US Private loans

Private loans are potentially available to most US citizens, and often provide an alternative funding source for students who are ineligible for US federal loans or wish to take this option instead of a federal loan. Good credit history is likely to be necessary and a co-signer may be required.

Please note that in order to be eligible you must be enrolled and studying on a course which is administered by the University of Oxford. For this reason visiting or recognised students will need to apply for loans via their home institution.

Which loan provider can I use?

The University will work with whichever lender you choose, however, it is important to check that a lender offers loans to study at foreign schools. Sallie Mae is one of the US lenders willing to lend to students at a foreign school, and the details in the How to apply section on this page relate to the Sallie Mae application process.

Other funding options for US students

Federal loans

We advise that you investigate your eligibility for US federal loans before applying for a US private loan, and compare the interest rates, terms and conditions and repayment criteria for different loan types.

US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) funding

The University is able to process applications for US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) funding (also known as the GI Bill or Post 9/11 Bill) and can complete and submit certificates of enrolment to the VA. Please refer to our US Department of Veterans Affairs funding information page for more details.

The amount of private loan you may borrow is determined by the Cost of Attendance (COA) form and the amount you are approved for by Sallie Mae. Your COA refers to the cost of completing your study at Oxford for one academic year. If you are applying for a combination of US federal and private loans, please complete the federal loan COA on the US federal loans webpage instead.

Please note private student loans do not enable you to borrow additional US loan funds above your cost of attendance even if you borrow a combination of federal and private loans.

Your private loan will be released as one payment directly to you and disbursement date details will be provided in a letter from the US loans team. Once you receive your loan payment, you will then need to make arrangements to pay your outstanding course fees or charges owed to your college/department directly. Your college/department will be able to advise on how to make these payments to them as applicable. 

The University uses a company called Flywire to support the private loans payments from Sallie Mae. Shortly before your disbursement date, you will receive an email asking you to upload your banking details to the Flywire portal. When uploading your bank details you will also be given the opportunity to select the currency that you would like your funds to be disbursed in. Please note that Sallie Mae loans will be disbursed in USD and choosing any other currency will mean that your loan funds will undergo a currency conversion.

We would recommend uploading your banking details as soon as you receive the email from the Flywire portal, to avoid any delays with receiving your funds. 

The disbursement date is the date your funds are released by Sallie Mae, not the date that you will receive the payment from Flywire. You should ensure that you have sufficient funds from an alternative source to cover any costs until you receive your first payment. You must be fully enrolled before your funds can be requested from Sallie Mae. If you have not completed your enrolment by the deadline, your loan payment will be postponed to the next scheduled disbursement date. Further information on registration can be found on the Guide to registration webpage.

Although it is standard practice to invoice students for all fees at the beginning of the academic year, your college or department may be able to provide special dispensation if they are aware of your approved private loan and can instead arrange for your fees to be paid in line with your loan payment.

How do repayments work and when do they start?

You should check the terms and conditions provided to you by your lender as this varies between loan types. Repayment options tend to be less flexible than with federal loans.

Deferring federal loans

If you have previously borrowed US federal loans and are not taking these in the current academic year, please complete the NSLDS deferment request form if you would like the US loans team to report your enrolment on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). If you are a new student you will be unable to complete this form until you have been provided with your Single Sign On (SSO) account details by Oxford, and you must be showing as fully enrolled on the student system before we can add you to NSLDS.

Federal loan servicers are required by federal law to use NSLDS and enrolment information is sent to them on a weekly basis. NSLDS is also accessed by the US Department of Education to obtain student enrolment information. Your NSLDS record will be updated and checked every two months.

Deferring private loans

If you have previously borrowed a loan through a private lender that does not use NSLDS and would like us to complete a paper deferment form, please email the US loans team with a copy of the required form, ensuring you have first completed any sections to be filled out by the borrower.