US Loans

1. Complete Your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

2. City University London will contact you and confirm your Direct Loan entitlement

3. You will then need to complete the following:

• Entrance counselling
• Master Promissory Notes for each loan (one for the subsidized/unsubsidized and another for the Graduate/Parent Plus Loan).
• Credit Check (Plus Loan applicants only).

Update: We are now accepting FAFSA reports for the 2013/14 academic year. The processing of these reports will begin from April 2013, at which point you will be contacted regarding your loan. Please download the US Loan Process Guide for more information on how we administer Direct Loans.

Cost of Attendance (CoA)

The Cost of Attendance (CoA) is the amount of money per academic year that a student needs to pay their tuition fees, living expenses and course materials.

Tuition fees are covered in your CoA. On top of this, for Postgraduate students (52 weeks) the costs for living expenses and course materials are up to a maximum of £18,200. For Undergraduate students (39 weeks) the costs for living expenses and course materials are a maximum of £14,129. Most students will need a combination of loans (Subsidized/Unsubsidized and Plus loans) to cover the full CoA.

The following formulas are used to calculate loan entitlements:

*Within maximum annual and aggregate loan borrowing limits.

Itemized Cost of Attendance - Weekly breakdown

Paying your tuition fees

Tuition fees are due to be paid in three installments, the first of which is due at the point of registration when you register on the course during Welcome Week, so having the loans in place over the summer is recommended. Tuition fees are paid automatically through your US Loan disbursement, with the remaining funds made available to you as a cheque for living expenses. Additionally, you may need to have these loans in place to apply for your Student Visa. We can send you a Proof of Loans Letter to show proof of the loans being in place. Please visit our International Student Advice page if you need more information about visa issues.

Origination and/or default fees

The U.S. Department of Education applies a 1% fee charge on Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans, 4% on Direct Plus loans. From 28th June 2013, due to the Sequester put in place by Congress, the loan fee for Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans will be increased from 1.0% to 1.051% and the loan fees for Direct PLUS Loans will be increased from 4.0% to 4.204%.

City University London does not charge any loan fees, City's third party agent Western Union, acts on our behalf receiving the USD loan funds and converts this into the equivalent GBP according to the daily exchange rate. Fluctuations in exchange rates cannot be used to increase the Cost of Attendance. 

Disclaimer

Students on any program based in the U.S, any unit of a program based in the U.S, on study leave based in the U.S, are not eligible for Direct Loans. This is non-negotiable and is a regulation set by the U.S Department of Education not City University London. Not all City University London programs are eligible for Direct Loans; this includes non-degree courses (e.g. diploma courses) and courses offered at overseas sites. Students on Nursing courses at City University are also not eligible for Direct Loans.

The U.S. Department of Education stipulates that the following regulations apply:

Satisfactory Academic Progress Review

You must be in good standing and maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress each term according to City University London's Academic Regulations. A Satisfactory Academic Progress review form must be completed and returned by your tutor at the mid-point of your program each academic year. Please note loans will not be requested for the spring term unless a completed form is returned to the Student Centre.

Failure to abide by this regulation will result in the cancellation of any remaining loan disbursements, and a return of unearned awarded funds should you withdraw.

• View City's refund policy

Counseling

Entrance and Exit Counseling must be completed at the appropriate times. All new students who have not received a FFEL Stafford Loan or Direct Loan must complete entrance counseling prior to any funds being requested from the U.S. Department of Education.

All final-year students must complete exit counseling in their last term at City. If students withdraw early from their program, they must complete exit counseling and any unearned funding must be returned to the U.S. Department of Education.

• Information about Exit Counseling

Programs/Study Periods based in the U.S.

Any student on a program based in the U.S. will not be eligible for Direct Loans. Any unit of a program based in the U.S. for that duration, will make the student ineligible for Direct Loans. Graduate research students on study leave based in the U.S. are not eligible for Direct Loans.

Course Duration

Students must complete their program within a time frame of no longer than 150% of the published length of the course. We will be unable to certify a loan application, unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Changes to Enrollment Status

If your enrollment status changes (e.g. from full-time to half-time) you will need to inform the Student Centre. This will affect your loan eligibility and we will need to re-calculate your Cost of Attendance based on your new student status. If students withdraw early from their program, they must complete exit counseling and any unearned funding must be returned to the U.S. Department of Education according to their guidelines.

Additional Funding

Students are required to inform the Student Centre of any additional funding (expected or received) before and after their student loan entitlement is calculated. Please email us with any such information.

Borrowers' Right to Cancel

Students will be notified by email 14 working days before each loan disbursement is requested, and have 14 working days to change/cancel any expected loan disbursements. After this period has expired students will be responsible for returning any unwanted funds to either the U.S. Department of Education or the Loan Servicer.

National Student Loan Data System

Should you take out a federal loan while a student at City, information about your loan will be provided to the National Student Loan Data System.

• Information about City Specification documents
• Information about City graduate destinations

If you are enrolled in full/half-time study, you can defer payment of your outstanding student loans. Please request a deferment form from your Lender and submit to City by email. Please note deferment forms will not be signed until the borrower is enrolled at City University London. We also submit enrollment data twice a year to the National Student Clearinghouse and National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) who confirm student enrollment to all Lenders.

• Information about Loan Repayment, Grace Periods and Consolidating Loans

Sallie Mae Smart Loans

Please email us if you wish to have a Sallie Mae loan approved by City University London. City University cannot approve any Sallie Mae loan that would take the student above the set cost of attendance.

Veteran Affairs Funding

We are able to administer Veterans funding for the Post 9/11 GI Bill.

Because the approval process for new University courses to be certified by Veteran Affairs takes up to six months, please contact us as early as possible in order to see if your prospective course will need to be certified. Once students have been approved for VA funding checks are sent to the University to pay for tuition fees.

If you wish to apply for the Post-9/11 GI Bill funding please contact us in order to declare your involvement in Veteran Affairs Funding, including the following information: your full name, date of birth (MM/DD/YY), social security number, permanent address and full title of program at City.

• Information about the Post-9/11 GI Bill

We do not take part in the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Canadian Loans

Program Information forms and any other kind of certification forms are to be sent to Josh.Du-Sautoy.2@city.ac.uk where they will be signed and returned to you. Please include information such as your full name and full course name. Please also include your expected book and equipment costs for your studies in Canadian Dollars.

These forms can also be signed and stamped in the Student Centre.