US Federal Aid

US Federal Aid Offer and Application Timeframes & Deadlines

To receive a Financial Aid offer from JCU, you must have received an Offer Letter from our Admissions office, for a program which is eligible for US Federal Aid (see Program Eligibility section), have completed a FAFSA for the correct loan period (including the JCU school code), and be deemed an eligible student (see Student Eligibility section) enrolling at an eligible JCU campus.  The same applies for continuing students who are already enrolled in a course at JCU and are seeking loans for the first time, or are seeking further loans.

Receiving & Accepting your Financial Aid offer

Once you have received a financial aid offer, please ensure you accept your offer before the deadline. If a deadline is missed, this will impact the disbursement period in which your loans will be released.

Important note regarding Trimester 2 - Financial Aid offers will not be issued for commencement in Trimester 2. Loans for Trimester 2 can only be sought as part of a loan commencing from Trimester 1 or Trimester 3 which is in line with the main program intake periods.  If you are commencing your degree in Trimester 2 please reach out to  financialaid@jcu.edu.au to verify whether the degree you have chosen is eligible for participation in the US Federal Aid at JCU or refer to the 'Program Eligibility' tab.

To accept your financial aid offer, you must complete ALL steps:

• Entrance counselling
• Master Promissory Note
• JCU Loan Agreement
• JCU Program Disclaimer

If you are a continuing student, please remember that your loan will expire at the end of the loan period stated on your JCU Loan Participation Agreement. To qualify for further loan disbursements, you must reapply within the deadlines above.  (To reapply, please complete your FAFSA and allow time to receive and accept a new financial aid offer).

If you do not receive a financial aid offer within the timeframe specified below, or you complete your FAFSA after (or close to) the application deadline, please contact financialaid@jcu.edu.au

Receiving a Loan Disbursement

Loan disbursement will only occur once you have accepted your financial aid offer, arrived and enrolled in classes.

It is also a requirement that you complete a disbursement authority and provide bank account information (if applicable) BEFORE the disbursement can proceed - this will not happen automatically.  A face-to-face meeting with the financial aid administrator is required to complete a disbursement authority.

Please note that your loan will be disbursed within distinct processing periods that are not continuous throughout the year.  Check your JCU email for disbursement notifications to ensure you don't miss out.  If you do miss a disbursement period, your disbursement will not occur until the next available period.   Disbursement periods are occasionally adjusted to align with system outages and staff availability.

To be eligible for US Federal Student Aid, you must meet a range of criteria as stipulated by the US Department of Education.

General Criteria

• Be enrolled at least half time in an eligible program.   'Half time' is defined as at least 6 credit points in the main study periods - trimester 1, 2 & 3 (for trimester based programs), and Study Period 1 & 2 (for semester based programs).   Block periods are not  considered 'main study periods' for the purposes of US Federal Aid.
• Be enrolled internally at Townsville or Cairns campuses, and not be undertaking any subjects predominately using online technologies. This includes subjects with the attendance mode online, as well as some multi-modal and/or subjects using technologies which do not require any 'in person' attendance in a classroom.
• Understand and abide by the University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and maximum time frame for US Federal Aid procedures
• Be a citizen or eligible non-citizen of the United States
• Not be in default on any education loans
• File a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) entering JCU’s school code G12206 for the relevant loan period

Academic Criteria

To receive Title IV funds, you must be qualified to study at the postsecondary level. To qualify, you must have:

• a high school diploma (or foreign equivalent); or
• the recognised equivalent such as a general educational development (GED) certificate or other state sanctioned test or diploma-equivalency certificate; or
• completed homeschooling at the secondary level as defined by state law; or
• completed secondary school education in a homeschool setting which qualifies for an exemption from compulsory attendance requirements under state law, if state law does not require a home schooled student to receive a credential for their education; or
• completed one of the ability-to-benefit (ATB) alternatives and be either currently enrolled in an eligible career pathway program or first enrolled in an eligible postsecondary program prior to July 1,  2012.

The JCU Admissions office will assess your application to study in accordance with the admissions and associated procedures, however the financial aid office may conduct additional validity checks to ensure academic eligibility for US Federal Student Aid is also met.

To be eligible for US Federal Student Aid, the program you wish to study also must be, and remain, an eligible program.  Many programs are eligible provided they meet the following criteria:

• An internal program (on campus)
• A Bachelor, Master or Doctorate program
• Have no online subjects, or subjects using online technologies where there is no requirement for in person attendance in a classroom
• Follow a standard semester or  trimester based study calendar
• Do not fall into the ineligible or prohibition category below

Programs that are ineligible for US Federal Aid include:

• Study Abroad (6 month/12 month length programs) and Exchange at JCU. Students may still be eligible through the Financial Aid office at their US home school
• Bachelor of Dental Surgery
• Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery
• Bachelor of Nursing Science
• Bachelor of Veterinary Science
• All Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma programs
• All Undergraduate Certificate and Diploma programs
• Any online/distance study program
• Any internal/on-campus program which includes online subjects.  For example, some of the programs that may fall into this category include* 
  • Master of Education
  • Master of Public Health
  • Master of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
  • Master of Social Work (Professional Qualifying)

* This list is not conclusive and program eligibility may need to be confirmed with financialaid@jcu.edu.au 

Prohibition on Online technologies

The US Department of Education prohibits foreign schools from administering US Federal Aid for programs which include teaching by telecommunications methods (online technologies). This means that any program that cannot be completed entirely with on-campus subjects which predominately use traditional face-to-face  teaching (where there is a requirement to be physically present in a classroom) will be ineligible, or could become ineligible.

Many subjects are increasingly using online technologies within the classroom, however this is acceptable as long as the subject is mainly taught using traditional teaching methods (face-to-face in person attendance) and online technologies are only used to supplement teaching. Where a subject is delivered entirely online, or in the case of some subjects where face-to-face attendance is limited or optional, the prohibition will apply.  Virtual attendance using technologies enabling real-time collaboration (eg Zoom) cannot replace traditional face-to-face teaching for the purposes of US Federal Aid eligibility.

If, at the time of admission, the handbook published for your program contains any core (compulsory) subjects that do not meet the eligibility requirements, that program will be considered ineligible.  If your program is initially eligible but changes due to subject amendments by the College, or you select an elective subject which is ineligible, the entire program will become ineligible from that point onwards.

To check whether your chosen program contains online attendance mode subjects, please refer to the course handbook which can be found online by searching for the course on our webpage, or contact financialaid@jcu.edu.au.

Definition Guideline

• Programs/Courses (eg your degree) can be offered by internal or external (distance) study mode. Internal means you will come to Australia, usually on a Student Visa, to undertake your course.  External means you can study from anywhere in the world and will undertake your course completely online.
• Subjects (eg classes) can be available in a number of attendance modes depending on the course structure. More information about subject attendance modes can be found under enrolment terminology on our website.  Internal programs CAN include online (and other ineligible) subjects in the study plan which would also make the program ineligible for US Federal Aid.
• Attendance Mode Options (at the subject level)

1. Online - Wholly online learning (not eligible)
2. Multi modal - Hybrid learning.  In most cases this option will be fine for US Federal Aid, provided in-person teaching is the predominant teaching method used.
3. Internal - In-person teaching

Study Calendar issues

To remain eligible for US Federal Aid, students must be enrolled 'at least half time'.   The US Department of Education requires the University to define 'at least half time' enrolment, and advise students how this will apply to your course, which for trimester based programs will be a minimum of 6 credit points per trimester.

James Cook University will estimate your “Cost of Attendance” (CoA) for the relevant loan period based on the regulations established by the US Department of Education.  JCU will also advise you of your eligibility for each loan type, however the total amount of loans you can borrow will not exceed the total CoA.

You will find general information on cost of living on the JCU website however the CoA that is determined by the JCU Financial Aid Administrator can vary due to both exchange rate fluctuations and the US Department of Education regulatory limitations.

James Cook University will estimate your CoA firstly in Australian dollars and subsequently convert to US dollars using the current exchange rate at that time. The USD amount will appear on your JCU Financial Aid Offer. Subsequently, upon disbursement of the loan amounts to the University the funds are converted again, this time from USD to AUD.

The two conversion points as explained above may result in variances to the loan amount due to exchange rate fluctuations between the USD and AUD. As the two conversions above occur at different points during the year, each conversion will result in a rate risk due to movement in the USD/AUD exchange rate. It is the borrower’s responsibility to understand and accept this risk as part of studying at James Cook University and borrowing US Financial Aid. The University is unable to set exchange rates or adjust loan amounts due to exchange rate changes.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBB), passed into law on 4 July 2025, which brings major changes to the US Federal Student Aid Program.

This is what you need to know:

Loan Changes Starting July 1, 2026

• Graduate PLUS Loans will end.
• New Unsubsidized Direct Loan limits will apply for students starting a new degree and taking out new loans:
• Postgraduate students:
  Up to US$20,500 gross per year, with a US$100,000 gross lifetime limit

• Parent PLUS Loans:
  Capped at US$20,000 gross per year and US$65,000 gross lifetime limit per dependent child
• Total federal loan cap:
  No more than US$257,500 gross in total federal student loans, even if you’ve repaid past loans.

These limits do not include loans from your undergraduate studies.

Grandfather clause for current students

If you're already enrolled and have loans disbursed before July 1, 2026, you can continue borrowing under the current rules, until June 30, 2029, or the end of your current degree, whichever comes first.

If you're enrolled in your current degree past 30 June 2029 or starting a new degree after July 1, 2026, you may need to find other sources of funding beyond federal loans.

Loan Repayment Changes

The new law also overhauls federal student loan repayment, consolidating borrowers into a new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) or traditional standard plan, eliminating legacy income-contingent plans. It also introduces new income-based terms, including fixed maximum repayment periods based on debt size.

Over the next few months, the U.S. Department of Education will work on the details of how the new law will be implemented. Please know that James Cook University is monitoring the situation closely. We will provide guidance as soon as more information becomes available.