The British Pound currently converts to a little over two U.S. dollars, and the Euro is climbing toward one and a half dollars. With rates like these, making the decision to pursue academics abroad can be seriously financially discouraging. However, deliberately taking the correct steps toward complete financing can help minimize the long-term costs of repayment.

I’ve been accepted into a graduate program in the U.K. for the coming fall, and my pursuit of financial aid has revealed an extremely disjointed and confusing system for international funding. The most important aspect to remember in applying for financial aid is persistence. I have, at times, spoken to three FAFSA representatives in one week, and received misleading or contradictory information from each of them; so if something doesn’t sound right, or the dots are not connecting, I’ve found that going back and resubmitting a question can be, albeit frustrating, the only way to reach the desired end.

There does not seem to be widespread knowledge or training with lender representatives or the Department of Education as to how to navigate the steps toward funding for international schooling. My University’s financial aid representative wrote to me in our early email correspondence, “I’m afraid that again the American central systems can be quite misleading when it comes to the procedure for studying outside the US.”

He couldn’t have been more accurate. When I initially completed my Free Application for Federal Student Aid on the web, I called after filing and was told by a FAFSA representative that my school was not a Title IV school, meaning it doesn’t participate in the U.S. Federal Student Loan program. I was devastated and began researching private loans and a possible new school search. I called FAFSA one more time though, and the next representative I spoke with told me my school actually was a Title IV and that they simply had a code on file different from that provided by my school. How different? One character different. The character was the letter G at the front of a string of digits that indicates Government eligibility. The G, which my school does not list because it’s a U.S. construct, was the element keeping me from my first step in funding.

Nonetheless, FAFSA completion is essential, just as it is in domestic funding, and is the necessary first step once a student has been accepted to a foreign school, concurrent to, of course, the exhaustion of Marshall Scholarship, Fulbright, and all other grant and scholarship options. The FAFSA website has an easy online application system. It’s also important to contact the school’s financial aid department as early as possible to get that school code, as well as to find what lenders the school will and will not work with, and other scholarship options. By contacting my school early on, I found out that I was eligible to be considered for an international student scholarship, and I did end up receiving a bursary to cover a portion of my tuition.

Depending on the country of study, other websites to check out early on are those educational links available via the consulate websites. For the UK the British Council has a wonderful education resource page that details scholarships like the Marshall, exchange programs, as well as information for graduates and undergraduates about specific schools.

Once a FAFSA is completed, the primary difference to be aware of with international study is the fact that federal Stafford loans must be administered through a private lender; funds do not come directly from the Department of Education, although they are still considered federal in nature and maintain all of the benefits of a federal loan. This can be tricky as many private lenders do not offer loans for studies abroad. A website that was extremely helpful to me in finding lenders I could work with for my particular situation was American Education Services. They do not charge any additional fees, and provide excellent information on a variety of topics, such as the differences in loan types, consolidation, and repayment.

Getting as much of one’s education covered by Stafford loans (secondary to any free money, of course) is essential. These loans have the lowest interest rates, extremely flexible repayment schedules including options to defer without penalty, and do not take credit into consideration. No matter the lender, all Stafford loans have the same locked in interest rate.

In the event that a federal loan and other scholarships do not cover the entirety of the expenses, a supplemental loan may be necessary. The next best option is one of the PLUS loans. There are parent PLUS and student PLUS loans available through many lenders that also fall into the category of federal. These have the next lowest interest rates, take a fairly lax look at credit, and have some flexibility in repayment. Private loans are a fine last option. However, borrowers should carefully compare interest rates and review repayment guidelines before applying. These also require a very good credit rating and in many cases, a cosigner.