What We Fund

• Up to $1,000, twice during your academic career.
  • Note: We cannot financially support conferences for seniors that take place the summer after graduation.
  • Note: Students cannot submit multiple requests for the same conference.
  • Conferences cannot be considered or covered during university breaks or holidays, including winter break, spring break, and summer break.
• Conference must be academic and/or professional in nature and be a minimum of 3 days in length in order to be supported by the Opportunity Fund.
  • Note: Concerts, festivals, and award or pre-award shows are not conferences and will not be considered. Any FSL related conferences cannot be covered.
• Students must provide the agenda or itinerary for the conference in their application.
• ALL conference requests must be submitted a minimum of 30 days prior to the conference.
  • Note: Whether you are requesting funding prior to the conference OR requesting reimbursement, you MUSTsubmit your conference request 30 days before the conference takes place.
• The conference must take place in the United States of America. For safety and liability reasons the Opportunity Fund has moved away from providing financial support for conferences that take place outside of the USA.

We can cover expenses such as the conference/workshop registration, hotel and flight accommodations, transportation to/from campus and the airport, transportation to/from hotel and host city airport, and meals (up to $50 per day, minus any meals covered by the conference). If you are traveling to a conference with a Stanford club/organization, each Opportunity Fund eligible student must apply separately and meet all of our conference criteria.

In order to process your application, we will need a copy of your registration confirmation or a screenshot of the estimated cost of the conference/workshop and a link to the website for more information about the conference/workshop. If you are attending the conference/workshop in-person, then hotel registration/receipt, flight estimates/receipts with full itineraries and details, estimated costs for other transportation, and itemized meal receipts are required. If receipts are not attached to the original request, then receipts will be required upon return from the event. If you are requesting a reimbursement, you must do so within 30 days of the date you return to campus. We will not be able to reimburse any requests that come in after that 30 day period.

The Opportunity Fund can cover travel home during non-break times and non-University holidays when emergencies happen. We understand that this may occur more often than we may hope for, but we cannot guarantee that we can support back-to-back requests in this category. 

• Up to $1,000 for domestic travel and up to $1,500 for international travel. Travel must be during periods of active enrollment from Stanford's main campus.
  • If you are requesting a reimbursement, you must do so within 30 days of the date you return to campus. We will not be able to reimburse any requests that come in after that 30 day period.
• The Resident Directors (RD) and/or RD on-call must be aware of the student's emergency situation and provide email documentation for the student's request.
  • If the RDs are unavailable during the emergency, documentation from an Undergraduate Academic Advisor (UAD) may act as a substitute.
  • In both cases, the RD or UAD must be aware of the emergency situation before the student travels home ORas the situation is unfolding.
  • Hospital documentation of family emergencies for health or medical reasons (i.e., family illness or accidents) must be provided to the Opportunity Fund Manager upon request.

We can help cover the travel for your family to join you for Family Weekend or Reunion Weekend! We can cover this one time during your academic career up to $500 for domestic travel and up to $1,000 for international travel.

• This excludes Move-in/New Student Orientation for incoming students and Graduation for seniors. Family travel must be to Palo Alto.
  • Note: Family travel can be used in any quarter that is NOT the quarter of your graduation (e.g., if you are participating in graduation in spring quarter, then you cannot request family travel in spring quarter).
  • Note: We cannot cover the costs for a family to travel to campus during a university break or holiday (this includes spring break, summer break, and winter break).

To process this request, we will need a receipt or screenshot of the estimate for flights with full details including number of guests, destination of travel, and total cost with taxes and fees, and hotel details including receipts or screenshots of estimates with taxes and fees. We do not reimburse for gas nor mileage costs. If you are requesting a reimbursement, you must do so within 30 days of the date your family leaves campus.

Whether it’s for preparing to apply to a graduate school program, attending the admitted student event for that program after being accepted, or flying out to a job interview, we’ve got you covered.

• There’s a $1,000 limit for post-graduation support throughout your Stanford career, but you can apply as many times as you need to max out the limit.
• Requests must be submitted for expenses in the academic year for which they occur.
  • Note: We cannot reimburse expenses from a previous academic year, nor can we provide funding for an expense two or three academic years in the future.
• Financial support for seniors must be while you are still enrolled.
  • Note: The only exceptions are for exam fees (e.g., LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, GRE, etc), if the exam will take place in the summer after graduation.

For graduate admission application fees, we need a screenshot of the estimate of the fee or a receipt of purchase along with official documentation that the program does not offer a fee waiver (screenshots or documentation of conversations and/or website language confirming). For job interviews, we’ll need to see documentation from your potential employer that travel to the interview is not covered as well as the date(s) of the interview with a receipt or screenshots of the travel estimates (flights, hotels, and rideshares). For graduate admission programs, the similar proof that travel expenses are not covered, program registration, and dates of program are required in addition to the flight/travel details and receipts. Lastly, for graduate admission tests and preparation, we need proof of the registration for the exam and dates and/or receipts or invoices of the cost of registering for the exam or the test prep materials. 

• Up to $1,000, once during your academic career, regardless of the funding source.
  • Note: If you have received funding for a laptop from financial aid or another office on campus, even if it is approved by the FLISSC, you will not be disbursed the funds. If this is your first year on campus and you have outside scholarships or a Welcome Grant, you should work with financial aid regarding laptop support first.

However, if your laptop is stolen, a copy of the police report will be required, and if your laptop is broken/damaged, a diagnostic/assessment report will be required. Students can receive a free assessment from Lathrop. You will need to upload a copy of your Service Now ticket to your application after the assessment is complete. However, if you are unable to get an assessment report from Lathrop for whatever reason and you receive a diagnostic report from an external entity, we can reimburse you for that cost, up to $100. In both cases, you will need to also submit the FLISSC Computer Expense Form and a receipt or a screenshot of the estimate with the taxes and fees included.

If you need a new laptop and your request does not satisfy any of the previously mentioned criteria, then you need to set up a meeting with the Opportunity Fund Manager to discuss your needs prior to submitting a request. 

When students are not enrolled, typically over the summer, we are able to cover medical/dental expenses that financial aid is unable to cover. This includes, but is not limited to: clinic/emergency room visits, labs and copays, dental surgery and routine exams/cleanings, eye exams and contacts/glasses, access to mental health services, and prescription medications. If you have other medical/dental expenses that weren’t listed here, please reach out to us to discuss whether your expense is eligible for support before you make any appointments. We can only cover up to $500 for any kind of medical/dental expense request.

• During the academic year, financial aid is able to cover these expenses for the rest of the academic year after students pay the first $150.

Please complete their medical/dental expense form during the academic year. If a student reaches financial aid’s limit during the academic year, then they are eligible for support through the Opportunity Fund. Both the Opp Fund and Financial Aid are unable to cover cosmetic procedures such as laser eye surgery, braces, crowns, and plastic surgery. In order to process your request for medical/dental expenses, we will need copies of invoices, receipts, and or emails from the medical professional/office detailing the procedure and cost with the date of services.

• Up to $200 coverage for summer storage costs only.
  • Note: You’re welcome to apply for support once every school year in your academic career.
  • Note: Graduating seniors are not eligible for storage reimbursement the summer after their graduation.

Storage must be through a storage company or facility. No exceptions! We can assist with costs associated with the rental of the unit, insurance for your items, the lock, and transportation to/from the facility and campus (if necessary). We strongly encourage sharing the storage unit with your friends and other Stanford students to reduce your cost. If sharing, you will need to complete the storage agreement and everyone sharing the unit with you will need to sign the document, regardless of whether they are also apply for support or not.

• Note: If you plan to share storage with one or more students that are opportunity fund eligible, you must all submit your applications for support at the same time - if they are not submitted at the same time, your request may be denied.

Only a hand signature, Adobe signature, or official digital signature (DocuSign, etc.) will be accepted.Students entering into a co-term program the following academic year are eligible to apply for support, but they must do so prior to the Opportunity Fund deadline for seniors and will need to include documentation of program enrollment in their application.