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Essentials Money US Loans & Federal Aid Types of Loans available

Types of Loans available

Information about the different types of loans you can apply for.

The University of Reading participates in the William D Ford Direct Loan Program.  US Direct Loans are administered by the Student Financial Support Team within Student Services at the University of Reading.

The lender is the US Department of Education rather than a bank or other financial institution.  In the past, you may have borrowed via a private lender through the FFEL Program which is no longer available.  However, the Direct Loan Program offers the same loans but instead of a bank lending the money, the US Department of Education lend the money through the student’s school.

Direct Loans are available to all US citizens or permanent residents who have a valid social security number, a high school diploma and are not in default on any previous loans.

View more on loans from the Federal Student Aid.

For further information, advice or support, please contact the Student Financial Support Team on USLoans@reading.ac.uk

Loan Types

Sallie Mae disburses the loan as a US dollar (USD) Bank transfer via Transfermate (Third party Financial Service Provider), issued to the University of Reading. Please note it is essential that you have a UK bank account to enable us to distribute your funds.  You must open a UK Bank account at the earliest opportunity and instructions will be provided at enrolment.

We also recommend that you plan on having sufficient funds available for your cost of living for at least the first 4-6 weeks in the UK in case you experience any delays receiving your first disbursement.

For additional information, please visit the SallieMae site.
Students may apply for a private loan, (subject to credit history).  However, the University of Reading encourages students who are eligible to make use of Federal Loans in the first instance.  The University of Reading has no preferred private lender. At present, we are eligible to accept students with private loans provided by Sallie Mae who determine a student’s eligibility (applications can be made online via the SallieMae site). If your loan is approved by Sallie Mae, the University of Reading will be notified and asked to certify your loan amount and we will use the same cost of attendance calculator used for Federal Aid students.

Please notify us of any additional funding you have or expect to receive from scholarships and/or bursaries.

The Direct Loan Programme offers three types of loans:

Direct Subsidised Loans
For students with demonstrated financial need, as determined by Federal Regulations. No interest is charged while a student is in school at least halftime, during the grace period, and during deferment periods.

Direct Unsubsidised Loans
This loan is not based on financial need and interest is charged during all periods, even during the time a student is in school and during grace and deferment periods.

Plus Loans
These are unsubsidised loans for the parents of dependent students and for graduate or professional students. Plus Loans help pay for education expenses up to the cost of attendance minus all other financial assistance. Interest is charged during all periods. 

A credit check is also required; in order to obtain a credit check students need to "Apply for the PLUS Loan"  on the Student Loans website. 

Use the tab on left-hand side of application page called ‘Direct Loan Process’ – this is where students can complete their credit check.