator, Dr. Nick Uliano said. “Now a limited number of students each semester may receive half of their Cabrini aid and scholarship money to apply towards their tuition abroad, which makes a big difference in affordability for many of our students.”

The financial changes will also have an effect upon the affiliate schools in England, Australia and Italy. Prior to this year, students studying at those schools had to pay Cabrini’s tuition, despite studying at those institutions.

“Now students who study at those institutions will actually be paying their tuition, which in every case is less expensive than ours,” Uliano said. “It’s a double win-win for the students.”

Three different types are semester-long programs, summer programs and short-term study abroad.

“We have students right now on “Semester at Sea” who have benefited from the new policy,” Uliano said.

St. Mary’s University, located in Twickenham, London, England will now cost students $8,365 in tuition and $5,522 in housing. At The American University of Rome, Italy tuition will now be $10,308 and housing $5,223, while The University of Notre Dame Australia cost to students will be $13,043 in tuition and $3,882 in housing. The tuition costs at each respective university do not include the Cabrini financial aid assistance that is now available. All-inclusive trips include Semester at Sea ($23,950) and the six-week program at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland ($5,995).

These changes did not have anything to do, however, with Cabrini’s drop in tuition last year or the International Studies and Foreign Language grant that was also received last year. The purpose of the grant was to create new study abroad short-term courses. This newly implemented change comes from committed funding from the college. “The college is deeply invested in making global opportunities available for our students,” Uliano said. “Students who may not have previously been able to afford a semester abroad can now find the price much more within their reach.”

One of the students who will be going on Semester at Sea in the spring 2015 semester is senior Danielle Kane. Kane was accepted into the program last October, which at that time, there was no financial aid and scholarship money from Cabrini applicable to the tuition.

Now that the change has been made, however, Kane will be able to use some of her scholarship money from Cabrini, aiding in her funding for the semester abroad. “Since I applied prior to the switch I can not say that the new policy change was one of the reasons I applied to semester at sea,” Kane, double major in finance and international business, said. “I looked into semester at sea my sophomore year and feel in love with the idea I could spend a whole semester traveling around the world.

Kane is appreciative of the assistance that Cabrini is now offering students who want to travel abroad. She finds the financial support to be of huge help especially with the expenses of a study abroad program like Semester at Sea.

Although the list of things she is most excited for is endless, she’s excited to meet a lot of new people and experience the different cultures of different countries. “I am excited to walk on the Great Wall of China and experience the holi festival in India, Kane said. “Most of all I am excited to wake up every day and know that a new adventure awaits me and the opportunities are endless during my voyage of a lifetime.”

LOQation’s coverage on the new study abroad financial aid

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Erica Abbott

Hi my name is Erica Abbott and I am the News Editor for the Loquitur this year. I am currently a junior Communication major, Spanish minor. I am also a social buzz editorial intern with Business 2 Community. I am very interested in the arts, social media, photography and writing.

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