U.S. Federal Loan

The financial aid office at The American University in Cairo (AUC) assists U.S. citizen and dual citizen undergraduate and graduate students by awarding U.S. federal financial aid to help pay for their post-secondary education. U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens attending AUC may be eligible for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program to assist them financially in their education. 

Because AUC is a foreign institution, other U.S. federal financial aid that is awarded on campuses located in the United States, such as Federal Pell Grant, Work Study and Perkins Loans are not available at AUC. 

AUC can certify Direct Loans (both Subsidized and Unsubsidized) and PLUS loans (Graduate PLUS and Parent PLUS) for students enrolled in degree-seeking programs. 
 

• Direct subsidized loans are loans made to eligible undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need to help cover the costs of higher education at a college.
• Direct unsubsidized loans are loans made to eligible undergraduate and graduate students. The student does not have to demonstrate financial need to be eligible for the loan.
• Direct PLUS loans (Graduate PLUS and Parent PLUS) are loans made to graduate students and parents of dependent undergraduate students to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid.

Direct loan funds that come directly from the federal government must be repaid, with interest. The maximum direct loan amount you can borrow each academic year depends on your academic level in school and whether you are a dependent or independent student. For students who are eligible for a direct subsidized loan, the U.S. Department of Education pays the interest while you are in school at least half-time, during the first six months after you leave school (your grace period) and during a deferment (a postponement of loan payments). Direct unsubsidized loans do not require a student to demonstrate financial need. The borrower is responsible for paying all interest on direct unsubsidized loans.

Eligibility

To qualify for U.S. federal loan, a student enrolled at AUC must meet certain requirements in order to receive federal financial aid. 

Learn more about eligibility

Loans Limits, Cancellations and Repaying U.S. Federal Loans

Learn more about loan limits, cancellations and repaying U.S. Federal Loans

Summer Financial Aid

Degree students at AUC may apply and receive summer financial aid; however, the opportunities tend to be more limited. The academic year begins with the fall semester and ends with the summer semester.

Many students utilize the full value of their financial aid eligibility during the fall and spring semesters, which means a student may not have any remaining financial aid eligibility for the summer. For example, Student A is an undergraduate junior and received a $5,500 federal subsidized loan for the school year. $2,750 was disbursed to the student in the fall semester, and $2,750 was disbursed to the student in the spring semester. Because the student used his or her full eligibility for the federal subsidized loan during the fall and spring semesters, there is no remaining federal subsidized loan eligibility for the summer semester.

Students who will be taking classes during the summer term must email the financial aid counselor requesting additional funds.  You must state that you will be attending AUC during the summer semester and enter the number of registered credits.

Award Letter - Funding Estimate 

Once your FA file has been thoroughly reviewed, you will receive the funding estimate (an award letter) in your student portal. That award letter will have all the information you may need in it; the amount of aid, the type or types of aid and the anticipated disbursement dates. All students are required to sign the funding estimate in order to receive loans. You will receive an email notification to electronically sign your award letter within 10 calendar days.

You must inform the financial aid office if you want only part of the loan amount that you are eligible for. You do not have to accept the loan nor the full amount that is offered.

Your financial aid awards may be revised for any of the following reasons:

• Your residency has changed.
• Your enrollment status has changed.
• You have declined one or more awards.
• We have been notified that you received other aid or had other resources (scholarships, private loans, etc.) of which we were unaware when the previous awards were made.
• Your data and/or your parent's data on the FAFSA was incorrect and the error has been corrected.

If you wish to make changes to your award letter or have questions, contact us via email.