Education | Higher education » Financial Aid for US Students

Source: http://www.doksinet Financial Aid for US Students What support is available? An American National or permanent resident can apply for a loan if you have accepted an offer of a place at the University of Reading. Students who are in the US on a work visa or limited leave visa, are unlikely to be eligible for these loans. There are various loans an American student can apply for:The FFELP Stafford loan – This loan is supported by the US government and 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 subsidised 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. However these costs will revert to the student’s responsibility after completion

of the course. The unsubsidised loan will accrue interest during the period of study and these costs will be the students responsibility. 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 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, except that the student is the sole borrower and not the parent. 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 students can defer repayment until 6 months after the completion of the course Private Loans – These are loans offered

by some lenders to offer top-up support, not connected to the US government; available to all students, although some students may require a co-signer. The loans are based on credit history and therefore interest rates can vary. Repayment on these loans starts 6 months after completion of the course or 6 months after dropping below 50% attendance. Who is eligible? To be eligible for federal funding a student has to be at least on half time study. Students undertaking a course via any method involving telecommunications (ie television, audio, computer transmission, broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave or satellite, audio or computer conferencing or via video cassettes/discs) are not eligible for federal funding. Students enrolled on correspondence courses are only eligible for federal funding if the course leads to a bachelor or undergraduate degree. Baccalaureate or professional degrees are not eligible How much can I borrow? 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 Subsidised loan Additional Unsub loan Total loan $3500 $2000 $5500 $4500 $2000 $6500 Dependent Undergraduate 1st year nd 2 year Source: http://www.doksinet 3rd year $5500 $2000 $7500 $3500 $6000 $9500 2 year $4500 $6000 $10500 3rd year $5500 $7000 $12500 Graduate/professional $8500 $12000 $20500 Independent Undergraduate 1st year nd Any Parent Plus loan (available to undergraduate dependent students only), Grad Plus or Private loan is intended to cover any remaining costs of attendance the student has without set maximums. The cost of attendance includes tuition fees and living costs and is set by the University. Any student loan, whether federal or private, is NOT to exceed the cost of attendance. Cost of attendance (2009-2010) Postgraduate Tuition Fees Postgraduate Research Programmes Laboratory based subjects Non-Laboratory based subjects Full-time £11,610

£9,630 Full-time, working away £5,805 £4,815 Part-time £6,386 £5,297 Part-time working away £3,193 £2,648 Postgraduate Taught Full-time Faculty of Arts & Humanities £9,630 Faculty of Social Sciences £9,630 Faculty of Life Sciences £11,610* Faculty of Science £11,610 Henley Business School (MBA) £33,000 Postgraduate Taught Part-time Faculty of Arts & Humanities £5,297 Faculty of Social Sciences £5,297 over 2 years £3,531 over 3 years Source: http://www.doksinet Postgraduate Taught Part-time Faculty of Life Sciences £6,386 Faculty of Science £6,386 Undergraduate Tuition Fees Band 1 £9,630 Band 2 £11,610 * * Band 2 courses are programmes that have a significant laboratory or workshop content, e.g courses within the Faculties of Science and Life Sciences. These fees cover tuition, matriculation, examination, graduation and membership of the Students Union. They refer to the current academic year. All International Foundation

Programme students pay fees of £9,630. Estimated minimum living expenses for the session 2008/9 are £9,000 per year. What is the 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. 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 attending an educational course full time at another eligible institution. When should I apply? Students will need to apply for these loans on an annual basis and it would be recommended to start the application process anytime from March 1st each year, although the FAFSA applications can be submitted anytime from January 1st. Private loan applications should be applied for no earlier than 6 months prior to the start of the course Any application being received within a month of the course start date cannot be

guaranteed to be processed in time for the start of the course or to provide the required documentation for any Visa. How can I apply? All students should apply for the Stafford loan before any other funds as it is the most beneficial loan available to students. • Students would need to complete a financial aid form through the FAFSA website (www.fafsaedgov) to generate the essential Student Aid Report. As we are an overseas institution we do not receive any information electronically and we will require the student to send the 8-page-SAR report to the University directly. Students can contact FASFA to request the hard copy of this form on +1 800-433-3243 • Complete the Loan Debt Counselling at the following website, required by the Department of Education in the US. http://www.mappingyourfutureorg/OSLC/ • Students will also need to select a lender to guarantee and disburse the funds by completing their Master Promissory Note. We do not have any preferred lenders, however we

would strongly recommend checking that your lender works with international institutions. Previous students attending the University of Reading have worked with the following lenders for federal and private loans:- Source: http://www.doksinet Sallie Mae International http://www.salliemaecom/international/us students/ AES http://www.aessuccessorg/ ASA http://www.amsacom/contact/ Bank of America http://www.bankofamericacom/studentbanking/ Great Lakes https://www.mygreatlakesorg/borrower/ Student Loan Network http://www.studentloannetworkcom/ Student Loan Xpress http://www.studentloanxpresscom/ UHEAA http://www.uheaaorg/parentStudent01html USA Funds http://www.usafundsorg/ Students applying online with one of these lenders may not need to send their MPN to the University as they may be able to sign the MPN electronically. If using a different lender however, students would then need to send the signed MPN to the University along with the SAR. • Parent/Grad Plus or Private loans can

be applied for to cover any remaining cost of attendance. Again students can apply for these loans through the lenders listed above and will need to complete a separate MPN to take out these different loans. If applying online, students would not need to send any additional information. When will the funds be disbursed? The University will request that the Stafford and any Plus Loan or Private loan is disbursed in at least 2 instalments (most lenders require 3 disbursements), in accordance with US laws. The first disbursement of the Stafford loan will be requested to be available, to collect from the University, as soon as you have enrolled for the start of the relevant academic year. The 2/3nd instalments would be released at the start of the subsequent term Disbursements are made via cheques from the lender and are sent to the University c/o the Financial Aid Administrator. The cheques are co-payable to the student and the University. Students endorse their cheques which are then

paid into their University record (account) and subsequently converted into pounds sterling. Satisfactory Academic Progress All students applying for, or receiving US Federal Aid (subsidised, unsubsidised and PLUS), must progress satisfactorily towards completion of a chosen academic programme in order to remain eligible to receive US loan support. The guidelines below have been established to encourage students to successfully complete the academic programme 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, if on an undergraduate or postgraduate taught programme, pass each Part of the programme, or • should, if on a postgraduate research programme, satisfy the annual review of progress 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

student’s course. Satisfactory academic progress will be checked before any loan funds are released to a student. Financial Aid Probation and/or suspension Should a student not meet the above mentioned procedures for satisfactory academic progression, the University has agreed to place students on probation for the following term, until more credit marks become available or the failed module can be re-sat. The University would confirm any probation or suspension period in writing with the individual student should this situation arise. Source: http://www.doksinet If the student does not achieve satisfactory progress within the allotted time frame, the student may lose their entitlement to US Loan support. Tuition Refund Policy The following is an addendum for students who are utilising US Federal student aid funds. If a student who receives financial aid withdraws from the institution, the University will 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 subsidised and unsubsidised or PLUS loans you may have received. The University may also have to repay any funds received for tuition to the US Federal government. As such you may be requested to make an additional fee payment to the University 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 University and the calculations undertaken are those that are set by the Department of Education in the US and cannot be altered. Forms Federal Stafford Loan School Certification form Federal Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note Federal PLUS Loan School

Certification form Federal PLUS Loan Master Promissory Note Department of Veterans Enrollment Certification form (form 22-1999) In-School Deferment Request