Eligible students can apply for the following loans:

Direct Loans are fixed-rate student loans from the US Department of Education for undergraduate and graduate students attending at least half-time. For information in relation to annual and aggregate limits for subsidized and unsubsidized loans please visit the office of Federal Student Aid’s website.

Direct Subsidized Loans are federally guaranteed loans based on financial need as determined by the Department of Education. Interest does not accrue on the loan while you are in school at least half time, or during any future deferment periods. The federal government "subsidizes” the interest during these times. 

Direct Unsubsidized Loans are federally guaranteed loans that are not based on financial need. Interest does accrue from the time the loan is disbursed to the school. If you choose not to pay the interest while you are in school and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods, your interest will accrue (accumulate) and be capitalized (that is, your interest will be added to the principal amount of your loan).

Direct PLUS Loans are available from the US Department of Education and is not based on financial need. The parents of an undergraduate dependant student (as defined by the US Department of Education) OR an independent graduate is eligible for this loan if they meet certain credit guidelines and if the loan is certified by the university.

International schools do not participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s grant programs, so you will not be able to obtain a Federal Pell Grant to get your degree at an international school.

Private loans can be taken out with a bank/lender subject to the applicant’s credit rating and often requiring a co-signor - these are usually at commercial rates. Private loans also need to be certified by the educational institution. Terms and/or conditions of Title IV loans (Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Plus loans) may be more favourable than private education loans. You can borrow up to the cost of attendance in a combination of Direct, PLUS and/or private loans. The cost of attendance is set annually by UCD.

US Federal loans are educational loans and Direct, Direct Plus and any Private loans are expressly for the purpose of covering the primary costs of educational study e.g. tuition, student accommodation & board, books/academic requisites, commuter travel etc. The primary costs of education cannot exceed the student’s ‘Cost of Attendance (COA)’ e.g. the educational institute’s official estimate of the student’s tuition and living costs for the academic year of study. Loans are not intended to cover other expenses that are not directly related to academic study. It is advisable that students plan a budget to make sure that they have enough funding to cover their period of study. Students should bear in mind that exchange rates fluctuate so when the US Federal loans are disbursed, the student may receive less than they had initially planned. It is important to keep this in mind when planning on how much to borrow. Students should note that it is important to borrow what they need but to remember at all times that they will have to repay it in the long term.

Eligible students can apply for the following loans:

Direct Loans are fixed-rate student loans from the US Department of Education for undergraduate and graduate students attending at least half-time.

Direct Subsidized Loans are federally guaranteed loans based on financial need as determined by the Department of Education. Interest does not accrue on the loan while you are in school at least half time, or during any future deferment periods. The federal government "subsidizes” the interest during these times. 

Direct Unsubsidized Loans are federally guaranteed loans that are not based on financial need. Interest does accrue from the time the loan is disbursed to the school. If you choose not to pay the interest while you are in school and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods, your interest will accrue (accumulate) and be capitalized (that is, your interest will be added to the principal amount of your loan).

Direct PLUS Loans are available from the US Department of Education and is not based on financial need. The parents of an undergraduate dependant student (as defined by the US Department of Education) OR an independent graduate is eligible for this loan if they meet certain credit guidelines and if the loan is certified by the university.

International schools do not participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s grant programs, so you will not be able to obtain a Federal Pell Grant to get your degree at an international school.

 

For information in relation to annual and aggregate limits for subsidized and unsubsidized loans please visit the office of Federal Student Aid’s website.

Private loans can be taken out with a bank/lender subject to the applicant’s credit rating and often requiring a co-signor - these are usually at commercial rates. Private loans also need to be certified by the educational institution.

Terms and/or conditions of Title IV loans (Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Plus loans) may be more favourable than private education loans.

You can borrow up to the cost of attendance in a combination of Direct, PLUS and/or private loans. The cost of attendance is set annually by UCD.

US Federal loans are educational loans and Direct, Direct Plus and any Private loans are expressly for the purpose of covering the primary costs of educational study e.g. tuition, student accommodation & board, books/academic requisites, commuter travel etc. The primary costs of education cannot exceed the student’s ‘Cost of Attendance (COA)’ e.g. the educational institute’s official estimate of the student’s tuition and living costs for the academic year of study. Loans are not intended to cover other expenses that are not directly related to academic study. It is advisable that students plan a budget to make sure that they have enough funding to cover their period of study. Students should bear in mind that exchange rates fluctuate so when the US Federal loans are disbursed, the student may receive less than they had initially planned. It is important to keep this in mind when planning on how much to borrow. Students should note that it is important to borrow what they need but to remember at all times that they will have to repay it in the long term.

You MUST be enrolled and continue to be enrolled at least half time UCD to remain eligible for US Federal loans.

The Federal ‘Direct Lending’ loan programme is available to US citizens and eligible non-citizens who are enrolled at least half-time, making satisfactory academic progress and are not in default on a previous loan or exceeding federal loan limits.

Eligible Programmes:

• Degree (Undergraduate or Postgraduate)
• Masters
• PhD

Non-Eligible Programmes:

• Nursing
• Graduate Diploma Programmes
• Distance Learning Programmes
• Programmes which require any time based in the United States

Eligible students at UCD can apply for the following Federal Aid loans:

• Direct Loans (Subsidised and Unsubsidised)
• Direct Plus Loans (Parent Plus and Graduate Plus)

UCD is required by USDE Regulations to ensure that all students receiving Federal aid (subsidized, unsubsidized and Plus loans) are making satisfactory academic progress (SAP). If you fail to meet SAP you will become ineligible for US Direct Loans.

UCD students studying abroad or on exchange at a US institution or another foreign institution not eligible to receive Title IV aid will not be eligible to receive loans while at that institution. An exception will be made for PhD students conducting research at a US institution where that research cannot be conducted in UCD.

Students convicted of violating any federal or state drug possession or sale law will become ineligible for Federal Title IV financial aid.

Please note a very detailed instruction document is available for students wishing to apply for Federal Loans.

Please look into the video below for an overview of the process-

If this is your first experience of Federal Aid I recommend reading through the following website providing useful information about Federal Aid: https://studentaid.ed.gov

Fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) and send your SAR (Student Aid Report) to the Financial Aid Team at UCD.

Go to FAFSA website and fill in necessary information.

You will need:

• PIN from the Department of Education before you begin (available on FAFSA website)
• Your tax documents from the previous year (if applicable – if you are not required to file taxes, you can fill out the FAFSA without them)
• To ensure that you list UCD as one of the schools you are planning to attend, entering School Code: G10188.

Applications to FAFSA will produce a Student Aid Report (SAR), which UCD requires to determine your eligibility for loans. A few days after you fill out the FAFSA, you will be sent a link via email to your SAR. When you receive your SAR, contact UCD by email. UCD does not receive this information automatically from FAFSA.

Please look into this video on what happens next after filling in your FAFSA-

The purpose of loan entrance counselling is to help students to better understand their responsibilities in relation to their loans. It is a federal requirement. Direct Loan Entrance Counselling will explain the Direct Loan obligation you agree to meet as a condition for receiving a Federal Direct Loan. Loan applications will not be processed until Entrance Counselling has been completed.

Federal Regulations require all students to complete ‘Entrance Counselling’ prior to the disbursement of financial aid.

Loan Entrance Counselling can be completed at the following website: www.studentloans.gov.

NOTE: Please download the Enterance Counselling document as PDF and send it to federalaid@ucd.ie along with the other documents for your application.

You can make your loan application on the Student Loans website.

• You will need your US Department of Education PIN (the same one you use for FAFSA) in order to log in
• To apply for a subsidized/unsubsidized loan, click on “Complete Master Promissory Note” and choose Subsidized/Unsubsidized
• To apply for a PLUS loan, click on “Start PLUS Application”, fill in all required details. Then click on “Complete Master Promissory Note” and choose Graduate PLUS
• Note: Grad PLUS is a 2-part application. Send email confirmation that you have completed your MPNs

NOTE: Please download the MPNs as PDF as these are required as part of your Federal Aid application. 

We have a personalised excel Cost of attendance Template that will provide you an overview to your Federal Loan eligibility. We have produced this to allow students to very easily see their maximum loan eligibility without completing the entire application process. Please note the Instruction Document has a section dedicated to completing this Template. 

If you have not yet recieved this document, please e-mail federalaid@ucd.ie to request this document. 

As a Foreign School this process may differ slightly to what you are used to. If this is your first experience of Federal Aid we recommend reading through the following website providing useful information about Federal Aid: https://studentaid.ed.gov

Please look into the following video on details about your dependancy status-

 

Books, mandatory field trips, maintenance and travel add up to approximately $25,000 for 9 months or $33,000 for 12 months. These figures are taken into account when calculating a student’s personalized cost of attendance.

 

These figures are examples only and are subject to change without notice. Please contact federalaid@ucd.ie for your personal cost of attendance estimate.

 

You must complete our *online application as per our Instruction Documentation for loans to be originated on time.

We require the following documentation from you in order to comply with US Department of Education regulations

For New undergraduate/graduate students:

1. Offer letter/acceptance letter from UCD (photocopy)

2. Official transcripts from previous universities (photocopy)

3. Student Aid Report (PDF)

4. Copy of current passport

5. Signed Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Subsidised/Unsubsidised loans and PLUS loans (if applicable) via http://www.studentloans.gov/ 

6. Completed Loan Entrance Counselling via http://www.studentloans.gov

 
We do not require certified copies or originals of your transcripts, photocopies are fine, however we cannot accept any unofficial copies of your transcript. The transcript must have a final completion date as per regulations.

 

For continuing undergraduate/graduate students:

1. Student Aid Report (PDF)

2. Signed Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Subsidised/Unsubsidised loans and PLUS loans (if applicable) via http://www.studentloans.gov/ 

3. Completed Loan Entrance Counselling via http://www.studentloans.gov

    

 

*If you are having issues with our online application, please send all documentation in one e-mail to federalaid@ucd.ie and we will try resolve any system related issues. 

The online federal aid application will display the following two statuses once you submit your application:

Application Submitted, Awaiting Review - This means your application has been successfully submitted, but that it has not yet been reviewed by UCD staff.

Application Reviewed, Loan Origination Pending - This status means a UCD staff member has reviewed your application, and it has been confirmed as correct. 

Loan Originated- Your loans have been originated, and are ready for disbursement on the designated date. Your personalised Cost of Attendance Document contains an Award Letter which shows  your expected disbursement dates and disbursement amounts. 

Please note Loan Origination does not happen until the summer months.

If all the above steps (Step 1 - Step 5) were completed successfully, your loan request is verified and this request is created on the United States Dept. of Education (USDE) systems. Once this loan amount is disbursed by the USDE, these funds are then transferred to UCD and students recieve a confirmation e-mail from the USDE. 

Further information about Loan origination and disbursement is provided in the Instruction Document.

Funds are sent to UCD in two or three instalments over the academic year depending on your course or level of study, and will coincide with your fee payment dates. Please visit the Fees & Grants website for further information.

In general undergraduate, medicine and veterinary students will receive half of the money in September and another half in January. Masters and PhD students will receive their money in thirds, in September, January and May.

Loan funds may only be disbursed to your account 10 days before the start of the academic semester. However international bank transfers can take a number of days to process, please note you will not have immediate access to your loan funds when you arrive in Ireland. You will need to prepare for this by bringing sufficient money for this period of time.

Once funds are deducted for tuition and other university-related fees, the remainder will be given to you by electronic fees transfer (EFT), which can be used for your living expenses. To facilitate this process, these payments will be transferred electronically into your designated Irish bank account. Once you set up an Irish bank account, you must enter your bank details into our Student Information System. Please consult your Irish bank to ensure details entered are exactly as required for an electronic transfer into your Irish bank account

Further information with detailed instructions will be sent to students and are also available in our Instruction Document. 

Note: You will not have immediate access to your loan funds when you arrive in Ireland - you will need to prepare for this by bringing sufficient money with you to cover your first 1-2 months expenses, especially if your loan application was late. While we try our best to make the loan process as smooth as possible, sometimes delays and problems occur that are out of our control.

In addition to your traditional degree programs Private Loans can assist students borrow for programs that are ineligible for federal aid. These types of programs may include, non-degree courses (such as diploma courses), distance learning courses, courses where a period of study involves time in the United States (such as independent research or an internship) where the student is still enrolled at the foreign institution or studying as part of a joint degree with another foreign university.

Applications are made directly to the lender in the USA for private loans. If you are applying for private loans, please contact us to let us know you will be applying for a loan.

You may borrow a combination of private and Direct/Plus loans, however your loan amount may not exceed your cost of attendance.

Some loan companies will not lend money to students studying outside the US. Some companies require co-signers for students attending programmes outside the US. Interest rates also vary significantly between lenders. Please bear this in mind when considering taking out a private loan or comparing lenders.

Terms and/or conditions of Title IV loans (Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Plus loans) may be more favourable than private education loans.

The following loan companies have made loans to UCD students in the past:

• Sallie Mae

If you are enrolled in a full-time course at UCD, you may be eligible to defer your previous loans.

The University runs enrolment reports every 60 days. This involves updating NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System). Once your status has been updated this is available to your loan servicer. If you are taking out loans with the University this will be done for you automatically without requiring documentation. 

If you are not borrowing loans for your studies, but have previous loans you wish to defer, the first step is to get a deferment form from your lender, complete it and bring it in to the Financial Aid Administrator to verify your enrolment. Please ensure you have the mailing address, fax or e-mail of your lender. If you are receiving loans at UCD, you may still need to fill out deferment forms for your other loans.

Federal regulations require Title IV financial aid funds to be awarded under the assumption that a student will attend the institution for the entire period in which federal assistance was awarded. When a student withdraws from all courses for any reason, including medical withdrawals, he/she may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that he/she was originally scheduled to receive. The return of funds is based upon the premise that students earn their financial aid in proportion to the amount of time in which they are enrolled. A pro-rated schedule is used to determine the amount of federal student aid funds he/she will have earned at the time of the withdrawal. Thus, a student who withdraws in the second week of classes has earned less of his/her financial aid than a student who withdraws in the seventh week. Once 60% of the semester is completed, a student is considered to have earned all of his/her financial aid and will not be required to return any funds.

 UCD Withdrawal and Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) Policy

In accordance with U.S. Department of Education regulations[1], schools are required to assess the academic progress of eligible students receiving Title IV funds. The purpose of Section I is to define terminology as outlined in the federal regulations. These regulations are effective for all financial aid students beginning July 1, 2011.

The purpose of Section II is to define procedures for monitoring the satisfactory academic progress (SAP) of financial aid students. The purpose of Section III is to establish procedures for students who are not meeting these standards and who have extenuating circumstances to file an appeal and apply to have their eligibility reinstated. 

 Satisfactory Academic Progress

Eligible students should first visit the US Department of Veterans Affairs website and apply for benefits. 

UCD will need to confirm your attendance before your benefits will be released. This confirmation is sent via VAF 22-1999 form.

• Federal Student Aid
• FAFSA on the Web
• UCD Fees Office
• Sallie Mae International
• Student Loan application site

Frequently Asked Questions:  To assist students we have created a FAQ page.

Please remember we are here to assist you, if after reading our instruction documentation you still need additional assistance don’t hesitate to contact us using the following:

Email: federalaid@ucd.ie

Address:  UCD International Office, Gerard Manley Hopkins Centre, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4

If you want to chat conveniently with someone about this application process, please remember you can reach our New York office directly on:

Phone:  +1 646 632 3780
Email:  NorthAmerica@ucd.ie
Skype:  UCDublin_NAmerica

Consumer Disclosures: We have created this page to fulfil disclosure requirements under Title IV.