Disbursements

Title IV Direct Loan funds are disbursed at the start of each term during an academic year:

Postgraduates:
7 October 2013
3 February 2014
19 May 2014

Undergraduates:
28 October 2013*
3 February 2014
*The disbursement for first year undergraduate students cannot be released until the borrower has completed 30 days of the course.  Subsequent disbursements will be made as indicated.

All disbursements are subject to the following conditions:

• You are making satisfactory academic progress
• You are enrolled at least half time or more
• You are not in USA
• You have not violated any federal compliance regulations (such as repayment default, fraud, drug offences).

New students will not receive their funds until they have completed Registration Online and any documentation verification processes at the start of the academic year.

Students who drop below half-time attendance are not eligible for Title IV Loans.

Please note that the disbursement date is the date the University of Bath will receive the loan funds, not the date that you will receive the living expenses.  The disbursement dates are indicative and not guaranteed, but we do not expect the actual date to differ by more than a couple of days before or after the stated date.

Once we receive your loan funds from the U.S. Department of Education the Finance Office at the University of Bath will use these to pay off your tuition fees and any accommodation costs for the period due.

If there are any funds remaining from the disbursement these will be paid to you by the Finance Office by cheque in £ Sterling, no exceptions. You will be advised by email that a disbursement is due, its value and how much is due to be deducted from it for Tuition Fees and/or Accommodation as appropriate. When you receive this email, you may contact us to reduce or cancel the disbursement. When your cheque is ready to collect from the Student Services Centre, 4 West, you must bring your Bath student I.D. card with you.

Help Desk Staff are not allowed to release your cheque if you do not have your Bath student I.D. card.

Remember there are deductions taken from the value of your loans. The U.S. government deducts an 'Origination Fee' from each disbursement: 1% from the subsidised and unsubsidised loans, and 4% from the PLUS loan. The Cost of Attendance Spreadsheet you completed previously outlines how much you could borrow and how much you actually receive after the government has deducted the 'Origination Fee'.

Origination fees for 2013/14 are 1.051% for Direct Subsidised/Unsubsidised loans and 4.204% for Direct PLUS loans.

WARNING - if you don't warn us in advance not to draw down your disbursement, then you will be responsible for all interest charges and for its repayment.

Sallie Mae – Private Loans
If you have private loan from Sallie Mae, then they will normally send us a US$ cheque to us that will need to be co-signed by you the student and the University. This cheque will then be deposited in our $ account and the Finance Office will use these to pay off your tuition fees and any accommodation costs for the period due. Any funds left over will be disbursed to you by cheque in £ Sterling.

What to do with your cheque
It can take up to 10 days to open a bank account in the UK before you can bank the cheque. A cheque can take about 3 days to ‘clear’ in the bank before you can start to draw upon it. To open an account you should request a student status introduction ‘Bank to Whom’ letter by logging into Registration Online. These letters are usually ready to collect within four working days from the Student Services Centre, 4 West.

Important information:
Because of the time it takes to open a bank account in the UK, and if there are any delays in disbursing funds to you, it is wise to have sufficient money - cash or cards for living expenses until your cheque/funds clear.

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