Bridging Loan Program || UofM Students || Learning Abroad Center

The Bridging Loan is a no interest/no fees program designed to assist you if you do not immediately have the funds available to cover your program deposit and flight booking costs. It enables you to pay for these costs with your financial aid package. The Bridging Loan will cover these costs until the program fee is billed to your account.

Other possible initial costs associated with attendance on a program abroad such as passports, visas, and medical visits will need to be paid for directly by you often before your financial aid disbursement occurs.

Agreement Form

You must print, fill out, and submit the completed agreement form to apply.

Agreement Form (PDF)

Eligibility Requirements

Must be enrolled as a degree-seeking undergraduate student on the Twin Cities or Rochester Campuses
Must have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $15,000 or less for the previous or current academic year on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). To determine your EFC you will need to access your Financial Aid Summary on MyU (instructions HERE, and then click "Financial Aid Summary" to view EFC). If selected for an award, documentation of your financial aid eligibility will be requested.
Must have applied or are planning to apply to a credit bearing Fall, Winter Break, Spring, Academic Year, or Calendar Year Learning Abroad Center program
Must submit the Bridging Loan Agreement form to the Learning Abroad Center before the application deadline for your program.

If you are a Carlson student going on a Carlson Global Institute program, please review information about their Connecting Flight Advance program.

Below is a current list of programs eligible to receive Bridging Loan support.

Eligible Programs

Ensure that your program is on this list before applying. Only Fall, Winter Break, Spring, Academic Year, or Calendar Year Learning Abroad Center programs are eligible. May and Summer programs are not eligible: