Financial Policy

• Bryn Mawr College Financial Policy
• Withdrawal Policies and Penalties

Bryn Mawr College Financial Policy

Tuition: All Bryn Mawr College students who study abroad pay Bryn Mawr tuition regardless of the tuition cost of the study abroad program. Students are responsible for paying room and board costs directly to the study abroad program. While studying abroad under the auspices of Bryn Mawr College, students are fully enrolled at Bryn Mawr College, and may make use of other resources at Bryn Mawr, including faculty advising, fellowships advising, career counseling, etc.

Account balance at Bryn Mawr: Students must pay in full any outstanding balance on their student account before leaving for study abroad. If they do not pay the balance, the College will notify their study abroad program that their approval to study abroad has been rescinded. If the student nonetheless attends the program without paying the remaining balance, the student will be doing so independent of the College. The College will not pay the student’s study abroad tuition to the study abroad program, the student will receive no financial aid, and the student's academic credits will not transfer back to the College.

Study abroad room and board costs: Study abroad students are not charged Bryn Mawr College room and board.  Students do not pay room and board to Bryn Mawr. Instead, students are responsible for paying room and board costs directly to the study abroad program.   

Study abroad and external scholarships: If a student receives a scholarship from a study abroad program, it will be credited to the student’s Bryn Mawr College student account and it will reduce the amount of tuition the student needs to pay. Any outside scholarship received by a financial aid recipient may cause an adjustment of Bryn Mawr Grant in accordance with the college’s outside scholarship policy. For more information, please visit Undergraduate Policies in the Financial Aid section.

Program deposit: The College does not pay program deposits on student’s behalf and does not reimburse students for payments students make for deposits. Students are responsible for paying all program deposits directly to study abroad programs. This may include application fees, admission deposits, housing deposits, etc. The study abroad program will credit students for the deposits they paid toward non-tuition fees, for example, housing fees. Students should contact program directly to get reimbursed or receive credit for the deposit amount paid.

Please note that some programs say on their website that the deposit is applied to the tuition portion of the program fee. However, all approved programs that are in partnership with Bryn Mawr do not credit the deposit amount to the study abroad tuition invoice to Bryn Mawr.

Personal expenses: Students are responsible for personal expenses such as airfare, local transportation, health insurance, visa and passport fees, housing, meals and any optional academic programs before the program starts or after the program ends. Please refer to the Additional Costs in Study Abroad table below for more details.

Study abroad withdrawal fees and penalties: Some host universities and/or study abroad programs charge students large withdrawal fees if the students drop out of the study abroad program after a specified date. Students and families are responsible for paying all penalties and fines imposed by the program. The College does not absorb such fees on any student's behalf. 

Delinquent payments abroad: Students are responsible for clearing all outstanding non-tuition program balances with their study abroad program. Programs will not issue a transcript until a student has submitted the final payment. Please address any such issues with the program and have a transcript sent to Bryn Mawr as soon as possible. Delay could jeopardize a student's enrollment at Bryn Mawr for the following semester and the student's ability to graduate on time.

Withdrawal Policies and Penalties

Some host universities and/or study abroad programs have very strict withdrawal policies and penalties. These policies vary by university and/or study abroad program. However, in general, students should expect to pay a large penalty for dropping out of their study abroad program after a specified date. Students and families are responsible for paying all penalties and fines imposed by the program. The College will not absorb any such fees on any student's behalf. The College will not refund any tuition that is not refunded to the College by the study abroad program. To avoid fines, penalties, and non-refundable tuition that result from late withdrawals, students and families are advised to communicate, as early as possible, directly with the study abroad program about the financial implications of withdrawing from the program. 

Room and Board payments and withdrawal policies: Students pay room and board costs directly to the program, instead of to Bryn Mawr College. Some host universities and/or study abroad programs require large housing deposits, which the student may end up forfeiting if they withdraw after the date specified by the program. In addition, the program may impose a withdrawal fee, and charge for the cost of the room and board. Students remain responsible for paying the fees to the program after withdrawal. The College will not absorb any such fees on any student’s behalf.

When a student withdraws from their study abroad program after Bryn Mawr College has paid their tuition to the study abroad program: Students pay Bryn Mawr tuition to Bryn Mawr College, which in turn pays the study abroad tuition to the program on the student's behalf.  When a student withdraws from their study abroad program, after the withdrawal date specified by the program and after the College has paid the study abroad tuition to the program, the program may impose a withdrawal fee by withholding a portion or the entire amount that the College has paid on the student's behalf. The College will pass the withdrawal fee in this case onto the student. The study abroad tuition withdrawal fee will be posted on the student's Bryn Mawr Student Account. The student will be responsible for paying all penalties and fines imposed by the program. The College will not absorb any fees on any student's behalf. The College will not refund any tuition that is not refunded to the College by the study abroad program.

When a student withdraws from their study abroad program before Bryn Mawr College pays their tuition to the study abroad program: Students pay Bryn Mawr tuition to Bryn Mawr College, which in turn pays the study abroad tuition to the program on the student's behalf. In the event that a student withdraws from their study abroad program, after the withdrawal date specified by the program but before the College has paid the study abroad tuition to the program, the student will be responsible for paying all penalties and fines imposed by the program. This may include program tuition, room and board costs and withdrawal fees. The College will not absorb any fees on any student's behalf.