US Financial Aid - US Students Only
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Please note before proceeding:
UniSA elected to become a "Deferment Only / Eligibility Only" institution from September 2009. This means that UniSA is no longer able to certify new U.S Federal Student Loan applications. UniSA has however retained the authority to approve student loan deferments for students who have pre-existing loans and are enrolled at UniSA on at least a half-time basis.
The information below is for students who received US Federal Loans in or prior to September 2009 ONLY.
Eligibility
To remain eligible for US Federal Loans, you must:
- be enrolled in a full degree program at UniSA (eg. Bachelor's or Master's program);
- be enrolled at least half time (please refer to the "Other information" section for the definition of half-time);
- not be enrolled in a course that contains any online component;
- make Satisfactory Academic Progress (refer section below); and
- not be in default of a loan or grant.
Types of loans
Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
This loan is based on financial need. It is "subsidized" because the US
government pays the interest while you are studying at UniSA at least
half-time. The US government also pays the interest during any authorised
period of deferment and for the six month grace period after you leave
university or drop below half-time enrolment.
The interest rate for this loan is currently fixed at 6.8%.
Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
This loan is not based on financial need. It is "unsubsidized" because you
are responsible for paying the interest from the time the money is
disbursed. The interest may be paid as it becomes due, or it may be
postponed and allowed to accumulate while you attend university, during any
authorised period of deferment and for the six month grace period after you
leave university or drop below half-time enrolment.
If payments are postponed, the interest accrues and is capitalised (added to
your principal loan balance). If you choose this billing option, you will
not make any payments while you attend university however you will have to
begin repaying your loan when you leave university. This option may also
increase the amount of your monthly payment.
The interest rate for this loan is currently fixed at 6.8%.
Please note: Section 12 of the Master Promissory Note (that you must sign in
order to receive US financial aid) asks if you wish to pay interest while
you are attending university. Please consider this carefully as the
unsubsidized portion of your loan will continue to accrue interest for the
life of your loan.
Federal PLUS Loan
This loan is not based on financial need.
It applies to:
- Graduate students - if they meet certain credit guidelines and if UniSA certifies the loan
- Parents - if their child is a dependent undergraduate student as defined by the US Department of Education, if they meet certain credit guidelines and if UniSA certifies the loan.
Payments are due within 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed,
although deferment of payment may be available through select lenders.
The interest rate for this loan is currently fixed at 8.5%.
Other
Pell Grants and Perkins loans cannot be used outside the US. However,
repayment of these loans may be deferred while you attend university outside
the US.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
US legislation requires UniSA to define and enforce standards of
Satisfactory Academic Progress for students who receive US Federal Loans.
Please refer to UniSA's policy as
it sets out what you must do in order to maintain eligibility. In general,
you will be required to maintain a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 5.0 (or a
"Credit" average).
Online enrolment
Students who receive US Federal Loans can no longer enrol in courses that contain any online component. Enrolment in a course that contains online delivery as the only method of delivery will make you ineligible for Federal Loans for the remainder of your program. (Assignment submission is not considered an online component for this purpose).
up^Other information
Enrolment
You are required to be enrolled at least
half-time to remain eligible to receive
US Federal Loans. Half-time enrolment at UniSA is 9 units:
- per study period (if you are enrolled in Study Periods 2 and 5); or
- per semester (if you are enrolled in study periods other than 2 and 5 eg. Study Periods 1 and 3 constitute one semester).
However, please be aware that international students will usually be
enrolled full time (eg.18 units per Study Periods 2 and 5) in order to
complete their program within the duration of their Confirmation of
Enrolment (CoE) as required by Australian legislation.
Disbursement of loan cheques
Disbursement of US
Federal Loans will be on two separate dates coinciding
with the commencement date of the relevant study periods. This is to allow UniSA to assess your academic performance prior to the second study period
as required by the University's Satisfactory Academic Progress
Policy.
Withdrawal
Please email
natalie.grant@unisa.edu.au
as soon as possible if you decide to withdraw from your program at UniSA.
It is also very important that you notify your Lender, Guarantor and
Servicer of your withdrawal as a matter of urgency (contact details below).
Contact information
Bank of America (Lender)
1 800 344 8382
Student Banking Group
PO Box 182174 Columbus, OH 43218-2174
Chase (Lender)
1 800 211 6689
MyChaseStudentLoan.com
Sallie Mae (Lender)
From the US: (877) 456 6221
From Australia: 0011 800 2671 2671
askinternational@salliemae.com
American Student Assistance (Guarantor)
Great Lakes (Servicer)
If your Lender or Guarantor is not included in this list, please email
natalie.grant@unisa.edu.au
to request the required contact details.
UniSA refund policy
If a student who receives US
Federal Loans withdraws from the university and
is due a refund of fees paid for that period of enrolment, UniSA must
determine whether any funds are required to be returned to the US Government
for unearned Federal Loan funds. If so, then you will be required to return
these funds to UniSA. For further information, please refer to section 4 of
the
Guidelines on Payment and Refund of Fees for International Students
(PDF).
Cohort Default Rate
Every tertiary education institution that participates in the FFEL Program
is subject to having a Cohort Default Rate (CDR). The CDR is a calculation
made by the US Department of Education and is the percentage of students who
attended at an institution, received federal aid at some point during their
studies, and who later defaulted on the repayment of their federal loan
within a certain period (i.e. the cohort default period).
The types of loans that are taken into account in the CDR calculation
include:
- Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
- Federal Supplemental Loans for students (made unavailable since 1994 but can still be included in the CDR calculation)
The CDR is based on the federal fiscal year and the formula that the US
Department of Education uses for calculating a school's CDR includes the
number of student borrowers from that school entering repayment in a
particular fiscal year and default or meet other specified conditions prior
to the end of the next fiscal year.
UniSA's CDR for 2007 is 0.0%.
Useful resources
Please be reminded that any funds you receive under the US financial aid
program are loans that must be repaid. It is therefore imperative that you
understand your rights and responsibilities as a borrower.
Please refer to your Master Promissory Note(s), Addenda and Plain Language
Disclosure Statements for this information.
You may also find the following resources useful:
-
Comprehensive guide about securing and repaying federal student
loans (including information on consolidation, the difference between
private and federal loans, as well as possible discharge and
cancellation terms):
- Income Based Repayment Website for Borrowers
- Information (PDF) about federal, private and consolidation loans as well as advice on recognising deceptive loan practices:
Contact us
For further information please contact:
Natalie Grant
International Coordinator (Compliance)
Level 1, 101 Currie Street
Adelaide, South Australia 5000
Phone: +1 61 8 8302 0968
Fax: +1 61 8 8302 9121
Email:
natalie.grant@unisa.edu.au