US student finance

• Courses with a compulsory study abroad year
• Courses including a mandatory work placement or Professional Placement that exceeds 25% of the total length of the course – this includes sandwich courses
• Courses delivered at partner institutions, including Kingston College – this includes any courses partly delivered by another UK/European college or university
• Distance learning courses
• Part-time or low-residency courses
• Certificate and diploma programmes

To be considered for federal student aid for the 2026–27 award year, you can complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). You will need the Kingston University school code when filling in the FAFSA application, which is G10816.

You must have been offered a place on a course by Kingston University AND accepted that place before we will process your application for Federal Student Aid. If you are a continuing student, we will process your FAFSA at a later time, as we have to give priority to new applicants who are applying for a student visa for the first time.

Once FAFSA has processed your information, you will be emailed a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR). Please review the information carefully and ensure it includes an EFC (estimated family contribution) and the details of any previous loans.

If any information is missing or there are comments stating further information is required, you will need to make corrections and re-submit your application. If there is a C shown next to the EFC, further information will be required. In some cases, we may need to ask you to provide documentary evidence (such as proof of US citizenship).

The electronic version of the SAR should be available to us in 72 hours (three days) after submission.

We will email you in May 2026 with your COA and other instructions and information about your loan. Return the calculated cost of attendance to us, confirming the amount of each type of loan you wish us to originate, along with confirmation of the completion of the following:

• Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Direct Subsidised/Unsubsidised Loans
• Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Graduate/Parent PLUS Loan (if applicable)
• Entrance Counselling
• Credit Check for Graduate/Parent PLUS Loan (if applicable)

This is completed online at studentaid.gov. You can sign into this site using the same PIN that you used to sign your FAFSA.

Please remember, if you have been awarded a scholarship from the University to cover all or part of your tuition fees, you will need to let us know about the award at this stage so we can reduce your tuition fee amount on your cost of attendance to reflect your scholarship award.

We don't always know in advance whether you have been awarded a scholarship, so your cost of attendance could be calculated on the basis that you are liable to pay the full tuition fee amount. If this happens, you will be wrongly approved for a higher cost of attendance. However, when your scholarship appears on your account later on in the academic year, we will then have to reduce your loans. We do not have any discretion on this.

Please be aware that as an international student, you may be subject to maintenance requirements. Visit the Visas, CAS and immigration page to find out more about maintenance requirements. If you do not send everything we need, we will not be able to originate your loans.

When you have completed steps 1 to 3, we will originate your loans on the system. Once they are confirmed, we will email you a US Federal Direct loan certificate.

To ensure your first disbursement is made on time and you have enough time to apply for your visa, we strongly recommend you complete your loan application no later than 31 July 2026, for courses starting in September.

Undergraduate students will receive three disbursements (one per term). Postgraduate students will receive four disbursements (one per term 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:
 

From each disbursement (after it has been exchanged into £ GBP), we will deduct an amount towards tuition, accommodation (if you are in University accommodation) and any other charges incurred. The remainder will be forwarded to you. You will need to open a UK bank account to avoid having to pay two foreign exchange charges.

You will receive an email notification approximately 10 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. This will include a breakdown of how we have allocated the disbursement.

Please note that it can take up to 5 days after the disbursement date for you to receive your refund. For example, for a disbursement date of 23 September any refund will be paid to you by 28 September.

We work with Flywire 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.

Starting May 2026, we will check for new FAFSAs each week. If you have been offered a place on a course at Kingston University and have firmly accepted the offer, we will send you a calculated cost of attendance and details of the loans for which you are eligible, along with instructions on what you need to do next.

Please be aware we will not be issuing cost of attendances to students who have not accepted our offer of a place.

The loans available are:
 

New undergraduate students

Due to the changes by the Budget Reconciliation Act, US Federal Aid will look different going forward. For those students continuing to study with Kingston University your borrowing will remain on the old legacy rules up to the completion of your programme.

For new incoming students, as of July 1st, 2026, Graduate PLUS loans will no longer be offered, for students on a graduate or professional programme. Parent PLUS loans will be capped at an annual figure of $20,000, with a lifetime limit of $65,000 per dependent student.

It is important to note that Direct loan limits can be packaged differently based on previous borrowing history. With the use of the table below we will explain the max borrowing for one year of study.

Dependent students

For a dependent student in their first year of study, you can claim a max amount of funding $5,500 between Subsidised and Unsubsidised loans. This is established based on previous borrowing history. For students who can take both subsidised and unsubsidised, a maximum $3,500 of subsidised and $2,000 unsubsidised will be allocated to meet the maximum value. For those unable to take any subsidised the maximum amount of $5,500 will be taken from the unsubsidised loan.

Table 1: Amended direct loan limits (undergraduate dependent)

*Max borrowing for the year minus subsidised portion.

Independent students

For an independent student in their first year of study, you can claim the max amount of $9,500 between subsidised and unsubsidised loans. This is established based on previous borrowing history. For students who can take both subsidised and unsubsidised, a maximum $3,500 of subsidised and $6,000 unsubsidised will be allocated to meet the maximum value. For those unable to take any subsidised the maximum amount of $9,500 will be taken from the unsubsidised loan.

Table 2: Amended direct loan limits (undergraduate independent)

*Max borrowing for the year minus subsidised portion.

For information on loan amounts, visit the FAFSA website.

While in receipt of Federal Student Loans for the loan period outlined on your loan application, you are required to be enrolled on your programme of study and to maintain satisfactory academic progress.

Satisfactory academic progress means maintaining an average of at least C grades (50%) and attendance of 70% over the current academic year. Please note, this is a higher standard than the University's pass mark for undergraduate students. We will check your progress before releasing loan funds.

For more information please refer to our Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (PDF).

If you withdraw from your course, suspend your study or drop below at least 50% enrolment, you must inform the Financial Aid office (Student Funds) in the Student Life Centre no later than five working days after withdrawal in addition to notifying your course office.

If a student who receives financial aid withdraws from their course or drops below 50% attendance, we will recalculate your financial aid eligibility based on your period of attendance. This could mean that you have to pay back money received from Federal Stafford or Plus loans you may have received.

The University may also have to repay funds received for tuition and/or accommodation to the US Federal Government. In this case, you may become liable for additional fee payments to the University in order to replace these funds.

Any calculation will be undertaken in line with the rules set by the US Department of Education and cannot be amended in any way. See the full details in our Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) Policy (PDF).

This policy only applies to Postgraduate Research students in receipt of Title IV Direct loans at Kingston University. A Leave of Absence (interruption of studies) cannot be approved for students enrolled on Undergraduate or Postgraduate Taught courses as a student returning from a leave of absence must resume study at the same point in the academic programme that they began their Leave of Absence (LOA).

See the full details of our Title IV Direct Loans Leave of Absence Policy (PDF).

It is a legal requirement for all students who have received Federal loan(s) and have graduated or withdrawn from their programme of study, or dropped below 50% attendance, complete exit counselling.

This is done through studentaid.gov. Please go to the site and follow the instructions for Stafford Loan and/or PLUS Loan exit counselling.

It is your responsibility to repay your loans, in the same way that you have to repay a bank loan or a mortgage. When you leave your course, you will enter a six-month grace period (this does not apply to PLUS loans, which go into repayment immediately, but you can request a deferment).  

There are a number of repayment options available. You should discuss these with your loan servicer to determine which is the most appropriate for you. If you do not select a repayment plan, you will be placed on the standard plan with fixed repayments for up to ten years. You can find details of your loan servicer on the NSLDS website.

Further details about repayment plans, including interactive calculators, can be found on the Federal Student Aid website. You can also watch a video for more information on how to manage your student loans.

Federal regulations require schools to disclose specific consumer information to prospective and enrolled students.

The following is a summary of Kingston University’s key information and policies. If you need any assistance or require paper copies of any of the policies, please contact Student Funds.

• General policies and regulations of Kingston University
• Services available to disabled students
• Refunds and withdrawals (our Money Matters guide includes details of the refund policy and withdrawals)
• Return of Title IV (R2T4) Policy (PDF)
• Academic programmes
  • Undergraduate courses
  • Postgraduate courses
  • Research degrees
  • Kingston Language Scheme
• Transfer of credit – see the Admissions Policy (PDF)
• Copyright infringement policies and sanctions
  • Policies and regulations
• School and programme approval and accreditation: 
  • Instrument of Governance (statute) (PDF)
  • The OfS Register - Office for Students
  • Quality Assurance Agency Report for Kingston University
• Notice of Federal Student Aid penalties for drug law violations: 
  • Student Substance Use and Misuse Policy – view this policy on our Policies and Regulations page
  • Student Disciplinary Procedure – view this policy on our Policies and Regulations page
  • Home Office: Drugs and the Law
• Vaccinations policy health and welfare: 
  • Vaccinations
  • Tuberculosis (TB) Screening
  • Healthcare in the UK
• Textbook information: iCat:
  • Kingston University Library Catalogue
• Drug and alcohol prevention programme certificate: 
  • Wellbeing services
  • Student Substance Use and Misuse Policy (PDF)
  • Stress Management
• Retention rate, completion/graduation and transfer out rates – see Key Information Sets (KIS) (select subject area, then click on the 'See Unistats data for this course' link)
• Job placement rates and types of graduate and professional education in which the School's graduates enrol – see Key Information Sets (KIS) (select subject area, then click on the 'See Unistats data for this course' link)
• Security report – Missing person notification policy (PDF)
• Privacy of student records – Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): 
  • Data Protection Policy
  • Student Complaints Procedure
• Student Loan information published by the US Department of Education: 
  • Federal Student Aid website
  • Student Loans website
• National Student Loans Data System (NSLDS): 
  • NSLDS Student Access website
• Entrance counselling for Direct Loan borrowers: 
  • Complete entrance counselling through StudentLoans.gov
• Exit counselling for Direct Loan borrowers: 
  • Complete exit counselling through StudentLoans.gov
     

The Department of Veterans Affairs has approved the following courses at Kingston University for educational benefits:

• Accounting and Finance MA
• Aerospace Engineering BEng
• Arts and Social Sciences Research PhD
• Business Management BSc 
• Civil Engineering BSc/BEng (including foundation year)
• Creative Writing MA/MFA
• Film Making MA
• Financial Economics MA
• Forensic Psychology BSc
• Graphic Design BA
• Hazards and Disaster Management MSc
• Historic Building Conservation FdSc
• Interior Design BA
• International Business Management MSc
• International Relations MSc
• Mechanical Engineering BEng
• Modern European Philosophy MA
• Nutrition (Human Nutrition) BSc
• Popular Music BA
• Psychology MSc

You will need to submit, by email, a scanned copy of your Certificate of Eligibility from the Department of Veterans Affairs to Student Funds once you have accepted an offer of a place at Kingston University.

We will need to confirm your enrolment before your educational benefits are released. Confirmation will be sent to the Department of Veterans Affairs via VA Form 22-1999 (Enrolment Certificate), once you are registered and in attendance at the University.

Your tuition and fees payment will be sent to the University on your behalf. All other payments will be sent directly to you.

If the course you have accepted an offer of a place on does not appear in the above list, you will need to email the following to the Student Funds Team (details below):

• A scanned copy of your Certificate of Eligibility from the Department of Veterans Affairs
• Your full name
• Your date of birth
• Your social security number
• Your address
• The title of the course which you have accepted an offer of a place on

The University will then send a request to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the course to be approved for educational benefits. Please note that it may take approximately three months for the Department of Veterans Affairs to approve or decline a course for educational benefits. We therefore recommend that you send this information to us as early as possible.