US Direct Loans

The University of Kent participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. Direct Loans are low-interest loans for students and parents to help pay for the cost of a student's education after high school. The lender is the US Department of Education, although the entity you deal with - your loan servicer, can be a private business.

Direct Loans are available to students studying at our Canterbury and Medway campuses in the United Kingdom.

Please note that Foreign institutions are not eligible to administer PELL grants or Work-Study funds.

Direct Loan eligibility criteria:

The University is authorised to process US Direct loans for students who are:

  1. Citizens or permanent residents of the United States (US) and who have a valid US social security number. 
  2. Studying for Bachelor's degrees, First Professional degrees, Master's degrees and Doctoral degrees.
  3. Studying at the University of Kent’s Canterbury and Medway campuses .

However, there are some exceptions.  The following students are not eligible to borrow US Direct loans:

  • Students whose programme includes study or research for any length of time in the United States. However, there is a narrow exception for independent research carried out by PhD students – please email foreignloans@kent.ac.uk for details.  
  • Students whose programme includes study or research for any length of time at the University of Kent’s Paris Centre for Arts and Culture.
  • Students who are registered on the International Foundation Programme.
  • Students who are registered on an External / Distance Learning programme of study.
  • Students whose programs include study abroad or exchange years.
  • The University of Kent does not provide Internships/externships and therefore are not permissible for Title IV.
  • Students who are studying for non-degree programs.

These students may be eligible to borrow a US Private loan.

US Private loan

Direct Loan interest & Loan fees

The US Department of Education charges interest and loan fees for all Direct Loans.

  • You can find the interest charges for Subsidised, Unsubsidised, and PLUS loans.
  • In addition to the interest, all Direct Loans have loan fees. Find out the loan fees for Subsidised, Unsubsidised and PLUS loans.
  • Your Anticipated Disbursement Notifications will list the net loan amounts (the amount after loan fees are deducted); this is the amount you will receive.
  • You are responsible for repaying the entire borrowed amount, including interest and loan fees.

How much can I borrow?

There is a limit on the total amount of Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans a student can receive annually and over the lifetime of their study: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized

The University can authorise you to borrow up  to the total of your cost of attendance.

Consolidation

If you have multiple Federal education loans, you can consolidate them into a single Direct Consolidation Loan. This may simplify repayment if you are currently making separate loan payments to different loan holders, as you will only have one monthly payment to make.

However, there may be trade-offs, so you will want to learn about the advantages and possible disadvantages of consolidation before you consolidate. To learn more, visit: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/consolidation

Additional information

For additional information about US Direct Loans:

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