Understanding Your Program Fees and Deadlines

Total Program Fees

The total amount of fees due for your program are shown on the invoice that is included in your enrollment packet and include:

• program fees
  
• refundable damage deposits
  
• housing supplements (if any)
  
• technology or lab fees (if any)

Full payment of your total fee amount is needed by the Final Payment Date. You will not be considered enrolled in the program and will not be able to attend the program if your fees are not paid in full by the Final Payment Date.

If you select a single housing supplement in your enrollment packet, you will be invoiced for these additional fees as well. These supplemental fees are also due by the Final Payment Date.

Deposit Confirmation Date

A $1,000 non-refundable Confirmation Deposit, your Deposit Form, and your other enrollment forms are due by your Deposit Confirmation Date in order to confirm your place on the program.

Your Deposit Confirmation Date is shown on your invoice and is 30 days after your official acceptance to the program.

For example: If you were officially accepted on March 1, your Deposit Confirmation Date would be March 31st.

It is important that we receive your deposit and enrollment material by the Deposit Confirmation Date:

• Your spot on the program is not guaranteed until we receive your confirmation deposit
  
• If your program reaches enrollment capacity before we receive your confirmation deposit, your place on the program will be forfeited and you might need to select a different program to attend

Final Deposit Date

No confirmation deposits will be accepted after Final Deposit Date, regardless of when you apply for a program.

Final Payment Date

Final payment of all program fees is due by the Final Payment Date.

If you do not pay by the Final Payment Date, you risk forfeiting your spot on the program and being withdrawn from the program

Having complete final payment means:

• We have received any payment that you are making personally
  
• We have received a signed Payment Deferral Agreement from you and Financial Aid Confirmation form from your home institution that confirms the amount of financial aid that will be disbursed to us by your home institution
  
• The payments you are making personally and the financial aid that will be disbursed must equal your total invoiced amount

Refundable Damage Deposit

You are responsible for paying a refundable damage deposit of $250 per program.

This deposit will be refunded to you after the program is completed and a damage assessment has been made.

Damage to the housing, hotels, buses or other venues, unpaid balances such as overdue library books, damage or loss of cell phones, lost keys, excessive utility charges, excessive cleaning charges and other damages or charges incurred by you will be deducted from the damage deposit.

All roommates will be held equally liable for damage done to housing that cannot be assigned to a specific individual.

In the event that damages left outstanding at the end of a program exceed the Refundable Damage Deposit, we reserve the right to withhold your transcript until the outstanding damage balance has been paid.

Refundable Damage Refunds will be mailed to US address of the your choosing after all damage assessments are made. This could take between 6 and 12 weeks post-program. Refunds can only be mailed to US mailing addresses and cannot be wire-transferred.

Program Fee Changes

We reserve the right to change the price of any program at any time. You are responsible for paying the fees that were in effect at the time that your student application was completed, assuming that you pay the confirmation deposit by the Confirmation Deposit Date.

If you do not meet the Confirmation Deposit Date, you will be subject to the fees in place at the time that you make your Confirmation Deposit payment.

Financial Aid

Many of you will use financial aid to pay for some of your program fees.

Students at most institutions that are eligible for Federal financial aid programs such as Stafford Loans (FFEL), PLUS loans, Perkins Loans, Pell Grants and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) will be able to use them toward our program fees.

You should work closely with us, your study abroad and your financial aid office to ensure that you can complete your financial aid processing requirements in a timely manner. Some institutions also provide institutional aid that can be used to toward a study abroad experience.

Financial Aid Confirmation Form / Deferred Payment Agreement

Since financial aid for the Fall semester is not disbursed until September 15 and aid for Spring semester is disbursed after the semester begins, you must ask your Financial Aid office to complete the Financial Aid Confirmation Form before the Final Payment Date. This form will confirm that you have been approved for a certain amount of financial aid and is included in this packet.

You must also complete the Deferred Payment Agreement form confirming that you are responsible for ensuring that all payments are made to us in a timely manner.

You are still responsible for paying the remainder of your program fees (that are not covered by financial aid) personally before the Final Payment Date.

Rescission of Financial Aid

In the event that your financial aid is rescinded by your home institution, you will be responsible for making the remaining payments personally. If you cannot make the payments within three weeks of when the financial aid would have otherwise been disbursed to us, you will be withdrawn from the program, including the host university, program housing and program activities. You will remain responsible for all program fees, will not receive a refund of your fees paid or damage deposit and will not receive a transcript.

Private Education Loan

You can apply to CFS for a private loan to attend our programs. You can borrow between $1,500 and the cost of the program through this private loan program. We are not affiliated with CFS (they are a large provider of study abroad loans) and cannot influence loan decisions.

You can apply for this loan program on-line or by phone. Most borrowers will receive a loan decision in minutes and can have their loan processed in as little as 10 days.

This is a credit score-based loan program so if you do not have an established credit history, you might consider having your parents act as co-sponsors or guarantors for these loans. This will increase your probability of being approved for the loan and could decrease the interest rates or fees that are applicable to the loan.

If you are using this program to pay for part of your program, you should apply for the loan early enough so that you can disburse the funds to us before the Final Payment Date.

Outstanding Balances

If you do not make your full payments by the Final Payment Date or submit a Financial Aid Confirmation and Deferred Payment Agreement form, you may be withdrawn from the program, and/or assessed a late fee, and/or held responsible for any program costs already incurred by GLS on your behalf.

If you have made deferred payment arrangements (e.g. Financial aid disbursements) with us and fail to pay according to the terms of our agreement, you may be assessed a late fee and withdrawn from the program, even if you are already abroad at the time. Withdrawal will include withdrawal from the host university, program housing and program activities. You will remain responsible for all program fees, will not receive a refund of your fees paid or damage deposit and will not receive a transcript.

We reserve the right to transfer any outstanding balance to a collections agency which might cause additional charges to be assessed and might negatively impact your credit rating.

Withdrawal and Refund Policy

1. The $50 application fee and $1,000 confirmation deposit are non-refundable under any circumstances.
   
   
2. If you withdraw from a program before the Final Withdrawal Date, all program fees paid, with the exception of the application fee and $1,000 deposit, will be refunded and you will have no further liability to us.
   
   
3. If you have not withdrawn by Final Withdrawal Date, you will be held responsible for all remaining program fees, whether or not you ultimately attend the program or not.
   
   
4. All withdrawal requests must be made in writing by letter, fax or e-mail. Verbal requests are not acceptable. We will confirm your withdrawal request by e-mail .
   
   
5. No refunds will be made in the following circumstances:
   1. You are asked to leave the program due to disciplinary or academic issues
      
   2. You do not have a valid passport or appropriate visas to attend the specific program that you are participating in
      
   3. You are not present for group flights, group travel, program orientation or other important events
      
   
   
6. We make every effort to deliver our programs as we have described them.
   
   At times, however, changing circumstances might make it necessary or advisable to make changes to elements of the program, including but not limited to, itineraries and excursions, staffing, housing or course options. Course availability cannot be guaranteed by us under any circumstances, as host institutions might change their course offerings.
   
   No refund will be paid for changes in program operations assuming that GLS provides arrangements that are, in our sole judgment, similar to those originally described.
   
   
7. GLS will not be responsible for extreme events not under our reasonable control such as acts of God, war, riots, civil unrest, flood, earthquakes, outbreaks of disease, natural disasters and other events that might cause us to cancel or modify an in-progress program at our discretion. GLS will not be liable in such circumstances for failure or delay in providing any contracted services and will not refund program fees or other expenses incurred by program participants.
   

Program Changes

1. You can change between program terms without penalty before Final Withdrawal Date assuming that there is availability in the program that you are changing into.
   
   
2. After the Final Withdrawal Date, you can change between program terms under the following conditions:
   1. You pay a $200 administrative charge
      
   2. There is capacity in the program that you would like to transfer to and we approve the transfer
      
   3. You will be responsible for paying any difference in fees if the program you are transferring into has higher program fees than the program that you are transferring from. You may also have to pay additional fees that might be incurred by us due to your late enrollment in the new program
      
   4. You will not receive a refund for the difference in fees if the program that you are changing into has lower program fees than the program that you are transferring from.
      
   5. These fees are applicable each time you make a program change. You are responsible for making any arrangements needed with your home institution and your financial aid office (if applicable) to notify them of the change in program.
      
   6. All change requests must be made in writing by letter, fax or e-mail. Verbal requests are not acceptable. We will confirm your withdrawal request by e-mail if a change is possible. 
   
   

Payment Instructions

You can pay your confirmation deposit and balance of payment by check or wire transfer.

By Check

Please make checks payable to Global Learning Semesters, Inc.

Checks should be mailed to:

Global Learning Semesters, Inc.
P.O. Box 8458
Reston, VA 20195

By Wire Transfer

Please call us at (877) 300-7010 for information on how to send your fees by wire transfer.