You’ve been accepted to a study abroad program, congratulations! Now what?
Below is a quick summary of initial steps to confirm your participation in the program and begin preparing to depart.
Step 1: Commit to the program
What does it mean to “commit” to your study abroad program?
- Changing your status in MyGlobal from “accepted” to “committed” indicates to UW Study Abroad that this is the program you intend to participate in within a given term.
- You are only able to commit to one program during a term. For example, if you have applied to multiple summer programs, you will only be able to commit to one summer program.
- Committing helps UW Study Abroad know how many students are serious about the study abroad opportunity, and in some cases, it provides us with a good indication of whether or not the program can run.
Only once you have signed and submitted a payment contract do you owe any program fees. There is no financial obligation to commit.
How to change your status to committed
- Log into MyGlobal and click on the application for the program you want to commit to.
- From your post-acceptance home page, you should see a box labeled “Commit” and “Decline”.
- Click the Commit button. If you are not able to participate in the program, click the Decline button so that UW Study Abroad can invite someone from the waitlist to join the program.
- There is no cost to commit.
Step 2: Submit a payment contract
- Once you are committed to a program, a payment contract will be available in your Checklist.
- Once you have electronically signed a payment contract, you are financially committed to the program.
- Read the payment contract carefully as it states your financial obligation, provides due dates for program fees, and outlines the withdrawal policy should you decide not to participate in the program.
- Click “Sign” when you are ready to sign the payment contract. You will be able to access the payment contract at any time through your online application after you sign it.
- You have three weeks from the time you were accepted to commit to the program and sign your payment contract.
- If you sign a payment contract without clicking the Commit button, we will consider you committed to the program and change your status to “committed”.
Next steps: What to do post-decision
Once you have been accepted to your program, your application status in MyGlobal will move into the “post-decision” phase.
Submit a financial aid revision request (if applicable)
- Contact the Office of Student Financial Aid to verify that your financial aid awards will apply to your study abroad program.
- Submit your financial aid revision request to the Office of Student Financial Aid to adjust your financial aid to reflect the cost of studying abroad. The most current revision request form can be found at the Office of Student Financial Aid.
- A cost sheet detailing your program costs can be found in the program brochure or in MyGlobal. If it is not there, please email studyabroad@uw.edu.
- Financial aid will be disbursed the week before the quarter you will be studying abroad, for Early Fall programs, financial aid will be disbursed the week before the autumn quarter starts. For the Summer-B programs, financial aid will be disbursed the week before the Summer-B term starts.
- If your program fee is due before your financial aid disbursement, please visit the provider’s website or contact them to inquire about a deferral form, disbursement form, or any other payment options they may offer.
Scholarships
If you completed your study abroad application by the priority deadline and filled out the Scholarships Eligibility questionnaire, you will automatically be considered for UW Study Abroad Scholarships, and you won’t need to apply separately. UW Study Abroad Scholarships are mainly prioritized by financial need. In much more limited cases, scholarships are prioritized by major, location or program.
To learn more about the timeline for scholarship notifications and all scholarship opportunities, visit our Scholarships page.
Pre-departure requirements & enrollment
There are a number of tasks you must complete in order to be concurrently enrolled at the UW for study abroad. Spend some time looking through the requirements as some will take more time than others.
Visit our Pre-departure requirements & enrollment page to read more about the enrollment process and important deadlines.
Prepare to travel
Our Prepare to travel page will help you prepare for your departure to your destination. Getting proper travel documents can take months. Learn about passports, visas and other aspects of travel arrangements and start preparing for your trip as soon as you can.
Congratulations again on your acceptance to study abroad!