The University of Southampton participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Programme
GOV WebsiteThe University of Southampton participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Programme
GOV WebsiteThe University of Southampton participates in the William D Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Programme.
At the University this programme is administered by the Financial Information and Assistance Team within the Student Services department.
There are three types of loan available to students through the Direct Loan program:
The amount you can borrow will be determined by the Cost of Attendance (COA) and no more:
There are some programmes at the University which are ineligible to receive funding through Direct Loans
Students may borrow up to the COA set by the University.
The maximum loans you can receive cannot exceed the yearly cost of attendance, less any financial aid you may be receiving.
Our COA spreadsheet has all the information you need to complete your loan requirements.
This is your application to the US direct of Education for a Direct Loan. Please see the GOV website for more information.
The US Government requires you to complete Entrance Counselling to confirm understanding of your responsibilities and obligations. Please see the GOV website for more information about how to complete Entrance Counselling. Once completed email us a screenshot to confirm completion together with your COA.
The MPN's are your Loan agreements. You will need to complete one for each type of loan you are applying for.
If you are applying for Parent Plus Loan then it is your parent that must complete the MPN. You can find information about completing MPN's on the GOV website.
Once you have completed your MPN's please send to us together with your COA.
The COA needs to completed in Excel Format. This can be downloaded from the useful links and downloads tab.
We will begin to process applications from the 16th June 2019. Applications received late will be dealt with as soon as we possibly can.
We will check your COA against the Direct Loans published guidelines. If we have any concerns, we will contact you to discuss.
Once all completed, the University will originate your loan.
If you are applying for a Tier 4 Visa (A student visa), you will need to be able to show you have sufficient funding in place.
Once your loan has been agreed and processed we will produce a letter confirming your Federal Aid funding for the year ahead, this will be sent to the address you have stated in your COA.
You can download a PDF process document to help you, which can be found in the Useful Links tab.
For Undergraduates:
Undergraduate Federal Loans originated will normally be distributed in two instalments throughout the Academic Year, at the start of each semester:
· October (once Enrolment has been completed)
· Late January
Each instalment is disbursed in US Dollars and will convert to GBP during transfer.
In accordance with the US Government guidelines, the University will deduct one half tuition from the disbursement. If you are living in University accommodation, the University can arrange to pay the relevant invoice(s) from the disbursement.
Remaining funds will be paid to the student.
For Postgraduates:
Postgraduate Federal Loans originated will normally be distributed in three instalments throughout the Academic Year, at the start of each term:
· October (once Enrolment has been completed)
· Early January
· April
Each instalment is disbursed in US Dollars and will convert to GBP during transfer.
In accordance with the US Government guidelines, the University will deduct one third tuition from the disbursement. If you are living in University accommodation, the University can arrange to pay the relevant invoice(s) from the disbursement.
Remaining funds will be paid to the student.
For ALL students:
All disbursements are subject to the following:
· Satisfactory academic progress (SAP) is being made
· Student is enrolled at least part time (Half Time)
· Student is not in the USA
· Student has not violated any federal compliance regulations (repayment default, fraud, drugs)
The US Government requires you to complete Entrance Counselling to confirm understanding of your responsibilities and obligations. Please see the GOV website for more information about how to complete Entrance Counselling. Once completed email us a screenshot to confirm completion together with your COA.
US Government regulations require students who withdraw, graduate, or drop below half time attendance to complete exit counselling.
Students must complete NSLDS Exit Counselling, this is completed online. Once completed send a scanned pdf of the final page to stufunds@soton.ac.uk
US Government regulations require the University to ensure all students receiving Federal Direct Loans are making satisfactory progress. We require a SAP form to be completed before each disbursement is made.
The form for completion can be found on the 'Useful Links' tab.
The COA is calculated in US Dollars and the loan is borrowed in US dollars. It is exchanged into GBP at the time the disbursement takes place. Due to exchange rate fluctuations throughout the year, the University is unable to accurately fix the rate in advance so that the student gets exactly what they need.
The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) central database for student aid. It receives data from a number of sources, including the participating schools.
The University of Southampton keeps NSLDS updated with changes to enrolment status of all it’s US Loan recipients.
NSLDS Student Access provides a centralized, integrated view of Title IV loans and grants so that recipients of Title IV Aid can access and inquire about their Title IV loans and/or grant data.
In order to prohibit a conflict of interest of an agent with respect to private education loans, all employees of the University of Southampton with responsibility for US loans are prohibited from the following:
All employees covered by this Code of Conduct are reminded at least annually of the code.
Commercial Loans
The University of Southampton does not recommend any private lender, however as far as we are aware there is only one private lender that makes loans available to US citizens receiving their degree and who are unable to receive Title IV Federal Loans.
To get more information about the GEMS Smart Option Loan by Sallie Mae click here.
Key points about US Direct Loans as well as information on the application process can be found below.
The University cannot accept responsibility for external websites.