FINANCIAL AID

The following groups of students are eligible to apply for Higher Education Student Loan (HESL):

1. Newly Matriculated students in Academic Year 2026/2027 intake; and
2. Existing students (AY2025/2026 intake and before) who do not have an existing MOE Tuition Fee Loan (MOE TFL) and/or MOE Study Loan (MOE SL)

NUS students can start submitting their applications for HESL in the StudentLoanSG (SLSG) Portal from 16 July 2026.

NOTE: To be considered for the Higher Education Student Loan - Balance Fee Coverage and/or Living Allowance Loan and/or Overseas Student Programme component, you are first required to apply for NUS Financial Aid here.

NOTE: For AY2025/2026, Financial Aid offers for the MOE Study Loan must be accepted by 15 May 2026 and all the loan agreements must be signed and received by OCBC bank by 25 May 2026. The MOE Tuition Fee Loan agreements must be signed at DBS or OCBC bank by 31 May 2026. For Overseas Student Programme Loan taken before 1 May 2026, please refer here.

For existing students who have already taken up MOE Tuition Fee Loan and/or MOE Study Loan from AY2025/2026 and prior, please note that you will continue to receive your current loan disbursements, and no further action is required from you. Please note that NUS Office of Financial Aid will be contacting you separately in August/September 2026 on your eligibility for new or additional loan provision under the HESL scheme and inform you of the exact date to apply for HESL in SLSG portal. 

Please find the overview of the HESL Scheme below:

Who are eligible:

Higher Education Student Loan - Base Provision

• All full-time undergraduates will be eligible EXCEPT international undergraduates who had rejected the MOE Tuition Grant or were offered admission without the MOE Tuition Grant
• Part-time Singapore Citizen undergraduates reading the Bachelor of Technology or Bachelor of Science (Nursing Practice) programme
• Singapore Citizen undergraduates reading the Bachelor of Information Technology
• Full-time undergraduates who have used up their MOE Tuition Grant subsidy and are required to pay full tuition fee
• 5th year undergraduate students taking Double-Degree Programmes
• Returning National Servicemen who will be registering as undergraduate students in the coming July/August and reading Internal Blended Learning Online Courses (iBLOCs)/Special Term Courses (only tuition fee portion is applicable)

Higher Education Student Loan - Balance Fee Coverage and Living Allowance Loan

• Monthly gross household per capita income (PCI) up to S$3,500 for Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents, or up to S$1,875 for international students (*Note: Only Singapore Citizens are eligible for Higher Education Student Loan – Balance Fee Coverage)
• Full-time undergraduate students
• Part-time Singapore Citizen undergraduates reading the Bachelor of Technology or Bachelor of Science (Nursing Practice) Programme (only Higher Education Student Loan – Balance Fee Coverage is applicable) and are pursuing the first undergraduate degree of study
• Singapore Citizen undergraduates reading the Bachelor of Information Technology and paying subsidised tuition fees (only Higher Education Student Loan – Balance Fee Coverage is applicable) and are pursuing their first undergraduate degree of study
• Returning National Servicemen who will be registering as undergraduate students in the coming July/August and reading Internal Blended Learning Online Courses (iBLOCs)/Special Term Courses (only Higher Education Student Loan – Balance Fee Coverage is applicable)
• Full fee-paying international undergraduates who have used up their MOE Tuition Grant subsidy and taken the MOE Study Loan (Tuition Fee portion + Living Allowance) or Higher Education Student Loan (Living Allowance) before becoming full-fee paying students
• 5th Year undergraduates taking Double-Degree Programmes (Percentage of coverage is based on the subsidised tuition fee rate portion only)

Higher Education Student Loan - Overseas Student Programme

• Singapore Citizen undergraduates with per capita income (PCI)* of S$3,500 and below for the academic year of the exchange programme will be considered, subject to availability of funds
• The student must be pursuing an undergraduate course and has obtained NUS’ approval to participate in a university approved OSP
• The student cannot concurrently hold another loan, award, bursary or scholarship that covers the full cost of the programme

Who are not eligible:

Higher Education Student Loan - Base Provision

• Students receiving any scholarships / bursaries / other subsidies or loans which fully cover tuition fees
• Students reading the Concurrent Degree Programmes may not be eligible for the MOE Tuition Fee Loan or Higher Education Student Loan once they are charged graduate tuition fee. Check your eligibility here
• Full-time undergraduate International Students who are paying full (non-subsidised) fees, i.e., did not take up the MOE Tuition Grant or were given an admission offer without the MOE Tuition Grant

For students using a combination of financial aid schemes for the payment of their subsidised tuition fees, the disbursement sequence is as follows (where applicable):

1. Scholarship that covers 100% of tuition fee / MENDAKI Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy (TTFS)
2. SkillsFuture Credit
3. Higher Education Community/Higher Education Bursary (Medicine/Dentistry) 
4. NUS Bursaries
5. Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) Scheme
6. CPF Education Loan Scheme (CELS)
7. Higher Education Student Loan (HESL)/Tuition Fee Loan/MOE Study Loan
8. Higher Education Community/Higher Education Bursary (non-Medicine/Dentistry)
9. Bursaries (non-NUS)
10. GIRO deduction from students' own account/other account/NETS/Others

* If your tuition fee is already fully covered by a scholarship/NUS Bursary/ MENDAKI TTFS, PSEA, CELS and HECB/HEB, the HESL (Base Provision and Balance Fee Coverage) will not be applicable if you are an existing recipient.

^# For Medicine/Dentistry students, the Higher Education Community Bursary/Higher Education Bursary will be used to offset your tuition fee first (before schemes 3 to 6 above).

Maximum repayment period of 10 years. The HESL will be interest-free during the course of study, with interest commencing only upon a student’s graduation or upon leaving their institution. Repayment can be in one lump sum or in fixed equal monthly instalments (minimum of $100 per month), commencing not later than 1 year after graduation. For more information on the applicable interest rates, please visit DBS or OCBC website.

Students may use their PSEA balance for loan repayment after they have graduated. To apply and find out more about the scheme, click here.

Higher Education Student Loan - Base Provision

Full-time Undergraduates

To apply for Higher Education Student Loan – Base Provision together with the Balance Fee Coverage and/or Living Allowance Loan and/or Overseas Student Programme components, you are required to apply for NUS Financial Aid here.

Application for NUS Financial Aid is not necessary if you only wish to apply for the Higher Education Student Loan – Base Provision. If you decide to only take up and sign the agreement for the Higher Education Student Loan – Base Provision, you and your guarantor can apply and sign for the loan via the StudentLoanSG (SLSG) Portal (from 16 July 2026). The HESL Administration banks are DBS and OCBC.

Please find the SLSG guide here (link will be updated soon) for more information on login, application, and loan agreement signing procedures.

Part-time Undergraduates and Bachelor of Information Technology

Only Singapore Citizen part-time undergraduates reading the Bachelor of Technology and Bachelor of Science (Nursing Practice) programme and Singapore Citizen undergraduates reading the Bachelor of Information Technology are eligible to apply for this loan.

• A guarantor is required. He or she must be between 21 and 60 years of age at the point of application and is not an undischarged bankrupt.

1. Students who have successfully applied for the HESL but were subsequently awarded bursaries, scholarships or any other awards that provide tuition fee coverage, their HESL (Base Provision and/or Balance Fee Coverage) disbursement will be adjusted such that the total funds received from HESL (Base Provision and/or Balance Fee Coverage) and other bursaries, scholarships or any other awards will not exceed their tuition fee amount. 
   
   If the adjustment is not reflected accurately in your student account, please inform the Office of Finance (OFN) by logging a ticket in FAQ Portal (Department: OFN Student Bill (Loans); Category: Student Bill – Loan Disbursements) to adjust or suspend your HESL (Base Provision and/or Balance Fee Coverage).

2. Undergraduates who have transferred from other local universities and had taken up the MOE Tuition Fee Loan/MOE Study Loan/HESL (Base provision and/or Balance Fee Coverage and/or Living Allowance Loan) for their previous undergraduate degree programmes are required to submit a new application for HESL if they are interested to apply for the Higher Education Student Loan (Base Provision and/or Balance Fee Coverage and/or Living Allowance Loan) to cover their undergraduate degree programmes in NUS.