Frequently Asked Questions

A comprehensive glossary of Federal Aid Acronyms is available on the Federal Student Aid website: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/glossary#FAFSA

First of all, make sure you hold an academic offer to study at Chester; without an offer we cannot issue your financial aid offer. Please see www.chester.ac.uk/international for a complete listing of our courses, entry criteria and information on how to apply. 

Once you have completed the FAFSA, a Student Aid Report (SAR) is produced.  As a foreign school, we do not automatically receive your SAR.  Please email usloans@chester.ac.uk to confirm you have completed the FAFSA. Once we have received your SAR, we will check that you meet all of the eligibility requirements and we will contact you from mid-spring via email with your financial aid offer and further information, so please don’t worry if you don’t hear from us right away.

As long as your loan amount covers the deposit, you will not need to pay the deposit. If you plan to live in university accommodation, you will be required to pay the £250 accommodation deposit. This amount must be paid online at the time you accept your accommodation, and will be refunded to you towards the end of the year assuming you have kept your lodgings in acceptable condition.

Yes, every year you are studying with us and intend to take our loans, you will need to complete the FAFSA, receive a financial aid offer letter and submit it with all supporting documents. The university will remind you to reapply in May, but remember it’s your responsibility to complete the FAFSA.

The maximum amount we can certify as loans is the full Cost of Attendance (CoA) minus any other aid (i.e. scholarships/bursaries).  Please see our published CoA.

For the 2023/24 academic year, the University of Chester will use the exchange rate of 1.3 $-£. This is subject to change in summer 2023 if the rates have changed drastically. Please note the actual amount you will receive in GBP will depend on the exchange rate when we draw funds down via Convera (previously  Western Union Business Solutions).

The University of Chester will provide you with a variety of documentation throughout the admissions process to prepare you for applying for your Student Visa.  We request that you thoroughly read all documentation provided by us as you will be held accountable for its contents.

You may wish to read about the Student visa at https://www.gov.uk/student-visa

For Undergraduate Students: Your loan will be disbursed throughout the year in two instalments, roughly October and January.

For Postgraduate Taught and Research Students: Your loan will be disbursed throughout the year in two instalments, roughly October and April.

Yes, you will need to open a UK bank account so we can pay you any remaining money following payment of university charges. You will be provided information on how to open a bank account as part of your orientation. We encourage you to do this as soon as possible to ensure you get your money as soon as it’s available.

The University of Chester will disburse your loan using Convera (previously Western Union Business Solutions).

You will receive an email to your University email account from Convera (previously Western Union Business Solutions) requesting your bank details. Please ensure you provide these well in advance of the disbursement date. Once the funds are received a half of the fees you owe the institution (tuition and accommodation if you are living in university owned housing) will be deducted. Any remaining balance will be deposited into your UK account within 3 working days of the disbursement date, as long as you have provided your bank details Convera (previously Western Union Business Solutions). 

The University of Chester does not have an Employer Identification Number (EIN) and so is unable to complete IRS Tax Form 1098-T for students (or parents of dependent undergraduate students).