About US Direct loans

The United States Federal Student Aid (FSA) program offers Direct Loans to US citizens and eligible non-citizens to assist with education and living costs.

For detailed information about the different loan types and how much you can borrow, please see the FSA website:

• Direct Subsidized Loans or Unsubsidized Loans
• Direct PLUS Loans

The Federal Perkins Loan Program and other federal grants or scholarships are not available to students studying at educational institutions outside the United States.

Direct Loans at the University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne is currently in the process of applying for re-certification as an approved participant and therefore unable to accept loan applications from new students. Re-certification is at the discretion of the US Department of Education. Please contact us for further information.

• Our Federal School Code is G08505.
• The official 3-Year Cohort Default Rate for the 2018 Fiscal Year is 1.9.

For further information about our participation in the Direct Loans program, please see:

• Calculating the Cost of Attendance
• Applying for and renewing your loan
• Loan disbursements
• Student responsibilities
• Program policies and forms

Eligibility

To be eligible for FSA at the University of Melbourne, you must:

• Meet the Federal Student Aid eligibility criteria
• Be enrolled at the University of Melbourne in a degree program (i.e. a Bachelors, Masters by Coursework or Research program, Master of Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) course) and maintain a minimum half-time study load
• Meet the University of Melbourne Direct Loan student responsibilities, enrolment requirements and satisfactory academic progress requirements.

Please note, you are not eligible to receive Direct Loans if:

• You enrol in a course (program) with core or elective subjects (courses) that are delivered online.  This requirement applies throughout your entire degree, even if you do not borrow US Direct Loans continuously, you are not allowed to enrol in any online subjects for the duration of your degree.
• You undertake the Doctor of Medicine or a Nursing program
• You undertake or transfer to a Certificate, Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma course of study
• You are enrolled in a coursework degree, and you undertake greater than 25% of your study in the United States

If you intend to undertake an approved overseas study program, you should contact the International Financial Aid team for further advice.

If you are enrolled in a research higher degree, and you intend to undertake research in the United States, you should contact the International Financial Aid team for further advice.

Next: Calculating the cost of attendance