How to apply
Loan application process
In order to be eligible for a US federal loan, you must be a US citizen. To apply, please follow the 5-step application process outlined below. We are now processing loan applications for 2013-14. If you are a new student, please only start the application process once you have had an offer from your department and an offer from a college.
Most students want their loan application to be approved before their college’s financial declaration deadline. If this applies to you, please ensure that you complete the application process in plenty of time. The loan approval process can take up to four weeks during peak processing periods (June – October), or longer if there are difficulties with your application. It is your responsibility to ensure that you submit a complete loan application in good time to meet your college’s financial declaration deadline.
(Links to the web sites you will need in order to complete steps 1 - 3 below are listed on the top right of this page).
Five step guide to applying for a US student loan:-
Step 1 – Complete your FAFSA and plus loan request (if applicable)
FAFSA:
Complete a Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine your eligibility for federal loans. If you are a continuing loan student, complete a renewal FAFSA (you will only be required to indicate any information that has changed since last year).
You will need to include two school codes on your FAFSA:
1: The federal school code for the University of Oxford, G08394.
2: The federal school code for your college at Oxford: College Codes 
(39kb)
If you have not yet been allocated a college place, do not complete your FAFSA yet.
Plus Loan Request:
If you are intending to apply for a Plus Loan, you will also need to complete a Plus Loan Request on StudentLoans.gov. Use the school code for your college (See College Codes (39kb)
Step 2 – Complete your Master Promissory Notes(s) (MPNs)
Undergraduates: Complete an MPN for the Subsidised and Unsubsidised Loans, and, if applicable, your parent should complete a separate MPN for the Parent PLUS loan.
Graduates: Complete one MPN for the Unsubsidised Loan and one for the Graduate Plus Loan.
MPNs are completed on the StudentLoans.gov site. Use the school code for your college. (See College Codes (39kb)
As we are a foreign school, new MPNs must be completed for each year of study.
Once approved by the system we will be able to view MPNs, so you do not need to send us copies.
Step 3 – Complete entrance counselling
You must complete Entrance Counselling if you are a new student or if you are a continuing student who has not yet completed entrance counselling for your current course.
If you are a continuing student and have completed Entrance Counselling in a previous year of your current course, you may by-pass this step.
Complete Entrance Counselling on the StudentLoans.gov site. Use the school code for your college (See College Codes (39kb))
Step 4 – Complete Oxford’s cost of attendance (CoA) worksheet
Graduates: Download and complete this spreadsheet:
Graduate COA 1314 
(79kb)
For loans for the current academic year (2012-13) please email us.loans@admin.ox.ac.uk and request the 2012-13 COA worksheet.
Undergraduates: Please email us.loans@admin.ox.ac.uk for an Undergraduate COA worksheet, stating whether you are a Dependent or Independent student according to the Student Aid Report (SAR) generated by your FAFSA application (see definitions of Dependent and Independent students).
Step 5 – Submit your loan application to Oxford (includes submission deadlines)
The University will not know that you have completed any of the steps above until you contact us (as a foreign school we do not receive automatic notification).
Once you have completed steps 1 to 4, please email us.loans@admin.ox.ac.uk your completed COA worksheet (in Excel format only). We will only start to process your loan if all of the above steps are complete.
Submission Deadlines: Your complete application must be received by 09 September 2013 in order for us to be able to process it for payment on the first disbursement date. Any applications made throughout the year must be received a minimum of one month before the next disbursement date in order for us to process your application in time for that disbursement. We cannot guarantee that applications will be approved within these timescales if there are outstanding issues with your loan.
What next?
If we have any queries or difficulties when processing your loan, we will email you. Otherwise, we will just email you to confirm that your loan application has been approved.
Once approved on the US systems, we'll send you an Award Letter which will detail your loan amounts and disbursement information. The wording and format of the letter has been agreed with the UK Border Agency as acceptable proof of funding for visa applications.
For information on how and when loan funds are disbursed, see our Loan Disbursement page.
Applying for private loans
We advise that you investigate federal loans before applying for a private loan, as federal loans are often much cheaper. Nearly all students are eligible for federal loans, but you can check your eligibility by completing the FAFSA and reviewing our list of courses which are ineligible for federal loans: Ineligible Courses (61kb)
Note that private loans do not enable you to borrow more money than federal loans. If you wish to apply for a private loan, the University will work with whichever private lender you decide to use. However, we are only aware of one lender currently willing to work with a foreign school, which is Sallie Mae. If you wish to apply for a private loan, please email us.loans@admin.ox.ac.uk for the appropriate Cost of Attendance worksheet and other instructions before applying to your chosen loan provider. You do not need to complete any of the other parts of the loan application process outlined above.