Application procedure

• University/School Codes
• What Happens Next
• Master Promissory Note (MPN)
• Applying for a Direct PLUS Loan
• Interest Rates for Federal Student Loans

To receive student financial aid the first step is to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You can apply online from the FAFSA website. You'll need an FSA ID and information; a link to creating an FSA ID is on the FAFSA website.

Proof of funding for visa purposes

Once your federal loan(s) have been processed and completed in our office we'll attach a 'Notification of Student Loan For Academic Year 2025/26' letter to the e-mail we send you, which will tell you how much you'll receive in loans and when you will receive them. The copy of the letter (if it's required) will be sufficient for proof of your loan amounts for the academic year for the purposes of applying for your visa.

University/School Codes

One of the steps in completing the FAFSA is supplying the appropriate School Code for the College you will be attending at the University of Cambridge. Please use the code for the College at which you have been accepted.

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What Happens Next

Once your FAFSA has been completed and processed, you'll be sent a Student Aid Report (SAR) which you can view, print out and keep. This document lists the information you and your family have provided and tells you what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is for the year you are applying. The EFC is used to determine eligibility for needs-based financial aid and relates to the subsidized portion of the Stafford loan. Please check your name, social security number, date of birth and all other information to make sure that it is accurate.

It is important that you check the comments section on your SAR, as there may be issues that you need to address and any unresolved issues may delay the processing of your loan. 

We will send you an email confirming receipt of your FAFSA once it arrives, which can take up to a week after you have submitted it online. This email will also contain information on the other steps needed to complete your loan application.

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Master Promissory Note (MPN)

Students taking a Federal Direct Loan are required to sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN). If taking both a Direct Loan and a PLUS Loan, a separate MPN is required to be signed for each loan and MPNs must be completed on your College’s school code. The MPN is a legal document through which you promise to repay your Direct Loan. The MPN details the conditions of your Direct Loan and the terms under which you agree to pay it back. You will need to complete a new MPN for each academic year that you take out a Direct Loan. You can complete a Direct Loan MPN online at the StudentLoans.gov website. You will need your FSA ID.

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Applying for a Direct PLUS Loan

If you are taking a Direct PLUS Loan in addition to the Direct Loan, you will need to complete a Direct PLUS Loan application and this must be done on your College’s school code. Please take a screenshot of the credit check and include it with your application as we will require proof that the PLUS Loan has been approved.

After you sign-in on the StudentLoans.gov website, when you get to the drop-down menu please select the College you'll be attending. The format will be University of Cambridge - College Name.

You cannot complete your MPN(s) until you have been accepted at a College. Please keep a copy of the MPNs for your reference.

In order to apply for your loans you must have completed your 2025-2026 FAFSA (on your College's school code) and also an electronic Master Promissory Note (MPN) (on your college's school code) for each loan you take out.

So if taking a Direct Loan and PLUS loan you need to complete a seperate MPN for both the Direct Loan and the PLUS loan. It's very important that your college's school code is included on the FAFSA and your MPN(s).

Please send just one e-mail to StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk this must include all the required attachments. The subject line of your e-mail must be of the following format: First name SURNAME (USN) (College Name) (Course of study). The relevant completed Cost of Attendance spreadsheet (please amend to print to one page if this doesn’t automatically happen) needs to be included in your email.

We require that you inform our office if you have plans to carry out any period of your studies (working away, internship, placement, completing fieldwork, etc.) in the US or at any institution other than the University of Cambridge.

If undertaking any study in  the US, we require confirmation that the period in the US will be no more than 25% of your program of study and that the study abroad is essential to your course of study and cannot take place anywhere else in the world (we require a letter from your department to confirm these details).

To confirm this to our office, please ensure that you have entered your initials where requested on your cost of attendance spreadsheet. This information is required so we can ensure that your eligibility for Title IV Direct Loans will not be affected. Email StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk if this is something that will affect you. 

Undergraduates, please refer to the Cost of Attendance page with regards to what is required.

Interest Rates for Federal Student Loans

Loan Interest Rates by Disbursement Dates

Interest rates shown in the chart above are fixed rates for the life of the loan.

View information on the studentaid.gov website including how interest is calculated and what fees are associated with your federal student loan, and rates on federal student loans first disbursed before July 1 2023.  

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