US Loans
How to apply for Financial Aid?
The first stage in applying for a US Federal Loan is to complete the application form online. You can do this at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The School Code for the University of Westminster is 021951/00
As the University of Westminster is not based in the US, we do not automatically receive a copy of the Student Aid Report so please send this to us. Please make sure that you also send us your Social Security Number as we are unable to calculate your Loans without this. For security reasons you should send this either by post or fax (not email) to the Student Funding Office at the University of Westminster.
Federal Student Loans
The FFELP Stafford loan
This loan supported by the US government is available to all students. The Stafford loan is offered at a fixed interest rate which has been set at 6.8%. This loan does not enter into repayment until 6 months after the student has completed the course or dropped below 50% attendance. There are 2 parts to the Stafford loan.
- The subsidized loan is assessed on “need” and as such the interest accrued on this portion of the loan is paid by the US government whilst students are in study. These costs will revert to the student’s responsibility after completion of the course.
- The unsubsidized loan will accrue interest during the period of study and these costs will be the student's responsibility.
During the 2009/10 year most lenders will be charging the student a 1% default fee and a 0.5% origination fee on these loans in accordance with US Dept of Education Guidance
For fixed rate loans first disbursed between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010, the interest rates are as follows:
- Undergraduate Subsidized Stafford Loan – 5.60 percent
- Undergraduate Unsubsidized Stafford Loan – 6.80 percent
- Graduate Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loan – 6.80 percent
- PLUS Loan - 8.50 percent
The Department of Education’s full announcement and useful chart can be found here.
The FFELP Parent Plus loan
These loans are available to Parents of dependent undergraduate students. The parent would take a loan out on behalf of the child to cover any additional educational costs. The loan is offered at a fixed interest rate of 8.5%. Parents can opt to delay repayment of this loan until 6 months after the student has completed the course or dropped below 50% attendance.
The FFELP GRAD Plus Loan
These loans are available to Graduate students and taken out in their own name under similar conditions to the Parent Plus loan. The student will need to complete the application form so that they are the student as well as the borrower. Students with low or little credit may require a co-signer. Again these loans are offered on a fixed interest rate of 8.5% and student’s can defer repayment until 6 months after the completion of the course.
Repayment Period
These loans can be repaid within a period of 10 to 15 years depending on what is arranged with the lender. Repayment normally starts 6 months after completion of the course, withdrawing or dropping below 50% attendance. There are no early repayment penalties on any of these loans. Students can also defer repayments on previous Stafford, Grad Plus and Private loans whilst you are attending an educational course full time at another Title IV eligible institution.
How much are you entitled to?
The table below shows the amounts of Stafford loan a student can borrow depending on the course and year they will attend.
| Year of Course | Initial Subsidized Stafford | Additional Unsubsidized Stafford | Combined (maximum) Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dependent undergraduate |
|||
|
Year 1 |
$3,500 | $2,000 | $5,500 |
| Year 2 | $4,500 | $2,000 | $6,500 |
|
Year 3 |
$5,500 | $2,000 | $7,500 |
| Independent Undergraduate | |||
|
Year 1 |
$3,500 | $6,000 | $9,000 |
| Year 2 | $4,500 | $6,000 | $10,500 |
| Year 3 | $5,500 | $7,000 | $12,500 |
| Graduate Professional | $8,500 | $12,000 | $20,500 |
Cost of Attendance (in £ sterling)
The following figures are used to calculate your cost of living (not including tuition fees). In addition to these amounts, the University will add on an average cost of a return flight home, sundry costs, entertainment and start up costs. This brings the total to £15000 for postgraduate students taking a full year (52 weeks) and £12000 for undergraduate students (31 weeks).
| Weekly | 52 Weeks (PG) | 31 Weeks (UG) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | 115 | 5980 | 5980 (full year) |
| Food | 50 | 2600 | 1550 |
| Travel | 25 | 1300 | 775 |
| Clothing | 200 | 150 | |
| Household | 15 | 780 | 465 |
| Utilities | 15 | 780 | 465 |
| Books, Equipment | 15 | 780 | 465 |
The Costs of Attendance is a very generous amount compared to loans which UK students can apply for and you may not need or want to take out the full amount. The maintenance costs inlcude all housing, books, travel, food, social etc Please note that we cannot increase this amount unless you have very specific reasons such as medical costs.
To make up the difference between the Stafford Loan and your cost of attendance you can take out a Parental PLUS loan (undergraduates) or a Graduate PLUS Loan.
Private loans may also be taken out either on top of, or instead of, PLUS loans or Stafford loans, subject to normal credit checking, and only to the value of the Cost of Attendance (CoA).
If you are a Study Abroad student, then your loans should be completed by your home university in the US.
Which Lenders can I Choose?
Your are free to choose your lender and we would advise that you take some time to compare interest rates and repayment terms which most lenders have available on their websites. When considering lenders please make sure that you are eligible to take out a loan with them to study outside the United States of America.
The following are lenders where we can authorise loans online and you may find that this makes the process easier and faster for you.
You can apply to Sallie Mae at https://opennet.salliemae.com When you make the initial application for a loan, you should receive correspondence in hard copy rather than by email. This is because you will need to provide a hard copy lett of your loan approval for visa purposes.
When will you receive your loan?
You will receive your loans once you have arrived at the University and completed enrolment. Laws passed in 2006 mean that you can only have part of your federal loan each term/semester. Loans for postgraduate students taking a full calendar year MUST be disbursed in three instalments. Disbursement dates for the 2009/10 academic session are:
| Postgraduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Semester 1 | 14 September 2009 | ||
| 2nd | Semester 2 | 4 January 2010 | ||
| 3rd | Semester 3 | 29 March 2010 | ||
| Undergraduate | ||||
| 1st | Semester 1 | 14 September 2009 | ||
| 2nd | Semester 2 | 4 January 2010 | ||
| January 2010 Start | ||||
| 1st | Semester 1 | 2 January 2009 | ||
| 2nd | Semester 2 | 26 April 2010 | ||
| 3rd | Semester 3 | 13 September 2010 |
Where can I collect my cheques?
Your cheques should be available when you arrive at the University and have enrolled. When you have been told your cheques are ready, you will need to come to the Student Funding Office at Marylebone Campus. Your cheques will be in $US and normally payable to you and the University of Westminster jointly. You will have to endorse the Federal Stafford Loan cheques so that these can be paid into your tuition fee account at the University. You may only take these cheques to bank yourself if your tuition fees have been paid in full. Any balance will be repaid to you.
All students in receipt of financial aid from the US have to complete Student Loan Entrance Counselling as this is required by the US Government. To make this easier for you, you can complete the counselling online through the links below. Once you have completed the counselling, we will receive notification and will be able to disburse your loan. You will also have to complete exit counselling when you are close to the end of your course to ensure that you understand the repayment terms of your loan.
Please visit 'Mapping Your Future' for more information.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
All students applying for or receiving US Federal Aid (subsidized, unsubsidized and PLUS) must progress satisfactorily towards completion of a chosen academic program in order to remain eligible to receive US loan support.
The guidelines below have been established to encourage students to successfully complete the academic program they attend and continue to receive Financial aid.
A student:
- Should not exceed 150% the published time frame for the course and should remain at least half time
- Should pass the course/modules with a minimum of grade C to confirm they are making satisfactory progression.
The Satisfactory progression to retain Financial Aid is entirely separate from the academic requirements to remain on the course and does not guarantee the outcome of the students course. Satisfactory Academic progress will be checked before any loan funds are released to a student.
If the student does not achieve satisfactory progress within the allotted timeframe, the student may lose their entitlement to US Loan support.
Refund Policy
If you receive financial aid and then decide to withdraw from your course, please inform the Student Funding Office as soon as possible. The University is required by Federal Law to recalculate your Financial Aid eligibility based on the period of attendance. As a result you may be required to pay back money to the US federal Government from the Federal Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized or PLUS loans you may have received. The institution may also have to repay any funds received for tuition to the US Federal government. As such you may be asked to make an additional fee payment to the school to replace these funds.
Pro-rata refund calculations apply for any student who withdraws within 60% of the payment period. If a student withdraws prior to completing 60% of each payment period, the university will calculate the amount of funds to be returned based on your period of attendance for that specific term. The last date of attendance will be the date confirmed by the School Office and the calculations undertaken are those that are set by the Department of Education in the US and cannot be altered.