U.S. Federal Loans

Federal Aid, key information for offer holders and current students

Introduction to Federal Loans at the LSE

The London School of Economics are eligible to participate in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, commonly referred to as ‘Title IV’, ‘Financial Aid’ or Federal Aid.

The LSE’s School code or OPEID is 00669300, we are registered with the U.S. Department of Education as The University of London - London School of Economics and Political Science.

We have produced a helpful guide which will outline everything you need to know about Federal Aid here at the School.

Applying for Federal Loans

Applicants may borrow up to the Cost of Attendance which is set by the school, the maximum loans you can receive cannot exceed the yearly cost of attendance less any financial aid you may be receiving. 

  • For 2024/25 Award Year please refer to Section 4 ' How to apply' in the Federal Aid Guide.

Master of Public Administration programme eligibility 

The MPA programme is a 2-year programme with an option to apply to spend the 2nd year of your degree at one of the LSE’s global partners. If you intend to study abroad for the 2nd year of your MPA the programme will become ineligible for Federal Aid for both years.

If you are intending to study both years at the LSE, the programme will be eligible for Federal Aid for both years.  You must be on the LSE track to be eligible for Federal Aid. 

You will not be allowed to change your programme pathway at the LSE if Federal Aid has been originated and disbursed in year 1 of your programme. 

Students wishing to borrow Federal Aid will be required to sign a MPA Programme declaration form

Federal Aid forms 2024-25 Award Year

Applications for 2024/25 will open on May 31 2024. Please do not submit an application before this date as we will be unable to process it.

Consumer information

Schools that particpiate in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, commonly referred to as “Title IV”, “Financial Aid” or Federal Aid are required to disclose consumer information.

For further information please visit Consumer information for US Federal Loans

Surplus Loan payments guidance 

We are partnered with Convera to facilitate the processing of your loan surplus payment (Where applicable).

Students receive TWO* emails from Convera requesting students to register their bank details.

Email 1: Instructions and a password.

Email 2: Secure link and User ID to access the system.

Once you are logged in you will then securely enter your GBP bank details for your loan to be paid directly into your bank account.

Please note: To maintain application security, your log in access is only valid for a one-time use. It is set to automatically expire after 5 days therefore please look out for these emails as it is important you register your details.

 Loans Portal - Student Guide 2024

Military and Veterans benefits

For further information please visit our Military funding  page.

529 Plans

If you have a 529 Plan, you may be eligible to use this for your studies at the LSE. You should check with your plan administrator, but as LSE is a Title IV approved school (code G06693) it is likely that you will be able to use your plan here.

Please forward any forms that need completing by LSE to the Fees,Income and Credit Control team. Please email fees@lse.ac.uk 

What is a 529 Plan ?

A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future college costs. Legally known as ‘Qualified Tuition Plans’, they are sponsored by States and are authorised by section 529 of the IRS code.

For further information please click here

Private Loans

For further information on private loans please click here