Student Finance Matters

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Financial Aid & Loans

Popular FAQs

Disbursement of Financial Aid

Yes. NUS offers a variety of Financial Aid (FA) schemes to help meet educational and living expenses of financially-needy students.

For undergraduate students, details are available at Office of Financial Aid’s website at http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/financial-aid and the various sub-sites listed below:

Information on:
URLs
Applicationhttp://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/financial-aid/application
Financial Aid (FA) Calendar and Disbursement Schedulehttp://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/financial-aid/financial-aid-calendar

For graduate students, please see http://www.nus.edu.sg/admissions/graduate-studies/scholarships-financial-aid-and-fees.html.

The order of priority of payment by the various financial aid schemes for the payment of tuition fees and miscellaneous fees is shown below.

  1. Scholarship that covers 100% of tuition fee / MENDAKI Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy (TTFS)
  2. SkillsFuture Credit (SFC)
  3. Higher Education Community/Higher Education Bursary (Medicine/Dentistry)
  4. NUS Bursaries
  5. Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) Scheme*
  6. Central Provident Fund (CPF) Education Loan Scheme (CELS)*
  7. MOE Tuition Fee Loan (TFL)*
  8. Higher Education Community/Higher Education Bursary (non-Medicine/Dentistry)
  9. MOE Study Loan*
  10. Bursaries (non-NUS)
  11. GIRO deductions/NETS/others

* If your tuition fee is already fully covered by a scholarship/NUS Bursary/TTFS, schemes such as the PSEA, CELS, MOE TFL and MOE Study Loan (Tuition Fee portion) will not be applicable and will be suspended/withdrawn if you are an existing recipient.

When the total amount of all your FAs is less than your outstanding fees, the remaining amount of your outstanding fees (i.e. debit balance) will still need to be paid via GIRO.

When the total amount of all your FAs is more than your outstanding fees, the resulting excess balance will be refunded to your Receiving Bank Account (Credit Bank Account) by the timelines indicated in http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/financial-aid/financial-aid-calendar.

To facilitate the refund, please update your “Receiving Bank Account (Credit Bank Account)” via Education Records System (see FAQs on GIRO Payment).

CPF Education Loan Scheme (CELS)

The CPF Education Loan Scheme (CELS) is administered by the Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB).

The CELS is for the payment of tuition fees for full-time Singapore Citizen and Singapore Permanent Resident Undergraduate students. You can use your own, your spouse’s or your parents’ CPF savings to pay for the tuition fees. It cannot be used to pay for the compulsory miscellaneous fees and hostel fees.

Please apply for GIRO so that any remainder fees not covered by CPF and other financial aid will be deducted automatically on the scheduled GIRO deduction dates.

  • Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents taking full-time subsidised undergraduate programmes, regardless of family income
  • Returning National Servicemen registering as undergraduate students in July/August and reading Internal Blended Learning Online Courses (iBLOCs)/Special Term Courses (only tuition fee portion is applicable)

Who are not eligible:

  • Graduate students
  • Part-time Undergraduate students
  • Undergraduate students enrolled in the Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT)
  • Full -time Undergraduate Students who have exceeded their normal candidature and have fully utilized the MOE Tuition Grant
  • Full-time Undergraduate Students who are paying full fees (non-subsidized tuition fee), i.e., not taking up the MOE Tuition Grant or were given an admission offer without the MOE Tuition Grant
  • Full-time Undergraduate Students receiving scholarships/bursaries/subsidies/awards which fully cover tuition fees
  • Full-time Undergraduate Students enrolled in the Concurrent Degree Programmes, once they are charged graduate tuition fees.
  • Full-time Undergraduate Students enrolled in the Joint-Degree Programmes (JDP)

Details of the CELS, eligibility criteria, application procedures & deadlines etc. can be found at:

All applications under the CPF Education Loan Scheme should be submitted online within the application period. No late applications will be entertained. You may refer to the Application Schedule to Use CPF Savings under the CPF Education Loan Scheme for the application period.

No, your approved CELS application is a standing instruction to allow your Tuition Fee to be deducted from the authorised CPF account when due. This instruction will remain valid until you submit a written request to  CPF Board to terminate it.

(a) If you have applied for the CELS within the stipulated deadline, please pay the net amount (outstanding amount in student bill less CELS payment). The CELS will be reflected in your student account 2 weeks before the first GIRO deduction. Please log in to your EduRec student account to check that the deduction is successful and there is no outstanding balance after the deduction. If the deduction is unsuccessful, please make payment for the outstanding balance as soon as possible. Please see here for exact fee payment due dates. Please see (b) below for the net amount payable.

(b) As stipulated by CPFB and subject to CPF withdrawal limits, CELS can only be used to pay the Tuition Fee of full-time undergraduates taking MOE-subsidised courses. Hence, other fees including the Miscellaneous Student Fees (MSF) and Hostel Fees have to be paid separately by GIRO or other payment modes.

If your CELS application is successful, CPF Board will inform the member (in this case, your father) of the outcome and proceed to pay your Tuition Fee to NUS. In the event that no payment is effected, please contact CPF Board directly at 1800 227 1188 to check on your application status. Any outstanding fees in your Student Account after the fee payment due date will incur late fee charge. You may log a case via our FAQ Portal with valid reasons to appeal for waiver of the late fee charge.

When applying for CELS, students have to ensure that there are sufficient funds in the designated CPF account. If CPF funds are insufficient, students will still have to pay their outstanding Tuition Fee with other sources of funds.

Students who need further financial assistance can check the Office of Financial Aid’s website at http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/financial-aid. Alternatively, students may contact CPFB at 1800 227 1188 to understand the procedures to apply for use of another CPF member’ fund under the CELS.

Repayment starts 1 year after graduation or upon leaving the course, whichever is earlier. You may make partial, lump sum or monthly instalments to CPFB for the full amount of CPF funds utilised plus the interest from the time the funds are withdrawn. The interest, which is based on the prevailing CPF interest rate, will be credited into the CPF account of the member whose savings had been used.

Students who have left NUS and have credit balance in their own Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) may also opt to use the PSEA funds for payment of their outstanding CELS loan. For more details, please refer to PSEA website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/financial-matters/psea/funds-balance-and-usage/loans-and-approved-financing-scheme.

To terminate your approved CELS, please contact CPF Board directly.

Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA)

The PSEA Scheme is administered by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and open to all eligible Singapore Citizens.

The PSEA is part of the Post-Secondary Education Scheme to help Singapore Citizens pay for their post-secondary education.

PSEA is opened automatically for all eligible Singaporeans. PSEA is not a bank account.

To know whether you are eligible for PSEA, please refer to MOE’s website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/financial-matters/psea/overview

The PSEA applications are to be submitted online.

Undergraduate students PSEA applications are managed by the Office of Financial Aid (OFA).

Graduate students PSEA applications are managed by the NUS Graduate School.

Please refer to the respective links below for more details on the PSEA application, usage, etc.

The PSEA Standing Order (SO) is applicable to students who want to pay their semesters’ tuition and miscellaneous student fees using PSEA funds. This standing instruction is a one-time application and will remain valid until it is terminated with a duly completed PSEA SO Termination Form submitted to MOE. Applications have to be made within the stipulated application periods published on NUS Financial Aid’s website.

The PSEA Adhoc Withdrawal is an application for use of PSEA funds for a one-off/specific amount payment, e.g. pay for current semester’s fees as the PSEA SO’s application deadline has been missed. A fresh PSEA Adhoc Withdrawal Form has to be submitted for each withdrawal. It takes about a month for PSEA Adhoc withdrawal to be credited to NUS for fee payment.

To avoid double payment, students should not apply for PSEA Adhoc withdrawal if they already have valid SO maintained with MOE from the start of the semester.

Yes. To use PSEA funds to pay only miscellaneous student fees, you will need to submit a fresh PSEA Adhoc withdrawal form for each semester.

Once a PSEA SO is set up, the standing instruction will apply to all future withdrawals until the SO is terminated or replaced, regardless of which approved institution you attend. This means that the PSEA SO that you had set up with the approved institution prior to your study in NUS will remain valid until MOE receives your PSEA SO Termination Form. Hence, the deduction is not a mistake.

If you do not wish to continue to use your PSEA SO/your sibling’s PSEA SO to pay for your fees, please contact MOE directly for the PSEA SO Termination.

Yes. Students who have left NUS and have outstanding loans repayable under the MOE Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) / MOE Study Loan (SL) / Overseas Student Programme (OSP) and CPF Education Loan Scheme (CELS) may use PSEA funds for loan repayment. However, do note that you can only do this after your status has been updated as ‘Graduated’ by the banks, which takes place 1 month before the interest commencement dates.
For Borrowers who graduate during or at the end of:
Graduation status will be updated by the bank by:
a) Semester 1 end Apr of the year following graduation
b) Semester 2 end Sep in the year of graduation
c) Special Term Part 1 end Oct in the year of graduation
d) Special Term Part 2 end Nov in the year of graduation
For more details, please refer to PSEA website here.

Please refer to NUS Office of Financial Aid’s website at https://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/financial-aid/schemes-for-tuition-fees-and-or-living-costs/post-secondary-education-account for the application period and disbursement timeline.

*For PSEA application deadline for SEP/NOC/Overseas/Enrichment/Preparatory Programmes, Residential College Fees and Health Science Students, please refer to OAM’s website for details.

The PSEA payment will be reflected in your student account by the disbursed date stated in Q8 above. Please apply for GIRO to facilitate payment of the outstanding balance after offsetting the PSEA amount claimed. The outstanding balance (after offsetting the PSEA amount claimed) will be deducted automatically on the scheduled GIRO deduction dates.
(If you prefer to pay via a different payment mode, please make the amount net of PSEA. To check your PSEA account’s balance, please call MOE’s 24-hour automated Edusave/ PSEA hotline 62600777.)

SkillsFuture Credit (SFC)

The SkillsFuture Credit (SFC) consists of an initial credit of S$500 which Singapore Citizens aged 25 years and above can use to make payment of course fees for attending courses approved by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG). From 1 Oct 2020, Singapore citizens aged 25 or above will receive a one-time $500 SkillsFuture Credit Top-up. In addition to this one time $500 credit top-up, Singapore citizens aged 40 to 60 in 2020 will receive an Additional SkillsFuture Credit (Mid-Career Support) of $500. From 1 May 2024, if you are a Singaporean aged 40 and above, you will receive $4,000 SkillsFuture Credit (Mid-Career). The credits may be used in addition to existing course fee subsidies provided by the Government.

Details can be found at My SkillsFuture portal.

NUS courses that are eligible for use of the SFC can be found on the Training Exchange at https://www.myskillsfuture.gov.sg/content/portal/en/training-exchange/course-landing.html. In the search bar, type the words National University of Singapore and click the “Search” button to see the list of courses offered by NUS.

You may utilise SFC to pay course fee if you/your:

  • are a Singaporean who is at least 25 years old
  • tuition fee only
  • apply in the week* before the course/semester start date (including the 1st day of the course/semester) with an uploaded copy of your Student Bill that shows:
    1. Your Full Name
    2. Complete Course Title and Course Start Date
    3. Itemised breakdown of course fee and the total amount payable

*A copy of the Student Bill needs to be uploaded at the point of applying for SFC. As such, SFC will not be available in instances where the Student Bill is available only after the add/drop module period that takes place after the start of semester, e.g. Special Term fees.

You may use your SingPass to login at SFC portal: http://www.myskillsfuture.gov.sg/ to submit your application.

Upon approval by SSG, the SFC payment will be credited to your Student Account in Education Records System (EduRec) to offset your tuition fees within 4 – 5 weeks after your course start date. Please note that even if your claim status is “Paid to TP (Training Provider)”, it does not mean that your claim has been disbursed to NUS.

Kindly take a screenshot of your SFC claim (with your claim ID and status) and log a case via our FAQ Portal and we will check with SSG for you.

Please proceed to pay the amount payable on your Student Bill, net of your approved SFC claim. (Eg, If your outstanding student bill is $10,000 and approved SFC claim of $4,000. Please make the balance of $6,000 ($10,000-$4,000) preferably via Non-Credit Card Processing payment mode such as GIRO, Convera via NUSFastPay or PayNow QR via NUSFastPay).

It may be because you have:

  • applied for SFC amount that is more than the outstanding course fees shown in the Student Bill
  • provided the incorrect course details such as ‘Course Start Date’

You may wish to contact SSG at 6785 5785 or through their feedback portal to enquire on the reason of rejection for your SFC application.

It is important that you provide the correct course details at time of application as all SFC payment with incorrect course details may be refunded to SSG.

You may cancel your SFC application online at SFC Portal: http://www.myskillsfuture.gov.sg/

If you wish to cancel:
Outcome
Up to and including ‘Course Start Date’No SFC payment will be made by SSG to NUS
After ‘Course Start Date’SFC cannot be cancelled after ‘Course Start Date’

No, the credits from the SFC scheme is strictly meant for offset of only tuition/course/ examination fees as stipulated by SSG. For other non-tuition/course fees such as miscellaneous student fees, you will have to use other payment modes. As such, any SFC payment in excess of your tuition/course/examination fees charged will be refunded to SSG.

NUS is unable to do a refund/partial refund for this purpose. Kindly submit your SFC application for the next semester in the week before the next semester starts.

You should not pay NUS for the approved SFC amount. The credit balance in your EduRec account (after SFC claim has been updated) will be rolled over to the next semester to offset your fees for next semester. If this is your last semester, kindly log a case via our FAQ Portal to request for a refund after the SFC claim disbursement has been updated in your bill.

MOE Tuition Fee Loan, Study Loan & Other Student Loan Schemes

Application for MOE Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) is considered pre-approved subject to the:

  • acceptance of your application form by the bank, and
  • issuance of the Letter of Offer (contained within the TFL application form)

For the other student loans such as MOE Study Loan (SL), NUS Student Assistance Loan (SAL) and Overseas Student Exchange Programme Loan (OSEP), application is approved with the issuance of the respective Letter of Offer.

Hence, it is important that you update your contact details in Education Records System and with the relevant banks (DBS Bank / OCBC Bank) so that you can be contacted for any clarification on your loan application.

It takes about 3 weeks for the bank to process and inform NUS of your application. A loan agreement needs to be signed before your loan can be disbursed.

Depending on whether you are an existing or new loan recipient, and subject to the proper execution of your loan agreement(s), the period of disbursement for the various loan schemes are as follows:

S/NLoan SchemeMaximum Loan ValueAward PeriodEstimated Time Disbursement# is updated in Student Account
Students awarded in Prior Academic YearStudents awarded during Application Period in Current Academic Year
Semester 1
(Aug – Dec)		Semester 2
(Jan – May)		Semester 1
(Aug – Dec)		Semester 2
(Jan – May)
1*MOE Tuition Fee Loan (TFL)Up to 90% of subsidised Tuition Fee payable by Singapore Citizens for same course & same fee cohort yearFull duration of studies in NUSEarly to mid-AugustMid to end JanuaryMid to end AugustMid to end January
2.MOE Study Loan (SL)10% or 20% of subsidised Tuition Fee payable by Singapore CitizensFull duration of studies in NUSEnd August to early SeptemberMid to end JanuaryEnd SeptemberEarly February
3.NUS Student Assistance Loan (SAL)Varies according to financial need & nationality of applicants, and fund availabilityFull duration of studies in NUSLate August to SeptemberLate January to FebruaryWithin 2 weeks from completion of signing of loan agreement in early SeptemberWithin 2 weeks from completion of signing of loan agreement which is on an ad-hoc basis
4.Overseas Student Exchange Programme Loan (OSEP)Maximum of $3,000 per semester

Per Exchange Programme basis;

Re-application needed

N.A.N.A.2 weeks before student departs on Exchange Programme

*For Graduate Students, please see https://nusgs.nus.edu.sg/financial-aid/

#See also Financial Aid Calendar and Disbursement Schedule

This is your Preliminary Bill. TFL is only updated at the start of the semester. Please check your Student Bill after term starts.

SL, SAL, bursaries and grants are grouped under “Other Loans & Awards” in the Student Bill which shows the total of all amounts awarded. SL and SAL disbursements are reflected in your Student Bill about 2 weeks after the respective loan agreement has been signed. Until the disbursements are updated, the amount under “Other Loans & Awards” in your Student Bill will not be reflected.

MOE Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) covers only the 90% of the Singapore Citizen subsidised Tuition Fee payable and does not cover Miscellaneous Student Fees (MSF). Whereas, MOE Study Loan (SL) covers 10% or 20% of the Singapore Citizen rate, and is grouped under “Other Loans & Awards” in the Student Bill. Hence, the amount not covered remains outstanding and is payable. Please apply for GIRO so that your fees not covered by loans and other financial aid will be deducted automatically on the scheduled GIRO deduction dates

This is because the MOE Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) is based on 90% of the Singapore Citizen subsidised Tuition Fee. Please apply for GIRO so that your fees not covered by loans and other financial aid will be deducted automatically on the scheduled GIRO deduction dates.

After the first day of the semester, please check your Student Bill under “Other Loans & Awards” for the MOE Study Loan amount disbursed to you. MOE Study Loan disbursement (Tuition Fee portion) is 10% or 20% of the subsidised Tuition Fees amount payable by Singapore Citizens and it is offset directly against the Tuition Fees payable by you.

SL / SAL allowance will first be offset against any outstanding fees due by you (including outstanding fees from prior terms, miscellaneous student fees, hostel fees etc.). If there is a credit balance after all your fees are paid, the amount will then be credited to your designated bank account within 4-6 weeks after the agreement signed date.

The amount will be credited into your bank account within 2 weeks of the loan agreement signed date.

To view the total loan amounts disbursed,

  1. Login to Education Records System (EduRec)
  2. Click “My Homepage” for drop-down menu
  3. Select “Financial Self Services”
  4. Click “View Financial Aid Disbursed”
  5. Click “View All” to display all line items
  6. Click “FA Code” to sort by the various financial aids disbursed
  7. Add the amounts for the applicable line items to find the total amounts disbursed (e.g. MOE Tuition Fee Loan, MOE Study Loan)
To check loan outstanding amount,
Loan Scheme
Check with:
  • Login to Education Records System to check the disbursed amount.
  • If you have just graduated, please refer to the letter that NUS sent you.
  • If you have made repayments, please log a case via our FAQ Portal to ascertain the outstanding amount.

Students are not allowed to change their guarantor except in the event of bankruptcy, death, insanity or disability of the guarantor, for which the student is required to:

  • inform the bank immediately in writing, and
  • appoint an alternative guarantor acceptable to the bank within one month from the occurrence of the event incapacitating the existing guarantor
You may not need TFL disbursements to pay Tuition Fee if you have been awarded a scholarship after signing up for TFL scheme. To terminate or suspend the TFL disbursements, you will need to contact:
  • Your TFL-administering bank (DBS Bank / OCBC Bank) for advice on loan termination procedures, and
  • NUS Office of Finance at our FAQ Portal for updating of your Student Account
You can call or write in to Office of Financial Aid (OFA) at:
For the loan schemes listed in the table below, the banks will send you a letter upon your graduation, informing you of the repayment process and loan amount to repay. You can also contact the relevant banks directly. If you wish to make full repayment of your TFL, SL, SAL or OSPL before your graduation status is reported to the bank, you can do so from June (for students graduating in Semester 2) and December (for students graduating in Semester 1) by making a request at the bank for full repayment and closure of your loan account. Please do not mention your graduated status to the bank, as they will check against their record (which is still flagged as ‘active’) and will ask you to check with NUS, hence, delaying your repayment request.
For Borrowers who graduate during or at the end of:
Graduation status will be updated by the bank by:
a) Semester 1 end Apr of the year following graduation
b) Semester 2 end Sep in the year of graduation
c) Special Term Part 1 end Oct in the year of graduation
d) Special Term Part 2 end Nov in the year of graduation
You can also contact the relevant banks directly:
Loan Scheme
Check with:
Students who have left NUS and have credit balance in their Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) may also opt to use the PSEA funds for payment of their outstanding MOE Tuition Fee Loan (TFL), MOE Study Loan (SL) and Overseas Student Programme (OSP) Loan. For more details, please refer to PSEA website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/financial-matters/psea/funds-balance-and-usage For Overseas Student Exchange Programme Loan (OSEP), NUS will send you a letter upon your graduation to inform you of the repayment options and loan amount to repay directly to NUS either by:
  • GIRO instalment, or
  • Cheque crossed and made payable to NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE Please:
    1. Write the following details on the reverse side of your cheque:
      • A-series Student Number
      • Full Name
      • Telephone Number
      • Loan Reference Number, and
    2. Mail to: Office of Finance (Accounts Receivables Team) National University of Singapore University Hall Tan Chin Tuan Wing, UHT #03-02 21 Lower Kent Ridge Road Singapore 119077

Please contact the relevant banks regarding your request:

Loan Scheme
Check with:
Yes. Students who have left NUS and have outstanding loans repayable under the MOE Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) / MOE Study Loan (SL) / Overseas Student Programme (OSP) and CPF Education Loan Scheme (CELS) may use PSEA funds for loan repayment. However, do note that you can only do this after your status has been updated as ‘Graduated’ by the banks, which takes place 1 month before the interest commencement dates.
For Borrowers who graduate during or at the end of:
Graduation status will be updated by the bank by:
a) Semester 1 end Apr of the year following graduation
b) Semester 2 end Sep in the year of graduation
c) Special Term Part 1 end Oct in the year of graduation
d) Special Term Part 2 end Nov in the year of graduation
For more details, please refer to PSEA website here

You can proceed to any bank branch to make a request for full repayment and closure of your TFL/SL account at any time. However, if you have TFL/SL disbursement in the current semester, you can request for full repayment and closure of your TFL/SL account from June (for students graduating in Semester 2) and December (for students graduating in Semester 1) so that the current semester’s disbursement is included in your total disbursement amount.

You may refer to the table below for the interest commencement dates.
For Borrowers who graduate during or at the end of:
Interest shall begin to accrue on:
a) Semester 1 1st May of the year following graduation
b) Semester 2 1st Oct in the year of graduation
c) Special Term Part 1 1st Nov in the year of graduation
d) Special Term Part 2 1st Dec in the year of graduation
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