Important Information for Non-BU Students

A BU Login Account is a full-access account that is reserved for registered students.

When you first apply to BU as a Study Abroad applicant, you create a login account type known as a Web Account. A BU Web Account uses your personal email address as a login name. With this type of account, your access to BU services is restricted to the application.

Once you are admitted and enrolled, you must upgrade to the account type known as a BU Login Account. The account type uses a short login name (no email address) and highly secure, Kerberos password. This account type allows much greater access to BU services.

It is important to remember your Kerberos password for the duration of your program.

Visiting (non-BU) students who are registered for a BU Study Abroad program need to access BU resources that are not available using the Web Account used to apply for a program. All students must have an active BU Login Account.

In particular, if you are responsible for paying BU directly for your program tuition and fees, you will need a BU Login Account to access your bill.

You can use your BU Login Account in most password-protected web locations that begin with www.bu.edu. A great place to begin is the MyBU Student, where you can view your bill and other resources.

Additionally, please make sure you have set up e-mail forwarding so you continue to receive important messages from our office here in Boston and from your program site.

Please note: while you are creating an @bu.edu e-mail address in upgrading your account, this e-mail address is not affiliated with an e-mail inbox. You will not be able to access the “Check e-mail” section of the MyBU Student and you will not be able to send messages from your @bu.edu e-mail address.

Did you upgrade your login credentials, following instructions you received via email from abroad@bu.edu?

If so, make sure you are using the BU Login Account you created recently. Once your BU Login Account is activated, you will no longer use your full email address to log in. Use your new BU Login name and make sure you do not include ‘@bu.edu’ or any other domain name, as this is a common cause of login errors.

If you did not receive an email invitation to upgrade your account or if you need other technical assistance, please email abroad@bu.edu as soon as possible.

Please try the following:

1. Make sure you are logging in with the username you just created and NOT an email address. Please make sure you are not adding an @bu.edu or other domain after your username as this is a common cause of access errors.
2. Use a different browser to enter your user name and Kerberos password.
3. If the previous steps are unsuccessful, please clear your browser cache.

Please email abroad@bu.edu if you continue to have issues accessing your account.

We recommend trying a different browser first, as this often resolves the issue. If this doesn’t work, clear your browser’s cache.

Please email abroad@bu.edu as your first point of contact with any technical issues.

Your BU Login Account also provides you access to services beyond billing, such as Blackboard, electronic library services, and many others.

MyBU Student provides students with direct access to public and personal academic, financial and institutional data maintained in the University’s central computer system.

Via MyBU Student, students can view their semester invoice and make payments, view their semester registration and grades, accept or waive the BU Aetna Student Health Insurance Plan, and grant a third party access to ShareLink.

ShareLink provides secure access to those parents, employers, and other interested third parties a student has authorized to view the student’s academic and financial information. The student must use MyBU Student to sponsor a login account for each person who will have access. The student also specifies the information available to each party and controls the duration of access.

BU Study Abroad Grant & Scholarship funds will be credited to your BU Student Account on the first day of your program. On the BU MyBU Student, you can view your BU Student Account to view your semester balance. If your semester balance reflects a credit at the start of your program, you will be eligible to request a refund from BU.

To request a refund please review the instructions provided by BU Student Accounting Services.

Go to the MyBU Student, click the Money Matters tab, and then click Student Account Inquiry.

You will see a number of options for viewing, printing, and paying.

This process is called an Agency Sponsorship and you can set up this arrangement through BU Student Accounting Services. Information on the documentation you will need for this process be found here, under the “Agency Sponsorship” section. If you have any questions, please contact BU Student Accounting Services at studenta@bu.edu.

If you are expecting Boston University to process federal financial aid on your behalf, please contact BU’s Office of Financial Assistance to ensure that you have taken all the necessary actions.

Boston University and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts require all full time university students to be automatically enrolled in US-based (domestic) medical insurance. To learn more about this, please visit the BU Student Accounting Services website.

If you are able to demonstrate comparable US-based coverage, you can complete a waiver to opt out of the BU Aetna Student Health Insurance Plan and have this charge removed from your BU Student Account.

No.

For our international study abroad programs, coverage is required and cannot be waived. This insurance is separate from the BU Aetna SHIP and does not impact your ability to opt out of the BU Aetna SHIP coverage.

Although you may have already confirmed or waived US-based medical insurance through your home institution, the BU Aetna SHIP must also be waived (or accepted) directly through Boston University. The waiver you may have completed at your home institution does not impact your enrollment in the BU Aetna SHIP. Please make sure to complete the waiver process.

No.

The BU Aetna SHIP and international health insurance coverage are two separate types of coverage that do not interact with each other. The BU Aetna SHIP provides US-based (domestic) coverage only, while the GeoBlue plan provided by BU Study Abroad includes international health insurance coverage for our overseas programs.

Waiving the BU Aetna SHIP will have no impact on your enrollment in the GeoBlue coverage provided by BU Study Abroad.

No. The GeoBlue international health insurance provided by BU Study Abroad does not provide US-based health insurance and does not qualify as comparable coverage as described by BU Student Accounting Services. Please be advised that students attempting to waive the BU Aetna SHIP with this coverage information will have their waiver rejected.

Comparable coverage is described in detail by BU Student Accounting Services. Please use their checklist when completing your waiver.