Any federal or private loan processed by the University will be used to credit your tuition fees and other charges first, before any excess funds are returned to you.
What are disbursements?
These are the actual dates that your funds will be credited against your University fees. This is also the date from which your loans will start to incur interest; please refer to you Master Promissory Note (MPN) for the exact rate of interest as it will vary across different loans.
You will be informed of the disbursement dates once your loan has been originated via a formal notification letter sent to you from your designated assessor within Funding, Graduation & Awards. Each loan disbursement is subject to you maintaining satisfactory academic progress (SAP) and there are no changes in your status.
How will my tuition fees/accommodation fees be credited?
Your loan will be be used to credit your tuition fee and accommodation fee charge (if living in University-owned halls of residence); this will be credited proportionately as follows:
Students on a postgraduate course:
- 50% from first loan disbursement
- 50% from second loan disbursement
You do not need to pay any tuition/accommodation charge or make arrangements to pay during registration.
How will I be paid any excess funds?
You may borrow up to your Cost of Attendance (COA). Therefore anything you borrow towards living costs will be viewed as an excess.
In order to receive this money, please complete a bank details form which will be sent to you by the Funding, Graduation & Awards team once you have completed the application process and your loan has been originated.
Do I need a UK bank account?
Once your loan has been taken from the US Department of Education, the funds are converted into GBP(£). To receive any excess, you will need to open a UK bank account, thus preventing any additional conversion charges. If you are unable to open a bank account until you arrive, you need to return the Loan Release Form stating that the University may hold any funds on your behalf until such time that you can supply the relevant bank details (tick box at the bottom of the form).
Payment details
- Payments will be made into your UK bank account by a third party - Convera.
- All payments will be made in pounds sterling (GBP).
- You will receive an email confirmation from Convera detailing the amount deposited.
Your right to cancel
Before your loan money is disbursed, you may cancel all or part of your loan. Your request will need to be made in writing 14 days before the disbursement date listed on your notification letter and include:
- Your full name
- Your social security number
- Your student ID number
- The name of the loan you wish to reduce and the value you wish to reduce it to.
Please send any request by emailing the attention of Funding, Graduation & Awards team at USLoans@contacts.bham.ac.uk with the subject 'Cancellation of American Loan'.
After your loan has been disbursed, you have 120 days to return the money without incurring any interest charges. Details on how and where to return the money can be obtained from your loan servicer.
If you received an up-front interest rebate on your loan, the rebate does not apply to the money you or the school returned.
Withdrawal from your programme
If you choose to withdraw from your programme you must inform Funding, Graduation & Awards by submitting an online enquiry.
It is a legal requirement that the University does a Title IV calculation to determine how much needs to be returned the US Department of Education including any refunds of tuition or accommodation fees.
For more information visit, please refer to change of circumstances.
Please note that the date of your withdrawal is also the date that you become responsible for repaying your loan.