US Federal Loan (Unsubsidized Loan) and US Private Loans

If you are a US citizen or eligible non-citizen, there are two types of loans you may be eligible for: an Unsubsidized Loan (a US Federal Loan) and/or a private loan to support with tuition fee and living costs.

Your eligibility and how much you can borrow depends on a variety of factors including:

• Whether you have secured any other financial aid, including scholarships.
• What programme you are studying on.
• What loans you have received before.
• Your credit history.

Each programme at the RCA has a Cost of Attendance (CoA) assigned to it. This CoA is the maximum amount of money you can borrow towards your tuition fees and living costs for the year. Our CoA has been carefully drawn up to ensure you have enough money to live in London while you are studying but the living expenses are a guide and not what you have to pay.

An Unsubsidized Loan of $20,500 may be available from the US Federal Direct Loan Programme. If you require more loan than this (up to the maximum CoA), then you may be eligible for a private loan for the remaining amount. Alternatively, you can apply for just a private loan, if you find it has better terms and conditions than the Unsubsidized Loan.

Please note that RCA’s Graduate Diploma Art & Design and MA History of Design programmes are not currently eligible for US Federal Direct Loan funding, however students may still be eligible for private loans.

Private loans are subject to credit checking. We do not have a preferred lender but we are currently aware of the Sallie Mae Smart Option, and VSAC Student Loans.

Please note that if the lender is an organisation we have not worked with previously, then some due diligence checks may be necessary. Furthermore, the requirements put on the RCA by the loan provider would need to be considered before we agreed to work with a new provider.

Whether you are applying for the Unsubsidized or private loans, you should carefully consider the terms and conditions of any loan you apply for and which loan(s) is best for you.

* Based on an exchange rate of 1 GBP = 1.4 USD.

** Please see section on Loan Fee (Origination Fee) regarding the Unsubsidized Loan fee

The living expenses and exchange rate are subject to review and could change.

Exchange rate

We are currently using the exchange rate of 1 £GBP = 1.4 $USD. This is higher than the current exchange rate (1.33 at 5 December 2025). This is to ensure that you are able to borrow the maximum amount of dollars that you need. If the dollar is strong against the pound, you may find that you do not need to borrow as much as the amounts stated. If that is the case, then we would suggest that you adjust your future disbursement(s) to reduce unnecessary borrowing and lower your repayments. To make amendments to a private loan, please speak to your loan provider. Please talk to us if you want to make an adjustment to your Unsubsidized Loan.

Loan fee (origination fee)

There are no origination fees for private loans.

Every time the Unsubsidized Loan disbursement is originated it incurs an origination fee. This is currently at the rate of 1.057% for the Direct Unsubsidized Loan. The fee is applied at the point of origination meaning that the dollar amounts which are sent to the UK are slightly lower than those listed above. In 2026/27, the approximate amount which will be wired to the UK is $20,283.00 (incurs approximately $217 in fees) assuming you request the full $20,500.

Interest rates

For private loans you will need to check the interest rate directly with the loan provider you are considering (if you apply for a loan with a co-signer or can start to make small loan repayments whilst in study, you may be offered a lower rate of interest). The interest rate for the Unsubsidized Loan is published on the Student Aid website (not yet updated for 2026/27).

If you are using your loan(s) to pay for your tuition fees, then these will be deducted from your loans 50% in September and 50% in January, with any remaining loan payment being paid into your bank account. If your loans are only to pay your fees, then the remainder of your fee can be paid using your third Unsubsidized Loan disbursement. Please note the Unsubsidized Loan on its own will not cover Overseas tuition fees, so you will need some other funding to cover these, if you are not going to use a private loan.

**These examples use the exchange rate of 1 £GBP = 1.4 $USD. Please note that the exchange rate varies on a day-to-day basis.

Receiving your Invoice

In the summer, you will receive an invoice which asks you to pay 50% of your tuition fees upon receipt of the invoice. You will also receive enrolment information, which states that you need to pay 50% of your tuition fees to enrol. Please note that if you are using the unsubsidized/private loans to pay the majority of your tuition fees, then this is not applicable to you, as the fees can be paid in September once the loans have been disbursed. We will keep the RCA Finance teams informed of all students with approved/certified loans.

Opening a UK bank account

In order to receive any loan payments, you will need to provide your bank account details to Convera who administer the payments. Details of how to submit this information to Convera will be sent to you in mid to late August.

Whilst it is possible to have your loan(s) paid into a USD account, we would recommend opening a UK (GBP) bank account.

For some accounts, you may be able to arrange a UK (GBP) bank account from outside of the UK (e.g. Monzo, Revolut, Chase, Wise). This would generally involve having or opening such an account in the US and then adding a GBP currency account. For more information, please contact the bank directly.

Convera

Once the Unsubsidized/ Sallie Mae funds are released by the US these will be sent to Convera, who then pay the money into the RCA’s bank account (for tuition fees) and directly into your bank account (for living costs). Even if you are only applying for loans to pay (or part-pay) your tuition fees, you should still provide your bank account details in case there is any overpayment due to the fluctuations in the exchange rate, which needs to be paid to you.

Providing your loans have been set-up, in the second half of August you will receive an email from Convera requesting your bank details. Please, note that this email can sometimes go into your spam/junk mail, so, please check this if you haven’t received the email. The link in the email from Convera is only valid for 7 days. If you haven’t provided your UK bank details to Convera within this time, you will need to contact [email protected] to request a new link to be sent to you.

You will need to provide your bank details for each loan i.e. once for your Sallie Mae loan and once for your Unsubsidized Loan. Failure to provide your bank details before 4 September 2026 could delay your first disbursement.

Once you have accepted your offer, paid the deposit and sent in the relevant paperwork, a CAS (Confirmation for Acceptance for Studies) for your visa application (if applicable) will be prepared for you.

Please contact Admissions ([email protected]) if you have any queries about your CAS and if you have any queries about immigration please contact Student Support ([email protected]). It can take a number of weeks for a student visa to be processed, so please allow time for this.

As a US national you are from a country listed under the ‘differential evidence requirement’ in the Home Office Student visa guidance and do not need to enclose proof of your finances with your initial Student Visa application. Theoretically, the Home Office/Immigration Authorities could ask for proof of your financial provision when your application is reviewed. If this was requested, we can provide you with a loan statement for your Unsubsidized Loan (providing this has been approved).

In order to receive your CAS, you will need to have paid your deposit. You cannot be exempt from paying this even if you are taking out loans to pay for your fees.

Enrolment will begin from early August. There are a number of actions you will need to take to complete full enrolment:

• Accept the RCA’s terms and conditions.
• Upload the share code to generate your student eVisa.
• Have arrived in the UK and have uploaded a copy of your boarding pass, or travel itinerary, or stamped passport showing your name and the date you arrived in the UK. If you arrive before the start date of your student visa, you will not be enrolled.

Please note that your loans cannot be disbursed until you are fully enrolled. For any questions about enrolment please email [email protected].

You need to be in the UK and fully enrolled by 4 September 2026 to ensure there are no delays to your loan being disbursed.