United States Student Loans 2023-24

Award details

King’s College London’s Student Funding Office administers and processes US Federal loans on behalf of eligible students. 

Full details on personal eligibility can be found on studentaid.gov - once you have submitted a FAFSA King's Funding team will assess you course eligibility and contact you with details of potential loans. 

The final steps to securing your loans is to complete any MPN's, Entrance Counseling and Credit Checks needed - all of these things will be explained in greater detail further down this page so please ensure you read everything to understand what you need to do and how we process your data. 

 

Award value

How much you can borrow depends on a variety of factors, whether you have secured any other financial aid, what level and year you are studying in and what loans you have received before. 

Types of Loan

The types of Loan are available as listed below. Your loans will be allocated based on your allowances and what you have requested.

Subsidized	For undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need, as determined by federal regulations. No interest is charged while the student is in school at least half-time, during the grace period, and during any deferment periods.
Unsubsidized	For undergraduate and graduate students and not based on financial need. Interest is charged in all periods.
Parent PLUS	For undergraduate students' parents; up to the value of the Cost of Attendance, less any Expected Financial Aid. Subject to credit checks. Interested is charged in all periods.
Graduate PLUS	For graduate course students; up to the value of the Cost of Attendance, less any Expected Financial Aid. Subject to credit checks. Interest is charged in all periods.

Our Cost of Attendance (COA) has been carefully crafted to ensure you have enough money to live in and enjoy London while you are studying but remember, these figures are a guide and not what you have to pay. If you want to borrow less than the maximum available then you can, and remember that these are loans from the US Government and do carry interest and fees. 

Postgraduate courses are calculated at 12 months per year and Undergraduate courses are calculated at 9 months per year. 

Monthly costs

Housing costs - this includes rent and bills	£1290 per month
Groceries	£455 per month
Travel in London	£155 per month
Personal Expenses	£395 per month
Books & study supplies	£230 per month

Yearly costs

Tuition Fees	As charged
Flights (2 return per year)	£1980
Visa cost	£363
IHS	Calculated at cost
Loan Fees	£2800

The US Department of Education (USDE) set loan limits on the amount of subsidized and unsubsidized loans that you may be eligible to receive each academic year. These limits depend on factors such as your grade level, and whether you are classed as Independent or Dependent (determined by the information you report on your FAFSA).

Postgraduate Students Annual Loan Limits:

Level of study	Unsubsidized Loan	Graduate PLUS Loan
Taught Masters (52 week)	$20,500	You can top up to your full COA using a Graduate PLUS loan
Research (52 week)	$20,500

Dependent Undergraduate Students Annual Loan Limits:

Level of study	Subsidized Loan (maximum)	Unsubsidized Loan	Parent PLUS Loans
1st year Undergraduate (39 week)	$3500	$2000	You can top up to your full COA using a Parent PLUS loan
2nd year Undergraduate (39 week)	$4500	$2000
3rd year Undergraduate (39 week)	$5500	$2000

Independent Undergraduate Students Annual Loan Limits:

Level of study	Subsidized Loan (maximum)	Unsubsidized Loan	Private Loans
1st year Undergraduate (39 week)	$3500	$6000	You are ineligible for a PLUS loan but could top up to your full COA using a Private Loan
2nd year Undergraduate (39 week)	$4500	$6000
3rd year Undergraduate (39 week)	$5500	$7000

Subsidized loans are calculated based on financial need, if you have a high EFC then this may result in a reduced subsidized element, however your unsubsidized element could rise to compensate for this - your loan offer will give you the breakdown for your individual circumstances. 

It is possible for you to have a specially amended COA if you believe you will need extra funds than those allocated to each student group. This would normally be for students with caring responsibilities or disabilities which mean they must spend more money on travel or accommodation. If you have any questions regarding this please contact the Student Funding Office.

Eligibility criteria

Once King's receives your FAFSA we will do some final eligibility checks, as required by USDE and look at your student record with us to ensure that you are studying an eligible course. 

While the majority of courses at King's are eligible for federal funding, there are some which are not. Programmes leading to registration to practice medicine (MBBS degrees) or nursing cannot be covered by US Federal Aid. Private loans may be sought in these cases. We are also unable to provide Federal Student Aid for programmes that are below degree-level; therefore the International Foundation programme and the Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma programmes are not eligible for Federal Aid.

Programmes taught via 'telecommunications' are not eligible under Federal regulations - this means none of our distance learning students can access Federal aid. 

King's offers a number of joint-accredited degrees with institutions that are not eligible to administer Title V Aid - this means those programmes will not be eligible to access Federal loans for any part of your course. If you have any question on this please contact us. 

When we make you a loan offer, it is based on the course details on your student record, if your course changes your loan eligibility may change too. If there are any changes to your programme, at any time, please contact to discuss the effects on your loan. 

You must be studying 'at least half time' - which means only campus based courses are eligible. If you are studying via distance learning we will be unable to certify loans or process a deferment for you, though you could be eligible for private loans. 

Study Abroad

Many study abroad courses are now eligible for Federal Aid, however not all are. If you are planning to take a course that incorporates a year abroad, please ensure that you speak to the Student Funding Office. The table below can give you an idea of what you may do, but this is subject to final approval from the Student Funding Office.  

Type of institution	% of your course you could spend there
A University eligible to administer federal Aid, NOT based in the US	Unlimited
A University eligible to administer federal Aid, based in the US	25%
A University NOT eligible to administer federal Aid, NOT based in the US	25%

Award conditions

Receiving Your Loan

King’s College London has partnered with Convera to enable us to disburse your loan funds as efficiently as possible. 

Prior to the release of your loan funds, usually in early September, you will receive an email from Convera asking you to register the details of a GBP bank account where you can receive your funds. When you complete your loan request you are giving us permission to share your details with Convera. 

As a UK institution we do operate in GBP and you are required to provide UK bank details - information about opening a UK bank account can be found here.

The disbursement date is the earliest that we are able to release funds to you,, each disbursement is reliant on your enrolment status being 'fully enrolled' and UK bank details being provided. Satisfactory Academic Progress will be checked prior to each disbursement and no disbursement may be released until this check has been confirmed by your academic department. 

Once funds have been received by Convera, the fees due to King's are deducted before the remaining funds are made available for your living and study expenses.

Your tuition fees will not be invoiced in the standard two instalments, being deducted instead from your US Loans disbursements. Any deposit that you have paid towards tuition fees will be deducted in full from the first instalment only.

The exchange rate used to convert each USD loan disbursement to GBP is the actual exchange rate on the day that the loan funds are received. The exchange rate used by King’s to calculate the COA is for that purpose only and is estimated to allow for the changes in the exchange rate during the year and to account for the US Federal Government fees deducted from your loan funds.

The exchange rate for 2023/24 for COA purposes has been set at 1.3USD to 1GBP. The exchange rate is set for the whole year and will not change throughout although your actual loans will be paid using the current exchange rate at the time of each disbursement.

Although each loan instalment is equal in USD, as the exchange rate will be different on each disbursement date, each loan instalment will be a different amount after it has been converted from USD to GBP.

Deferment of Prior Loans

Provided you are already enrolled at least half-time in a campus based programme at King's College London, you can send your in-school deferment forms for previous US loans to the Student Funding Office for completion.

Please be aware that student loan information (and parents of dependent undergraduates with Parent PLUS Loans) will be submitted to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) automatically and does not require deferment forms to be completed. 

Exit Counseling

The US Department of Education requires that all student loan borrowers complete Exit Counseling whenever you drop below half-time enrolment status, whether this is because you withdraw, take a break in study or just before you complete your course of study. If you withdraw or take a break in study you may have to return some of your US Federal Loan funds, please contact us to discuss this if you are thinking of taking time out.

Once we are aware of a change, or impending change, to your course enrolment we will contact you with details of how to complete this. It is a requirement of the USDE.

Return to Title IV (R2T4) 

In order to continue to receive your loans throughout your study you must be enrolled at least half time on the course.

If you are planning on leaving your course, either on a break in study or to fully withdraw you must inform the Student Funding Office as soon as possible.

Federal rules require us to handle your loan funds in a specific way, for more information on R2T4 please see the linked policy below.

Return to Title IV Policy

Satisfactory Academic Progress 

While studying at King’s in order for you to continue to receive your loans throughout your time here you will need to demonstrate “Satisfactory Academic Progress”. The USDE requires that we make sure that progress is being made prior to each disbursement of your loan.

We will check with your departmental administrators and tutors to make sure that all progress expected is being made.

For full details on what the satisfactory academic progress requirements are please see the linked policy below.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

 

Application process

Step 1: Complete Your FAFSA

Each student must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). FAFSA applications can be completed online a the US Department of Education’s FAFSA.

Once you have completed the FAFSA, this will generate a Student Aid Report (SAR). You must enter King’s School Code G09085 in order for King’s to have access to your SAR.

Step 2: Receive a Loan Offer

In mid-June we will start to send out loan offers to those who have submitted a FAFSA with King's School code entered. If you have not heard from us within 2 weeks of submitting your FAFSA please contact us.

Please note we will not be able to process your application until you have firmly accepted an offer of study.

This loan offer will include a request form that you need to submit to us to confirm your loan amounts and details of what documentation you need to complete with USDE. 

These can include: 

• Entrance Counseling
• Master Promissory Notes
  • Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans
  • PLUS Loan for Graduate student
  • PLUS Loan for Parents of Dependent Undergraduate Students
• Credit checks - this is performed as part of the PLUS loan application

If you fail your credit checks, you may still be able to borrow PLUS loans if you have an endorser. 

Choosing how much to borrow. 

The COA shown in your loan offer is the maximum you can borrow, but you do NOT need to take out your full loan. Please consider what you think your costs will be and borrow sensibly. 

Step 3: Email Your Loan Request form to us

Please email your completed loan request form to us once you have completed all the necessary documentation on studentaid.gov. 

Next Steps

Once we have received all your loan application documents, we will aim to process and approve all loans within 3 weeks. We will then generate an electronic loan confirmation letter to send you providing details of your loan for the year.

Prior to each disbursement, you will receive a notification of the funds you will receive and be asked to confirm whether you would like to make any changes to the loan amount. To do this, you will need to contact the Student Funding Office to discuss those changes. 

Disbursement dates

All Federal Loans must be disbursed directly to King’s in four equal instalments for postgraduate students and two equal termly instalments for undergraduates. The dates are listed below:

Postgraduate

• 11th October (provided you have enrolled before the start of term)
• 17th January
• 1st May 
• 17th July

Undergraduate

• 11th October (provided you have enrolled before the start of term)
• 7th February

Please ensure that you have sufficient funds to cover your expenditure until you receive the refunded portion of your loan for study and living expenses after fees have been deducted.

Consumer Information Disclosures

The US Federal Government requires that the school provides the following information to students eligible for US Federal Loans.

Contact Information for Assistance in Obtaining Institutional of Financial Aid Information

Prospective and enrolled students can contact the Student Funding Office for assistance in obtaining the institutional or financial aid information required to be disclosed under HEA Section 485(a)(1), Section 485(f), Section 485(h), and Section 485(j).

Student Financial Aid Information

Information regarding needs based and non-needs based funding available to King's students can be found on the following pages

Undergraduate

Postgraduate Taught

Postgraduate Research

Our Advice & Guidance Service can help with budgeting and the cost of studying in London.

Facilities and Services Available to Students with Disabilities

Information about facilities and services available to students with disabilities, including students with intellectual disabilities can be found here

King's College London Withdrawal Policy

King's College London Fee Payment and Refund Policies

Academic Programme (Educational Programme, Instructional Facilities and Faculty)

For instructional, laboratory, and other physical plant facilities that relate to the academic program, please see the course information on our prospectus:

Undergraduate Courses

Postgraduate Courses

Plans to improve academic programmes will be communicated to you by your academic department.

Textbook Information

Information regarding the course schedule for the subsequent academic period, information regarding the required recommend textbooks and supplemental materials and information about student numbers will be provided by your Academic Department in their pre-registration information.

Entrance Counselling for Student Loan Borrowers

Prior to the first disbursement, borrowers will be provided with comprehensive information on the terms and conditions of the loan and of the borrower’s responsibilities through entrance counselling. King's require all students to demonstrate that they have completed entrance counselling on the Federal Student Aid website prior to their loan being approved

Privacy of Student Records – Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR, and associated UK data protection legislation) sets our the legislative framework for managing personal data. This includes student records. Information about King's College London's Data Protection policies can be found on our policy hub.

Full policy documents are available on our Governance site.

When handling your Federal Student Aid request, the Student Funding Office must request specific information from you in order to comply with regulations governing US Federal Student Aid. Any sensitive data will be held in compliance with GDPR and Federal Student Aid regulations.

National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)

Schools that enter into an agreement with a potential student, student, or parent of a student regarding a Title IV, HEA loan are required to inform the student or parent that the loan will be submitted to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), and will be accessible by guaranty agencies, lenders, and schools determined to be authorized users of the data system.

US Loans Privacy and Code of Conduct Notice

King's College London uses data on your FAFSA to determine your eligibility to access aid - this includes that you have a High School Diploma or equivalent. 

Disclaimer

The College has tried to give students an early opportunity to begin their research of student funding. Although every effort has been made to ensure that information provided is both helpful to prospective candidates and accurate at the time of its publication, it is possible that some information may be outdated or superseded before the start of the 2023-24 academic year.