Application process

You will need to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which can be completed online via the FAFSA website.

The FAFSA has seven steps that asks you about your personal details (Social Security Number, driver’s license, etc), your financial information and your School plans. On completion, you will receive a 3 page Student Aid Report (SAR) sent to your e-mail address. 

Please ensure that you enter the school code G08908 for the University of Birmingham so that we will automatically receive a copy of your SAR.

Once you have received an offer to study at the University of Birmingham, we will contact you with a Cost of Attendance and loan offer. 

The University will use the information in your FSS to confirm eligibility for a loan, therefore you must check that the information is correct.

You should:

• have a Student Aid Index (SAI) figure
• be a US citizen or permanent resident

The amount of money you can borrow is partially determined by your eligibility and by how much money it will cost you to participate in your studies. This is known as the Cost of Attendance (COA). 

Once you have completed your FAFSA, an assessor from Funding, Graduation & Awards will provide you with a Cost of Attendance (COA) breakdown and a loan recommendation rounded up to the nearest dollar.  

You can use this recommendation to determine how much you need to borrow from each type of loan available to you.  

Subsidised and Unsubsidised loans have borrowing limits which are determined by the level of study you are undertaking and your dependency status; these limits cannot be exceeded and any additional funds required should be taken as PLUS or Private Loan.

To view the aggregate and annual loan limits visit the Federal Student Aid website.

Please note, the total amount of money that you request should not exceed the amount calculated on your Cost of Attendance (COA). 

Before we can process any Federal Loan request, you will need to complete a Direct Loan MPN. Students are strongly encouraged to make an electronic application via Student Loans. 

An MPN will need to be completed for each type of loan you intend to borrow, including:

• Direct Loan Subsidized/Unsubsidized
• PLUS

A new MPN will be required for each academic year (loan period) that you borrow.  

The MPN is a binding legal document between you and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that outlines the terms of your loan. 

Please note, you should keep a copy for your own personal reference and forward an electronic copy to the University (see Step 7). 

If you would require a paper copy of your MPN to sign, you will need to request one by contacting COD Applicant Services on 1-800-557-7394.

Students borrowing a Private Loan (Sallie Mae) will be required to complete an e-Promissory Note as part of the loan application. You will also be required to complete a Private Education Loan Applicant Self Certification Form, and send this to your dedicated loan assessor in the team. For more information, visit our Private Loans webpage.

It is a legal requirement that all first-time Direct Loan borrowers receive entrance counselling. This will help to ensure that you are aware of your rights and responsibilities as a borrower. Entrance counselling must be undertaken before any money can be released to you. 

Entrance counselling is available via Student Loans.

Due to the serious nature of borrowing, the University of Birmingham recommends that continuing students undertake entrance counselling on an annual basis to help make informed borrowing decisions, however, this is not a legal requirement.

Following the receipt of your loan recommendation, you will be need to confirm in writing (via email) how much you intend to borrow (to the nearest dollar) from each type of loan available to you. You must ensure you have completed:

• a copy of your MPN for each type of loan;
• a copy of your entrance counselling certificate (first-time borrowers only)

Once these documents have been verified, we will process your loan request via the U.S. Department of Education's Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) website.  

Once approved, the appropriate loan amounts will be collected by the University on your behalf at the relevant time.