US Financial Aid

US students wishing to undertake study abroad should speak to their Study Abroad advisor regarding Financial Aid. Students attending Australian universities for full degree programs are able to participate in the US Federal Government loan programs. Full-time students are able to defer previous loans at almost all Australian universities. Additionally, full-time students may borrow new loans to attend a number of Australian universities. List of Eligible Universities

Types of loans

The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program has three major categories including Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans and Consolidation Loans. PLUS Loans are for the parents of undergraduate students only. Consolidation Loans combine multiple student loans into one loan.

The Stafford Loans are for undergraduate and graduate students, and fall into two groups.

Subsidized: Students must demonstrate financial need to qualify for the subsidized Stafford Loan. The federal government, on behalf of the borrower, pays the interest that accrues while the student is in school, during authorized deferment periods, and for six months after the student ceases to be enrolled at least half-time. The borrower begins paying the interest when the loan enters repayment.

Unsubsidized Students are not required to demonstrate financial need to qualify for the unsubsidized Stafford Loan. Unlike the subsidized loan, the borrower must pay all the interest that begins to accrue immediately upon disbursement regardless of enrolment status or loan deferments. Interest can be paid monthly or quarterly or be capitalized (added to the principal balance).

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for a loan, the student must:

• Be enrolled or accepted for enrolment at least half-time in an eligible degree or certificate program at an eligible institution;
• Have a high school diploma or its equivalent;
• Be in good standing and making satisfactory academic progress if currently enrolled;
• Be a citizen, permanent resident or eligible non-citizen of the United States; and
• Not be in default or owe a refund on any federal education grant or loan unless satisfactory arrangements have been made to repay the outstanding debt.

Stafford loan limits

The US federal government has set annual and aggregate limits on the amount of money a student can borrow under the Stafford Loan program. A student may receive a subsidized loan, an unsubsidized loan or a combination of the two for each academic period.

However, the total amount of all the Stafford Loans may not exceed the loan limits for the academic period. This total amount is calculated on the student’s dependency status, grade level and length of the program of study that the student is enrolled. An academic period may be one semester, two semesters or three semesters. Most Australian universities are on a two-semester system.