Applying for your loan and the Master Promissory Note (MPN)

You will have to apply for each type of loan (Direct and, where applicable, a Grad Plus loan) yourself for each academic year. For dependent undergraduate students, it is their parents who will have to take out a PLUS loan (i.e. a Parental Loan for Undergraduate Students). A separate MPN will be required for each loan. These may be paper or electronic MPN, although eMPNs are by far the preferred option. Please do not forget to complete an MPN for each loan you are applying for (i.e. an MPN for your Stafford loan and a separate MPN for a PLUS or Grad Plus loan if you are also taking out one of these). Please ensure that your MPN has been completed for the academic year that you'll be studying in.

For further information, please see the new Direct Loan website for students: studentloans.gov

Our University's policy of verifying the source of finances for all students ensures that students have adequate funds for their studies and that their payment plans may be integrated with the receipt of their funds. This is important for international students who require visas, for whom we provide a Notification of Student Loan letter at the end of the loans application process. We will be able to use the information for your Stafford, PLUS, Grad Plus and/or private loans as evidence of your finances. We will make additional copies of relevant documentation for this internal procedure for your admission onto your chosen degree course. This makes this part of our admissions process much easier.  You will require this as evidence of available funds when applying for your student visa to enter the UK.

The loan maximum amount limits will be noted on the Calculation of Cost of Attendance (Net Price Calculator) (e-mailed as a pdf). These will be determined by the type of student, cost of attendance (COA) and Expected Family Contribution (EFC). 

The Cost of Attendance (COA) is calculated on the sum of your tuition fees and your estimated living costs, but may be adjusted to account for any dependents and travel from your home to Aberystwyth. The estimated living costs are shown in GB Pound Sterling (£) but will be converted to US Dollars ($) using an on-line currency converter (www.oanda.com/currency/converter/). Please note however that currency exchange rates can fluctuate.

The currency exchange rate that will be used for calculating COA for 2021-2022 is £1.00 (GBP) = $1.400 (USD). This is in line with the rate that other UK universities who participate in the Federal Direct Loan Program will use. Loans may have to be adjusted at a later date should the exchange rate deviate significantly from the above estimated exchange rate. A decision on what exchange rate to use for the following year will be made at the end of May/beginning of June.  For this reason, no loans will be originated until June at the earliest. This still leaves sufficient time to apply for a student visa.

Your Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) will be noted on the top right hand corner of the first page of your SAR/ISIR.

If you have completed the above steps, you will receive a calculation of your COA by e-mail (from June onwards). You will then have to return the declaration/reply slip to specify which loans you want to take out and the exact amount of each loan, subject to regulatory limits. You will have 14 calendar days prior to each disbursement in which to cancel or reduce your disbursements.