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Financial Aid & Loans

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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 1end Apr of the year following graduation
b)Semester 2end Sep in the year of graduation
c)Special Term Part 1end Oct in the year of graduation
d)Special Term Part 2end 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 1end Apr of the year following graduation
b)Semester 2end Sep in the year of graduation
c)Special Term Part 1end Oct in the year of graduation
d)Special Term Part 2end 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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