Syracuse University Abroad will debut its newest Santiago program this spring – and the deal just got a bit sweeter.

SU Abroad added program-specific grants for up to $6,000 for the Santiago program and for its second-newest program, Beijing, which was started a year and a half ago.

Additionally, SU Abroad increased need-based grants for all programs.

The program-specific grants for Beijing and Santiago are a way of generating interest for the new programs, said Daeya Malboeuf, SU Abroad associate director of marketing and communications.

‘These are programs that we really believe in, and they’re places that we want our students to have a chance to go. But we’ve got to support them,’ Malboeuf said. ‘We’ve got to support the program, and in order to do that, we’ve got to have students there.’

Students are generally more attracted to the programs in familiar locations like Florence, London or Madrid, Malboeuf said.

‘This is for somebody who’s got a little more of a sense of adventure,’ she said.

The Beijing and Santiago grants serve as an incentive, but the increased aid was not the result of students requesting more money, Malboeuf said.

‘It’s our proactive effort to encourage students to choose those destinations,’ she said.

Christina Kelly, a senior geography and Spanish minor, studied in Santiago in fall 2006 before SU Abroad’s official program was created.

‘I think studying abroad is an incredibly important experience because it gives people a new perspective on life,’ she said.

Because Kelly studied at a Chilean university before SU Abroad initiated a program there, she doesn’t know the details of the new program. She suggested students considering the Santiago program should have a strong grasp of the Spanish language.

‘The subway system is excellent as is the view of the Andes,’ she said. ‘The food is not so amazing, although I had no serious qualms over it. The air quality is not the greatest but improving.

‘There is an entire neighborhood almost completely devoted to bars and nightlife,’ she said. ‘I imagine some SU students would enjoy that.’

Any student who applies and meets the academic and behavioral qualifications is eligible to receive some grant. Based on financial need, students will receive between $1,000 and $6,000.

Students must apply by Friday, Oct. 26 to receive financial aid.

‘We definitely have been getting phone calls about it,’ Malboeuf said.

Some SU students seem to be attracted by the financial aid package.

Alex Headley, a freshman visual and performing arts major, said she will ‘definitely’ consider the program at Beijing or Santiago if more money were being offered.

While the first new aid package is only available for the Santiago and Beijing centers, there is also an increase in need-based aid. This is available to students in any of SU Abroad’s programs, including the popular European destinations.

‘We understand that it’s expensive to travel abroad,’ Malboeuf said. ‘There’s airfare, there’s living in a big city like Madrid, and so we’re still trying to find ways to offset the cost for people.’

The university uses FAFSA documents to determine eligibility for increased need-based aid, though the money does not come from federal sources. The university funds both the program-specific grants and the need-based aid with money set aside by Enrollment Management.

Since its announcement, the SU Abroad office has noticed more students applying for the increased need-based aid.

Money is one of the only factors preventing some students from studying abroad, Malboeuf said.

‘We want to make sure we’re giving people as much of a chance to go as we possibly can,’ she said.

Published on October 22, 2007 at 12:00 pm