We want to make our programs as accessible as possible. Although we charge the minimum we can for our programs, we recognize that they can still be difficult to fund for many families. Please note that these scholarships go directly towards the tuition costs for the program and do not include assistance towards the cost of international flights. We expect scholarship recipients to demonstrate their commitment to this opportunity by fundraising for their international flights, personal spending, and balance of tuition. The scholarships are for Fall and Spring full semester programs only. We unfortunalty do not offer any financial aid for summer programs.
We have two types of scholarships available for full semester programs:
We value diversity, and we want international education to reflect that. This scholarship aims to encourage students from under-represented backgrounds (e.g. students of color, LGBTQ folks) to pursue experiential education programs abroad. All students of diverse backgrounds are eligible to apply. This must be your first experience studying abroad with an educational organization.
Scholarship Award: up to $5,000 each semester
We believe that taking a gap year shouldn’t be restricted to only those with the economic means. This scholarship aims to make this opportunity more accessible for students that demonstrate financial need. To be eligible, your family must earn less than $70,000 per year and this must be your first experience traveling abroad.
Scholarship Award: up to $5,000 each semester
Note: If you apply for a scholarship, we will not charge you for the deposit until we have informed you about our scholarship decision. To be considered, you must complete and send our supplemental scholarship application.
There is no specific closing deadline for the scholarship application. However, scholarships are limited and generally awarded upon a 'first come first serve' basis. If your participation is dependent upon a scholarship, we encourage you to apply early. If we receive numerous eligible applications, we may split a scholarship and award a portion of the full amount to multiple applicants.
The American Gap Association has an extensive guide on scholarships that are available for students. Applying for a scholarship, however, is just one way to fund your experiential education with Pacific Discovery. Our students supplement the program costs in a variety of ways. We encourage you to get creative—create a Kickstarter, find a part-time job, fundraise, apply for external scholarships. Think big and small. Each dollar adds up to one amazing adventure abroad.
A popular tool for this is Fund My Travel, where you set up your own fundraising page, then share this with family and friends, and encourage them to support your experience by donating towards your travel costs. Fund My Travel was established by GoAbroad.com, to help students fund meaningful travel experiences.
There are numerous financial aid options available to those who are already enrolled in College/University and plan to take academic credit or those who organize their own independent/field study or internship while on the program. We suggest that you speak with your school’s financial aid office to see if you can transfer your existing grants or loans to cover some of the costs of our tuition.
If you have not already applied for financial aid you should check to see if you are eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunities Grant (SEOG grant), Federal Stafford Loan, Federal Perkins Loan, and Parent PLUS Loans for Undergraduate Students.
Please contact us with any financial aid questions.