FINANCIAL AID

The Tuition Fee Loan covers up to 90% of the subsidised tuition fee payable by Singapore Citizens for the same programme. The loan is tenable for the entire undergraduate programme duration.

Note: For Singapore Permanent Residents and international students who take up the Tuition Fee Loan, only a loan amount equivalent to the subsidised tuition fees payable by Singapore Citizens for the same programme will be disbursed. As the subsidised tuition fees for Singapore Permanent Residents and international students are higher than fees for Singapore Citizen students, the loans will not cover the full tuition fees.

Who are eligible:

• 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
• 5^th 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)

Who are not eligible:

• Students receiving any scholarships / bursaries / other subsidies or loans which fully cover tuition fees. Students reading the Concurrent Degree Programmes are not eligible for the Tuition Fee Loan once they are charged graduate tuition fee. Check your eligibility here
• Singapore Permanent Residents and international students who are paying full (non-subsidised) fees, i.e., not taking up the MOE Tuition Grant or were given an admission offer without the MOE Tuition Grant

Note: If your tuition fee is already covered by a scholarship/NUS Bursary/ MENDAKI Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy/ Higher Education Community Bursary, the Tuition Fee Loan will not be applicable.

For Medicine/Dentistry students, the Higher Education Community/Higher Education Bursary will be used to offset your tuition fee first (before the Tuition Fee Loan).

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):

• Scholarship that covers 100% of tuition fee / MENDAKI Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy (TTFS)
• SkillsFuture Credit
• Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) Scheme*
• CPF Education Loan Scheme (CELS)*
• NUS Study Loan*
• Tuition Fee Loan (TFL)*
• Bursaries^#
• GIRO deduction from students' own account/other account/NETS/Others

* If your tuition fee is already covered by a scholarship/NUS Bursary/TTFS, schemes such as the PSEA, CELS, TFL, and NUS Study Loan (Tuition Fee portion) will not be applicable and will not be disbursed 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 c to f above).

Upon satisfactory compliance with all terms and conditions of the financial aid offer, the loan funds will be credited to the student's account by the Office of Finance twice yearly in half around September and February each year. The funds will be disbursed within 4 weeks after signing. All fees due to the University will however be deducted from such proceeds prior to crediting.

Maximum repayment period of 20 years. Repayment can be in one lump sum or in fixed equal monthly installments (minimum of $100 per month), commencing not later than 2 years after graduation. Interest will commence 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. The application form should be submitted to MOE directly.

Full-time Undergraduates

Students and their guarantors can apply for the TFL with either DBS  or OCBC .

Please note that it is compulsory to indicate your Student ID (e.g. A0123456Z) in the TFL application form, or your application will be rejected by the banks. Prospective students should apply for the TFL only after they have received their Student ID.

For Part-time students pursuing the Bachelor of Technology Programme and Bachelor of Science (Nursing Practice), please apply for Financial Aid to be considered for this loan. An email invitation to apply for Financial Aid will be sent by your faculty in July or December each year. Please follow the instructions in the email to apply for Financial Aid accordingly.

* If the deadline falls on a public holiday, it will be extended to the following Monday.

Students who have successfully applied for the TFL but were subsequently awarded scholarships or any other awards, may no longer require disbursements from the TFL Scheme to pay for their tuition fees. Such students are required to inform the TFL-Administering Bank at any bank’s branch to cancel/terminate their TFL. For suspension of TFL only, students can either inform the TFL-Administering Bank or the Office of Finance by logging a ticket in NUService Hub , under “Loans”.  

Existing Tuition Fee Loan recipients who have changed their degree programmes and are charged new tuition fee amounts are required to inform the TFL-Administering Bank of their change in degree programmes so that the bank may update their information accordingly.

Undergraduates who have transferred from other local universities and had taken up the Tuition Fee Loan for their previous undergraduate degree programmes are required to submit a new application if they are interested to apply for the Tuition Fee Loan to cover their undergraduate degree programmes in NUS.

Update on TFL with DBS

Please note that from 1 June 2023, only online TFL applications will be accepted and hardcopy TFL application forms will no longer be accepted at all DBS Banks. To apply, please visit the DBS Tuition Fee Loan website  and follow the instructions under the ‘Apply Now’ section. Please read through this guide  to learn more about what you need to prepare in advance to submit your TFL application online.

Important Note: The Digital TFL Application is only applicable to applications with guarantors who are Singapore Citizens/Permanent Residents and foreigners who are pass-holders (residing or working in Singapore). If your guarantor is neither residing nor working in Singapore, you will not be able to apply digitally. Please refer to the guide for more information on how to apply for your TFL. The application form can be downloaded here.

TFL with OCBC

Please note that you can apply for TFL at any OCBC Bank branch in Singapore, excluding all FRANK stores. To apply for AY2023/2024, please complete the application form here.

For the execution of the TFL, first-time applicants and their guarantors are required to go to the relevant bank with the completed Application Form, their identity cards/passports and NUS Student Card. For new students who have not received their NUS Student Card, they can provide a screenshot of the ‘Confirmation Page for Completion of Registration (Part One)’ from EduRec, showing their Student ID (an example of the screenshot can be found via the Registration Guides . Click on "Undergraduate Students" and scroll to "Upon Completion of Registration (Part One)" Section.)

For the execution of TFL overseas (OCBC only), both applicants and guarantors will need to get their signatures witnessed and original documents* sighted at ONE of the following places in their home countries:

• Singapore Embassy
• Notary Public (an English translation of the Notary Public seal is required)

Please note that your loan application will be rejected if the following are not adhered to:

• The borrower is required to sign and date the loan agreement in the presence of the Singapore Embassy or Notary Public
  • Under the section “Declaration by Borrower” (page 3)
  • Point 3 (page 4)
  • Bottom of every page
  • The Singapore Embassy or Notary Public has to sign/seal beside every signature.
• The guarantor is required to sign and date the loan agreement in the presence of the Singapore Embassy or Notary Public
  • Under the section “Declaration by Guarantor” (page 3)
  • Point 3 (page 4)
  • Bottom of every page
  • The Singapore Embassy or Notary Public has to sign/seal beside the signature.
• Amendments to the loan agreement should be done in the presence of the Singapore Embassy or Notary Public. The Singapore Embassy or Notary Public has to sign/seal beside each amendment.
• Photocopies of original documents* should be signed/sealed by the Singapore Embassy or Notary Public.
• Applicants are required to provide a Singapore address to OCBC upon arrival in Singapore.

Overseas applicants will then have to mail their original documents* and Notary Public seals (if any) to OCBC Singapore at the following address:

Consumer Loan Operations  (TC2)
31 Tampines Avenue 4
#01-01/03 OCBC Tampines Centre Two
Singapore 529680
Attention: Person-in-charge, Secured Loan Non-Mortgage

* Original documents refers to the completed Application Form, identity cards/passports, a copy of the University’s Letter of Offer for Admission for new prospective students or NUS Student Card for current students.

Part-time Undergraduates and Bachelor of Information Technology

Part-time Singapore Citizen undergraduates reading the Bachelor of Technology  and Bachelor of Science (Nursing Practice) programme and undergraduates reading the Bachelor of Information Technology should apply for Financial Aid to be considered for this loan. An email invitation to apply for Financial Aid will be sent by the faculty in July or December each year. Follow the instructions in the email to apply for Financial Aid accordingly.

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

1. Students who have successfully applied for the Tuition Fee Loan but were subsequently awarded scholarships or any other awards that fully cover their tuition fees are required to inform the Office of Finance viaNUService Hub.
2. Existing Tuition Fee Loan recipients who have changed their programme and are charged new tuition fee amounts are required to inform the Loan-Administering Bank of their change in programme.
3. Undergraduates who transferred from other local universities and had taken up the Tuition Fee Loan for their previous programme are required to submit a new application.