Receiving Your US Federal Loan

A minimum of two weeks' notice is required prior to the next disbursement date in order to action a change to your loan with effect from that disbursement.

Increasing your loan

If you wish to increase your loan, the total amount borrowed cannot exceed your loan eligibility as calculated on your Cost of Attendance, unless there are special circumstances where essential costs need to be included and/or you have your dependent children with you. You will be asked for proof of your adjusted costs. Please note that there is an undisclosed maximum value and if you exceed this value then your costs will be disallowed without full justification.

Contact the US Loans Officer with your request, advising of your new requested amount for your loans and a brief explanation of the changes you would like made. If the increase is approved, the additional funds will be spread across your remaining disbursements for the year.

Please note that if you have an endorser on your PLUS loan, you will only be able to increase the loan up to the endorsed amount. If your endorser is willing to increase the endorsed amount to allow you to borrow a higher PLUS loan, please email the US Loans Officer to advise. Your endorser will have to complete a new application.

Decrease or cancel your loan

If you wish to decrease your loan prior to a disbursement, please contact the US Loans Officer with your request, advising of your new requested amount for your loans and a brief explanation of the changes you would like made. 
You should reduce the amount you are borrowing on your PLUS loan first as this is the most expensive loan.  The reduction will be spread across your remaining disbursements.

If you wish to cancel your loan, please email the US Loans Officer with your request.

We will email you prior to each disbursement with details on the deadline for returning funds through the University. However, please do not wait for this email if you already know that you wish to decrease or cancel your loans, as you may need to pay fees and bank charges associated with returning the funds if the payment has already been requested.

If you wish to cancel your loan and the timeframe for doing so through the University has passed, you can still make a repayment directly to your lender.  Your lender's details can be found on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).

If you make a repayment within 120 days of loan disbursement, then your lender will treat this as a partial or full cancellation, with the appropriate adjustment of the loan fee and interest.

If you decrease or cancel your loan, you may need to provide proof of alternative funding to your US Loan Officer in order to show that you are still able to pay your tuition and accommodation fees, if you used your loan award letter as proof of funding for your financial declaration.

Any student who cancels their loan after receiving a disbursement will be required to complete exit counselling via StudentAid.gov.

Any student who cancels their loan after the funds have been requested from the US may be required to pay fees or bank charges associated with returning the funds to the US.

 If you consider withdrawing from your studies, changing to part-time, taking a leave of absence (an approved Leave of Absence Policy is only applicable for PhD students), submitting your thesis early or going abroad to study or back to the USA, it is important that you tell us immediately and most certainly before your plans are finalised. Any of these events will have an effect on your loans, and may result in loans for your entire programme being withdrawn, so it is important that we know beforehand.

Under US federal law, the University is required to report any changes to your enrolment within tight timescales and, if necessary, to complete a Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation and arrange for any 'unearned' loan funds to be returned to the US Department of Education. You may also have to return unearned funds and we will provide advice on this.

Full information is available in our Return of Title IV Funds Policy but the key facts are summarised below.

Key facts

The US Loans Officer will calculate the amount of Title IV program assistance that has been earned, using a formula provided by the US Department of Education.

Once you have completed more than 60% of the payment period, all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period is considered to have been earned. As an example, if you complete 30% of the payment period, you have earned 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive within that loan period. If you have completed 60% of the payment period, you have earned 100% of the assistance you were scheduled to receive.

If you received more assistance than was earned, the excess funds must be returned to the US Department of Education by you and/or the University. If you received (or the University received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds as a post-withdrawal disbursement.

The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from the University's refund policy. Therefore, you may still owe funds to the University to cover unpaid institutional charges. The University may attempt to collect any Title IV program funds from you that the University is required to return.

Under specific conditions, a leave of absence (LOA, or suspension of studies) for less than 180 days in a 12 month period may qualify as an 'approved' leave of absence. If you are granted an 'approved' LOA, you are not considered to have withdrawn, and no Return calculation is required. During the LOA, the University will not charge you any additional institutional charges, your financial need will not increase, and therefore, you will not be eligible for any disbursements of federal student aid. If you are granted an approved LOA you will maintain in-school status for Title IV loan repayment purposes.

If you do not attend even initial lectures or seminars you are ineligible to receive any Title IV funds and all loan proceeds will be returned to the US Department of Education. You will be liable for any fees or outstanding balances owed to the college or University.

You will arrange repayment directly through your loan servicer. You can check who your loan servicer is on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). You should always keep in contact with your loan servicer to make sure that you are up-to-date with loan repayment information.

It is your responsibility to:

• Notify your loan servicer of anything that affects your ability to repay your loan;
• Notify your loan servicer of any changes in your status, including graduation, and any changes to your name, address, or telephone number;
• Notify your loan servicer if you fail to enrol for the period covered by your loan; and
• Notify your loan servicer and University of any change in your address.

You can also make an early repayment directly to your loan servicer. If you make a repayment within 120 days of loan disbursement, then your lender will treat this as a partial or full cancellation, with the appropriate adjustment of the loan fee and interest.

You may also find the Federal Student Aid website useful.

Our Loan types pages also provide some information on how repayment works and when you should expect repayments to start for the different loan types.

It is important that you understand the responsibilities and obligations associated with a student loan. It is also a US Department of Education requirement that you undertake entrance and exit counselling (accessed at StudentAid.gov) at the start and end of your studies for which you receive loans. The counselling informs you about loan repayment, money management, your responsibilities as a borrower and it outlines the terms and conditions of your loan. The US Loan Officer will request that you complete exit counselling towards the end of each loan year, or if you withdraw, suspend or cancel your loan.

StudentAid.gov also offers optional financial awareness counselling which provides tools and information to help you understand your financial aid and assist you in managing your finances. Please note that this financial awareness counselling is not the same as the compulsory entrance and exit counselling which you will need to complete.

Exit counselling will be required shortly before you complete your studies.

Your student loan must be repaid – you will risk going into default if you do not make your loan payments as required by your loan servicer. Federal Student Aid offers full guidance on understanding default.