Financial Resources

Banking & Student Billing
TAMU Financial Aid
Financial Hardship
Flywire International Payments
Paying Your Tuition

International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) staff are not financial experts and are only able to provide limited financial advising and support. That said, Texas A&M provides resources for individuals within the community needing financial advice and assistance with financial hardships.

Banking & Student Billing

The following resources are available to all students about Texas A&M banking relationships and details on student billing processes and due dates.

Financial Aid

Students should contact the Aggie One Stop for questions or general information about scholarships and financial aid. International students may not be eligible for federal aid, but you may be eligible to receive state and TAMU aid.

International Student Scholarships
Some international students can submit the International Student Financial Aid Application (IFSAA) to apply for additional funding from TAMU.
International Students who have Texas residency can also submit the Texas Application For State Financial Aid (TASFA).
Scholarships Outside TAMU

Assistantships / Fellowships

In addition to submitting the applications mentioned above, students may be eligible to receive funding directly from their school or academic department. Students who are interested in assistantships or fellowships should start by contacting their academic advisor.

On-Campus Work

Students looking for on-campus employment should start at the Jobs for Aggies website. Contact the Career Center if you need help with resumes, interviews, or job searching. Remember to follow the rules for working on-campus for your immigration status. More information about steps to work on-campus can be found here.

Financial Hardship

Please keep ISSS informed about your financial situation. We would like to know whether you are successful in securing funding or support from any of the resources mentioned below. If your financial situation worsens or does not improve after you’ve attempted to utilize the resources below, please let us know.

Food Resources

Pocket Pantries are maintained around campus to aid anyone experiencing food insecurity. We maintain a pocket pantry in the ISSS lobby (Pavilion 110).
The 12th Can is an on-campus food pantry that provides food assistance for all students, faculty, and staff.
Brazos Valley Food Bank also provides food and programming for individuals in Bryan/College Station and the rest of Brazos Valley.

Student Assistance Services

For students experiencing financial difficulties, we recommend that you reach out to Student Assistance Services for help. We cannot guarantee what ways they may be able to provide aid; however, they are able to provide some short-term relief for students.

Other TAMU Resources

Consult with Student Business Services about setting up a payment installment plan so you have more flexibility in the timeline for paying your tuition and fee bill.
To learn about opportunities for financial assistance outside of employment, such as a Short-Term Loan or an Emergency Tuition and Fee Loan, consult with Scholarships and Financial Aid.
Consult with ISSS during our Virtual Drop-In Advising if you are concerned about maintaining full-time enrollment and/or maintaining your immigration status. We can discuss your immigration options. Visit Connect with ISSS to learn more about ISSS virtual drop-in advising.

What to Consider if You Lose Financial Support

If you lose your financial support, considering the cost of living and the immigration requirements to maintain F-1 or J-1 status, it is extremely difficult to support yourself with only income from employment, including on- and off-campus employment.

You should really think about your situation to see if it’s realistically possible for you to continue your studies at TAMU for now.

Assessing Your Financial Hardship

What is the cause of your financial hardship?
How much do you need to cover your expenses?
What is the deadline to pay for those expenses by?
Have you reached out to family and friends for assistance?
If the expenses are owed to Texas A&M, have you set up a payment installment plan with Student Business Services?
Consider how Texas A&M University is or will be helping you address your financial needs during the most recent academic year, including tuition waivers, full or partial scholarships, housing, stipends, loans, or other forms of support.
When do you plan to graduate or complete your program?
Have you informed your academic department about your financial hardship?
Have you considered taking a leave of absence from your academic program?

Evaluate Your Employment Options

If any, what kind of on-campus employment do you have?
1. How many hours per week?
2. What are your employment start and tentative end dates?  
If you already have on-campus employment, do you want to increase on-campus employment during major semesters:
1. Do you want to go above twenty hours with current on-campus employment?
2. Do you want to get a second on-campus employment?
If eligible, do you want to reduce course load (below 9 hours for graduate students or 12 hours for undergraduate students)
1. Undergraduate student must have 6 hours and graduate students must have 3 hours.
If eligible, do you want to apply for off-campus employment?
If eligible, do you want to apply for TPS status with TPS EAD?
If eligible, do you plan to do CPT? If yes, when?

You should first try to find work on-campus or work allowed within your standard F-1 or J-1 benefits. Then, if you’ve exhausted all other options and still need additional financial help, you may be able to apply for certain immigration benefits depending on your situation. Click the links below to learn more:

Severe Economic Hardship Work Authorization

Available for F-1 status only

Special Student Relief for F-1 Status

Available for F-1 status only

Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

Available for F-1 and J-1 Status

Deferred Enforced Departure

Available for F-1 and J-1 Status

Flywire International Payments

Flywire is an easy-to-use payment solution that provides international payers with a streamlined payment experience and saves institutions and their payers time and money. To learn more about Flywire, the information provided by the TAMU IT department can be found here.

For questions about sending payments to or from a specific country, click here.

Note: Flywire recently implemented an International Payment Plan for international students who wish to break up their payments while continuing to pay in their local currency. Details about this can be found in the Howdy Platform to make the payment. The process flow graphic from Flywire can be found here.

Paying Your Tuition

Student Business Services (SBS) is the office that handles payments and refunds. Some webpages you can refer to for help and guidance through the process of paying your tuition are:

Additionally, some international students may be considered "residents for tuition purposes" and be charged at the in-state tuition rate. This is not the same as being considered a resident for immigration or taxes. Click here to learn more about Residency for In-State Tuition.

Refunds

You must set up direct deposit to get any refunds from SBS. An international bank account cannot be used to receive refunds from SBS. You must provide a U.S. bank account. Click here for instructions on how to set up direct deposit.

You may see a hold on your Howdy Dashboard for "Need Direct Deposit for Refund". This is just a reminder that you need to set up the direct deposit; It does not block you from registering for courses.

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