The information offered here is also covered in the Off-Campus Study Student Handbook, distributed by the Office of Off-Campus Study, or at http://www.bowdoin.edu/ocs.
How will I be billed for my Off-Campus Study (OCS) program?
The program bills the student directly for its tuition and fees and the student pays the program. However, Bowdoin does bill the tuition and fees of the ISLE (Sri Lanka), SITA (India), and CHP (Prague) programs, in July for fall semester and in December for spring semester. All students are billed an OCS fee of $1,000 per program by Bowdoin. The fee is considered in calculating Bowdoin and federal student aid awards for programs. Revenue from the OCS fee is used to subsidize some of the cost of maintaining and enhancing off-campus study as an option for Bowdoin students.
Can I use a payment plan to pay my program bill?
If a program is run by an American college or university, it may offer a payment plan. It is more typical for programs to expect payment in advance, however.
What if I receive student aid? How does it reach my program?
Student aid awards for OCS programs are based on information submitted by the program on the OCS Budget Form, which is available at http://www.bowdoin.edu/studentaid/enrolled.shtml. The student is responsible for providng the Budget Form to his or her program. Please contact the Student Aid Office [207.725.3144 or studentaid@bowdoin.edu] for assistance if needed. An aid award package relative to the OCS program cannot be provided until this step has been completed. Fall semester student aid sources are paid to the programs about September 15 and spring semester sources about February 15. This schedule of payment is usually acceptable to programs if students communicate their aid awards to the program business office by the program's payment due date. A snapshot of the aid web portal sent with payment of the balance of the program bill is generally acceptable. For specific information about bills and payment deadlines, please contact the program's business office directly.
Is billing and payment handled differently by direct enrollment programs abroad?
Direct enrollment means that a student has worked with the university or college they will attend without any American agent, such as the Institute for Study Abroad at Butler University or other similar entities. If a student enrolls directly in a university abroad, he or she should expect to handle the logistical and financial arrangements that would ordinarily be carried out by a sponsoring agency. Invoices for universities abroad are typically delivered after the student enrolls and immediate payment is often expected.
OCS Disbursement Worksheet: This is an important document for students expecting aid funds to come through Bowdoin for payment of an OCS program. This document is located under the forms section of the Bursar's website. Please complete the appropriate sections of the Worksheet and return it to our office address on the form by September 1 for fall programs or February 1 for spring programs.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Information about OCS programs: Office of Off-Campus Study, 207.725.3473, offcamp@bowdoin.edu, http://www.bowdoin.edu/ocs/
Student Aid applications, OCS budget forms, awards: Student Aid Office 207.725.3144, studentaid@bowdoin.edu, www.bowdoin.edu/studentaid/
Billing questions for programs billed by Bowdoin and student aid transfer for other programs: Bursar's Office, 207.725.3249, bursar@bowdoin.edu
