51cg

• Your Loan Confirmation letter confirms that you have completed the loan application process.
• It includes details of the loan types and amounts you have requested and have been approved for the new academic year.
• The letter is accepted by visa authorities as evidence of loans you are borrowing to financially support your studies in the coming academic year, although it is not always required as part of the visa application.

The University has partnered with Convera to process credit balance payments in a secure and compliant way. At the start of your academic year, students, will be invited to submit or check their bank details via the secure Convera Loans Portal. This allows us to pay any credit balance due to you by electronic funds transfer (EFT) or wire transfer.

Important: Federal and private student loan credit balances can be paid to international bank accounts. However, any required currency conversion will be completed using the applicable exchange rate at the time of payment. The 51cg cannot accept responsibility for any exchange rate losses incurred.

Please refer to Convera Loans Portal Guide for further instruction on how to submit your bank details.

Exchange Rates

• The amount you receive in GBP (£ Sterling) will vary depending on the USD to GBP exchange rate in effect at the time your loan is disbursed.
• The exchange rate applied will be a commercial retail rate and not the interbank rate.
• Alternative financial providers may offer different exchange rates. The University does not have plans to change its current payment process.

Information about how to open a UK bank account can be found here. (opens in new window)

• To have your loan released, you must have completed the student registration process (new window), and provide your bank details on the Convera portal.
• Your loan payment should be made within 21 days after your programme has started, providing all conditions are met.  Please note that processing times may be affected by US Department of Education or Convera system maintenance and service interruptions.
• We recommend having sufficient personal funds available to cover your living and study expenses until your loan funds have been disbursed.
• As part of the financial aid application process, parents can choose whether any credit balance is paid directly to the student or to the parent borrower. If the credit balance is to be paid to the parent, their bank account details will need to be provided to the student so they can be uploaded to the Convera portal.

In accordance with US Department of Education regulations, your loan will be disbursed in two or three equal instalments as outlined in your loan confirmation letter.

Federal Loan Disbursement Schedule

• Undergraduate Students: 2 instalments - October and February.
• Postgraduate Taught Students (September start): 3 instalments - October, February and June.
• Postgraduate Taught Students (January/ February start): 3 instalments - February, June and September.
• Postgraduate Research Students: 2 instalments approximately 6 months apart. For example, students starting in October will receive disbursements in October and April.

Private Loan Disbursement Schedule

Private loans are typically disbursed according to the same schedule outlined above. However, if you would prefer your private loan to be paid in a single disbursement, or in a different number of instalments, please contact us to discuss.

The disbursement date shown on your private loan application is the date your lender releases the funds, not the date the funds will be available to you. After the funds are released, it can take up to a week for them to arrive in our Convera account and be processed. We will disburse the funds as soon as processing is complete.

• You are making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as required for federal loans.
• You are enrolled as expected and actively studying on the programme for which your financial aid package was approved. 
• If borrowing federal loans, you are not studying via online or distance learning.
• You remain compliant with all applicable federal regulations and have not taken any action that could affect your eligibility for federal funding.

Approximately 14 days before each loan disbursement, you (the student) and, where applicable, the Parent Plus borrower will receive a Right to Cancel email.

This notice will include:

• The expected date of your upcoming disbursement(s).
• Information about the borrower's right to cancel all or part of the loan, or request an amendment to the loan amount, including any applicable deadlines.
• Details of your federal loan disbursement, including:
  • The gross loan amount (USD $)
  • Any origination fees deducted by the US Department of Education
  • The net amount to be disbursed (USD $)
• Details of any private loan disbursement expected around the same time (USD $).
• An estimate of the total value to be received in GBP (£ Sterling) and the amount that will be applied towards your tuition fees and other institutional charges.
• Instructions on how to pay any outstanding balance that remains after your loan funds have been received and applied to your account.
• Information about any additional actions or requirements necessary to ensure your disbursement can be processed successfully.

Tuition Fees, Accommodation Charges and Loan Disbursements

• We will create a payment plan that aligns with your loan disbursement schedule. If you are staying in University-managed accommodation, your accommodation charges will also be included in this plan.
• If your loans are sufficient to cover your tuition fees, you will not normally be required to make a tuition fee payment before arriving in Aberdeen or as part of your registration process.
• If your loans do not fully cover your tuition fees, you will be required to pay 50% of your tuition fee balance as part of the registration process. The remaining balance will then be spread across your scheduled loan disbursements to help reduce the amount payable later in the academic year.
• Students on Undergraduate or Postgraduate Taught programmes whose tuition fees will be fully covered by US Federal Loans, US Private Student Loans, or VA Benefits may not be required to pay a deposit to confirm their place.

How Your Loan Funds Are Applied

At each disbursement, we will:

• Apply the appropriate tuition fee instalment to your account:
  • Undergraduate students: 50% of annual tuition fees per disbursement
  • Postgraduate Taught students (12-18 month programmes): one-third of the full tuition fees per disbursement
  • Postgraduate Research students (for example, PhD programmes): six months of tuition fees per disbursement
• Apply the appropriate accommodation charge if you are living in University Halls of Residence:
  • Undergraduate and Postgraduate Research students: 50% of accommodation charges per disbursement
  • Postgraduate Taught students (12-18 month programmes): one-third of accommodation charges per disbursement
• Arrange for any remaining credit balance to be transferred to the bank account details you have provided through the Convera portal.
• Retain additional loan funds where outstanding charges from previous disbursements remain unpaid.

Important: The University's Payment Plan system has limited payment method options. As a result, any instalment funded through student loans may appear as "Credit/Debit" within the Payment Plan, even when no card payment is being made.