Subsequent applications

1. Information

You should refamiliarise yourself with the William D Ford federal direct loan programme. Direct loans are explicitly to cover the primary costs of education (tuition, student accommodation, books/supplies and commuter travel). Loans are not intended to cover other expenses that are not directly related to study.
You should plan a budget for your studies (cost of attendance [COA]) and you should only borrow what you need. Remember that you will be required to repay all loans with interest when you graduate or leave school.
For further details on direct loan amounts and how much you can borrow, please see direct loan amounts.
Please read all the steps below before starting the application process.

Do you have previous loans? If you have previous federal family education loans (FFEL)/Stafford or direct loans, you must ensure that you submit a request to defer payment on your previous loans. You should contact your loan servicer. Defaulting on a previous loan at any time will lead to ineligibility of further loan funding.

Loan consolidation

Consolidating your federal loans together into a direct consolidation loan may make loan repayment easier. If you consolidate, you will have just a single monthly payment, and this will allow you to take advantage of certain benefits that are offered only in the direct loan programme. If you would like to learn more about consolidating your previous loans (combining multiple federal loans into one) please see the Federal Student Aid (FSA) website or contact your loan servicer for further advice.

2. Please read the relevant student finance documents below:

3. Complete the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA)

In order to establish your eligibility for a direct loan, go to the FSA website to complete your FAFSA.

London Metropolitan University’s federal school code is G22353.

4. Submit your personal details

Once the US Department of Education processes your FAFSA you will be issued with a student aid report (SAR). In order to initiate your loan application please send us your passport and transcript to usfinancialaid@londonmet.ac.uk. If you receive any other financial assistance, it is important that you notify us as this will affect your COA.

5. Confirm the amount you wish to borrow and complete the loan application(s) and entrance counselling and credit check (for PLUS loans)

We will send you a funding notification offer letter via email including your cost of attendance breakdown. You will need to return a signed copy of the funding notification letter, confirming the amount of each type of loan you wish us to originate. You must ensure you have completed:

a Master Promissory Note for Direct Subsidised/Unsubsidised Loans;
a screenshot confirming you have completed Entrance Counselling (please be aware that 'Financial Awareness Counselling' is NOT acceptable) even if you have done it in a previous year – it is good practice to do this every year as it reminds you of your responsibilities in the Direct Loan Scheme
a PLUS Master Promissory Note and screen shot of the credit check acceptance if you will be using a PLUS Loan

You do all of this online at studentaid.gov. You sign into this site using the same PIN that you used for your FAFSA.

If you don't send everything we need, we will not be able to originate your loans.

Required documentation for the origination of your loan application:

If you've completed the actions outlined above, you will have provided the documentation listed below. Please note that your loan application cannot be processed without these documents.

A signed funding notification letter including COA
A copy of your passport
A copy of your SAR
A copy of your master promissory notes for all loans.
A copy of your entrance counselling confirmation.
Satisfactory academic progress (SAP) – the transcript of your previous year's study.
A copy of your credit check approval for graduate/parent PLUS loans.

Please email scanned versions of these documents to usfinancialaid@londonmet.ac.uk.

By submitting your signed funding notification letter (in conjunction with the other required documentation), you will initiate a direct loan application file at London Metropolitan University and officially set out your wish to borrow direct loan funds to cover education costs.

6. Loan certification

Once you have sent us your signed funding notification letter and relevant documents, we will originate your loans on the system and once they are confirmed we will notify you via e-mail.

We will send you the SAP policy, Leave of Absence policy, Financial planning document (see step 2 above) and the Financial borrowing document (you will need to read, sign and return this document.)

In order to ensure that your first disbursement is made on time and that you have enough time to apply for your visa we strongly recommend that you complete your loan application no later than 31 July 2024 for courses starting in September.

7. Disbursing (paying) the loan

Undergraduate students will receive two disbursements (one per semester).
Postgraduate students will receive three disbursements (one per semester and one at the start of the summer).

For students on a standard September start academic year, the earliest disbursement dates will be as follows:

	Disbursement 1	Disbursement 2	Disbursement 3
Undergraduate students	1 October 2024	3 February 2025	N/A
Students on graduate and professional courses	1 October 2024	3 February 2025	9 June 2025

From each disbursement (after it has been exchanged into £ GBP) we will deduct an amount towards tuition and any other charges incurred, and the remainder will be forwarded to you.

You will receive an email notification approximately 14 days prior to each disbursement, in line with Federal regulations concerning your right to cancel. Once the disbursement has been made and we have deducted your fees, you will receive a confirmation of any refund that will be deposited into your bank account along with a receipt. This communication will be sent via our finance team.

Please note that it can take up to 14 days after the disbursement date for you to receive your refund. For example, for a disbursement date of 5 October any refund will be paid to you by 19 October.

We work with a Foreign Exchange Provider to secure a competitive exchange rate for each disbursement linked to the market rate at the time. Therefore each disbursement will be for a different amount in £ GBP.

What happens next?

After we have reviewed your application for direct loans, we will contact you by email confirming your eligibility. We will then issue you with a loan award letter, confirming your loan amounts and dates of disbursement.

Further information

Cost Of Attendance (COA)

Please review the COA table below to see a general example of the COA for a UG and PG student studying at London Met. This will help you explore the funds that you will need to cover the costs of tuition and other related expenses according to your study level and the designated loan amounts. The COA is calculated according to expected costs for a US national studying in the UK.

These are not the exact amounts but are an average for first year undergraduate and first year postgraduate students. The University is required to issue a standard cost of attendance to all students on the same programme of study. However, each COA will be assessed on a case by case basis, any costs above the cost of attendance will be considered using professional judgement – alongside documentary evidence if required.

The exchange rate used is fixed every year for the creation of this budget, it does not reflect the rate that will be used when funds are received.

The budget covers nine months for an undergraduate student.

Allowable Costs	Amount in Sterling	Amount in Dollars
Tuition/Fees	£17,600	$22,880
Room	£9,360	$12,168
Board	£2,544	$3,307
Books, flights, supplies and other miscellaneous costs	£6,364	$8,273
Average Loan Fees	£1,100	$1,430
Transportation	£3,072	$3,994
TOTAL:	£40,041	$52,053

Example exchange rate used: 1.30

The budget covers twelve months for a postgraduate student

Allowable Costs	Amount in Sterling	Amount in Dollars
Tuition/Fees	£18,150	$23,595
Room	£13,520	$17,576
Board	£3,552	$4,618
Books, flights, supplies and other miscellaneous costs	£8,471	$11,013
Average Loan Fees	£1,100	$1,430
Transportation	£4,055	$5,271
TOTAL:	£48,848	$63,503