Participating in a global experience during the summer term can involve unique considerations when it comes to funding and financial aid. To make informed decisions, it’s important to understand how the FAFSA timeline, award processing, and summer enrollment can affect your aid for other terms.
For more detailed information, visit the Office of Financial Aid website for summer financial aid details.
FAFSA Timeline and Processing
- Financial aid for the Summer 2026 term is based on the 2026-2027 FAFSA, which is now open for .
- If you haven’t yet applied for FAFSA 2026–2027, submit your by January 15, 2026!
- Your Financial Aid offer for summer is not available until early April 2026.
- While you can still meet with Financial Aid there is limited information available. No financial aid can be confirmed for use during summer travel until April.
- If necessary, Financial Aid can complete forms stating it's based off the 2024-2025 FAFSA information and subject to change.
Students should be prepared to make program decisions before final financial aid amounts are confirmed. We encourage all participants to develop a backup plan to cover program costs in case financial aid or scholarships are not available for their term of travel.
Aid Options for Summer Study Away
There are a variety of funding sources students may explore when it comes to their summer global experience, including specific OGO travel scholarships, federal financial aid, and creative funding solutions.
OGO Scholarships and Grants
The Office of Global Opportunities manages several competitive study abroad/away scholarships.
- The common application typically opens at the end of the Fall semester and closes mid-February to early March.
- Award notifications are sent in early April.
OGO Scholarships and Grants (except for the Need-Based award) will not be reviewed prior to the application deadline. Students should be prepared to make program decisions before scholarships are announced. We encourage all participants to develop a backup plan to cover program costs in case scholarships are not available for their term of travel.
Federal Financial Aid
Most students using financial aid in the summer use a combination of Federal Loans and if eligible, Pell Grants to fund summer study abroad.
To access federal financial aid during the summer term, students must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours. If your program does not require 6 credit hours, you may consider enrolling in additional summer courses to meet this requirement.
- Federal Direct Loans – Subsidized and unsubsidized student loans are awarded to students based on their academic level and their dependency status from the FAFSA.
- Using federal loans for summer will reduce the amount available for Fall/Spring semesters. For more information, you can visit the Office of Financial Aid website about summer financial aid
- Federal Pell Grant and Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) – These grant programs offer additional funds for summer semester enrollment.
- Using a Pell Grant in the summer does not reduce the amount available for Fall/Spring semester.
- Students can receive the Federal Pell Grant for up to twelve full-time semesters (or part-time equivalents). Students can receive OCOG for up to ten full-time semesters (or part-time equivalents).
- Receiving Pell Grant or OCOG funding for summer will cause you to reach the lifetime limit of those programs sooner than only receiving funds in fall and spring semesters.
- Institutional Scholarships – 51ÂÒÂ× scholarships, including those in the OHIO Excellence Award Program, cannot be received in the summer, in most cases. If you are graduating after summer or fall semester, you can email financial.aid@ohio.edu to request consideration for an exception.
- Note: This does not include OGO Scholarships and Grants, which are award specifically for the experience.
