Costs of Study Abroad

Because the college wants all students study abroad decisions to be driven by academic, rather than financial factors, students pay a comprehensive fee to HMC that covers the costs of the academic program, reasonable room and board in the host country, and an allowance for round-trip transportation to the program site.  A student on financial aid normally receives his/her regular assistance while on a semester or year abroad.

Examples of Additional Fees (paid by student)

• Program Sponsor Application Fee
• Passport fee and any additional passport photos
• Visa costs
• Health insurance fees (if not provided by the program sponsor)
• Orientation trips
• Housing/telephone deposits (reimbursable by the program sponsor)
• Internet fees
• Spending money (for transportation, entertainment, gym fees etc. while at the host country)

Travel Reimbursements

Students are reimbursed for their airline travel directly to and from the host country. HMC reimburses the student the lessor of:

• The actual price paid by the student for round-trip airfare – OR –
• The average price of airfare from LAX to the destination airport in host country

Generally speaking, the study abroad travel reimbursement is intended to cover round-trip air travel to and from HMC to the program site. Although students may choose to depart from an alternate airport (i.e. from home), travel expenses from home to HMC are still considered the responsibility of the student. By providing their program dates to the Office of Student Accounts , students can obtain information regarding an average ticket cost from LAX to the host country. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure the cost of the plane ticket falls within the price range provided. Once the ticket is purchased, the student will send the receipt and a copy of the itinerary to the Office of Student Accounts for reimbursement. Please note that layovers, stopovers and ticket costs above the average ticket price quoted by the Office of Student Accounts will not be reimbursable.

In some instances, the program provider sponsors group flights. Students have the option of signing up for these flights or planning their own travel. It is important to note that some group flights depart from the East Coast. If you live on the West Coast, you would need to purchase an additional roundtrip ticket for travel to and from the East Coast. In some cases, this separate ticket, combined with the group travel fare, can be more than the average ticket price provided by Student Accounts. Either way, the group flight charge should be in accordance with the average flight costs provided by Student Accounts. Again, ticket costs above the average ticket price quoted by the Student Accounts Office will not be reimbursable.