Admission requirements
RILA is more intellectually demanding than most ordinary study abroad programs. It requires above all a motivation to pursue ideas, not simply to see the sights of Rome. In addition, a certain maturity is required to live abroad. Hence applications will be accepted only from those students who:
- Will be at least 18 years old by the date they apply to RILA
- Will have completed at least one year of college before the date the RILA course begins
- Are in good academic and disciplinary standing (or have graduated)
Application procedure
Please follow the instructions below, and in addition, contact your study abroad office about further requirements they may have as part of the application process.
Step 1: APPLICATION
Apply online by application deadline. To complete your application, you will also need to send us the following:
- Unofficial transcripts of all post-secondary school work to date.
- Brief personal statement (1/2 – 1 page about yourself and why you are interested in studying abroad).
- A $150 application fee, 2/3 of which will go towards tuition (if accepted in the program), while 1/3 will cover the application costs. The first $100 will be reimbursed to you if your application is not accepted.
Both your personal statement and unofficial transcripts should be e-mailed to info@rilarts.org. You can send an electronic document downloaded from your home institution’s website, or a scanned image of the printed transcripts. Please make sure that your name and GPA as well as the name and/or logo of the institution that released the document are clearly visible in the image.
Please note that your application will not be effective until we will have received all required documentation and fees.
Step 2: ENROLLMENT
Soon after application deadline, you will be contacted for an online interview. Only once you will received confirmation that your application has been accepted, you may enroll using the form below.
Accepted students should send in the online ENROLLMENT form within 3 days, and complete their payment within a week from their acceptance into the program:
Enrollment formOnce you will have completed your travel arrangements, please complete and send your Travel form.
Please check the Student Life page on this website for additional information about your trip and time in Rome.
Deadlines
Please note that all required application documents and fees must be received by the given deadline. Applications that are not fully completed by their deadline will incur in a late fee or might be dismissed.
- Spring Semester Program applications: November 1st
- Spring Semester Program financial aid applications: October 15th
Please be aware that RILA has a strict policy about deadlines. In case you think you will have problems respecting the given deadlines, please let us know about it as soon as possible and we’ll try to work with you towards a solution. If we don’t hear from you and your registration documents and fees are more than 2 days late, a late fee of $50 will be applied and it will be doubled after 3 more days.
Late application may still be possible, please contact us at info@rilarts.org.
Fees
RILA’s fees are normally expressed and paid in US$. However, please note that since RILA is a US entity operating in Italy, in case of strong fluctuations of the euro/dollar exchange rate, we might publish fees and costs in euros (€) in order to maintain them fixed throughout the year. (The euro-dollar exchange rate is subject to daily variations, and a euro is usually worth from $1 to $1.25.) In that case, at the time to make your payment, you will receive an invoice in US$ calculated on the exchange rate at that time.
Students whose home institution has an affiliation agreement with RILA can be sponsored by their college/university. Please contact us at info@rilarts.org for details.
| Tuition: | $ 12,200 | |||
| Housing: | $ 3,800 | |||
| Activity fee: | $ 750 | |||
| Deposit (non-refundable): | $ 500 | |||
| Health care insurance: | $ 250 | ** |
**Mandatory
The expenses listed below can be used as guides for financial planning, but please understand that students’ expenses may vary greatly depending on individual habits, travel plans, and exchange rates.
Other expenses not included in fees paid to RILA:
- Round Trip Airfare $ 800 – 1,700
- Housing deposit $ 500 (refunded at check-out in absence of damages)
- Meals $ 75 – 150 per week
- Optional Italian language class $ 350 – 850 (depending on the level and the number of hours of lessons)
- Optional two night trip to Siena € 150
- Optional one night trip to Naples – Paestum € 210
- Credits fee $ 600 (only for students from colleges that don’t have an affiliation agreement with RILA)
Please be aware that due to the euro/dollar exchange rate, fees may be subject to slight changes. Nevertheless, we guarantee that once payments are made, we will not request further payment, even if exchange rates change.
Payments
At the time to make your payment, you will receive an invoice in US$ calculated on the euro/dollar exchange rate at that time. Once you receive your invoice, you will be required to complete your payment within one week.
You can complete your payment either by bank transfer or PayPayl/credit card following the instructions below. (A 3.5% booking fee will be applied to PayPal and credit card payments.)
You can make a payment through your bank. If you have online banking, it is usually possible to make an electronic direct deposit or pay through Zelle. These are both fast and free payment methods; please check with your bank if they impose a maximum amount for transfers through Zelle. (You may complete your payment in different installments on consecutive days.) Alternatively, you can make a wire transfer, although this is a slower and more expensive way to complete your payment. Below you can find the information you will need for each payment method:
- Payment: indicate the amount you intend to pay to RILA
- Zelle: payments@rilarts.org
- Direct deposit, electronic payments routing number: 121042882
- Wire transfer, domestic routing number: 121000248
- Account number: 1571558715
An installment plan is available to allow students to break total fees into three monthly payments. To request an installment plan, please send an email to info@rilarts.org.
Financial Aid
Every year RILA offers financial aid to a limited number of students in need, in the form of a tuition discount that can vary from 10% to 20% of tuition. All other costs and expenses (i.e.; remaining tuition, travel expenses, rent, etc.) are to be covered by the student.
Given the limited availability of financial aid, we invite those students who can afford to pay full tuition to leave the opportunity for those who most need it. For the same reason, our policy is not to grant funds to students who already received aid towards RILA tuition from their home institution or any other organization.
To apply for a tuition discount, students are required to first complete the regular application procedure described above by the financial aid deadline. In addition, students should send a one page (max 400 words) essay on the theme of the course of their choice. (Essays must be anonymous, please do not put your name on your essay). Essays should be sent to info@rilarts.org in attachment to an e-mail message containing the student’s name, the course they are applying to, and a request for scholarship.
Please note that financial aid requests will not be evaluated until an application is complete with all required documents and fees.
