Consumer information for US Federal Aid students

For information about all need based and non-need based federal, local, private and institutional student financial assistance available to students at Maynooth University, please see our US Financial Aid page, Student Fees and Grants Office page and Graduate Studies Advice on Research Scholarship Applications page.

MU disburses loans in equal amounts each semester, in October and again in January.  Please note students must have adquate financial reserves for approximately the first six weeks of semester.
For the following information about US federal student loans, please see Maynooth University’s US Financial Aid Page.

Students should be aware of disability support and that any related additional costs can be included in their Cost of Attendance when applying for Federal or private loans.

For information about the price of attendance, including tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, transportation costs, and any other additional costs, please see our Student Fees and Grants Page.
Cost of Attendance is based on tuition fees/accommodation/living costs and calculated after taking into account the students’ EFC.
Please see here for a SAMPLE COA

For information about Maynooth University’s refund policy, please see our University tuition fee refund policy. Requirements for the return of Title IV funds are published in our Return to Title IV R2T4 Refund Policy

For information about current taught degree programmes and other educational and training programmes available at Maynooth, please see our information pages:

• Undergraduate Studies
• Postgraduate Studies

For information relating to transfer of credits please see our transfer application information for external students.

Unauthorised distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorised peer-to-peer file sharing, may subject you to civil and criminal liabilities. Please see Maynooth University’s Inventions & Patent Policy.

The Universities Act, 1997 provides Maynooth University with legal Authorization to provide an educational program beyond the secondary school level and to award a degree that is equivalent to a degree awarded in the US.  
  Universities Act 1997 Ireland ​

Policies and penalties associated with alcohol-related offences are outlined in Maynooth University’s Campus Alcohol Policy and General Rules of the University and Code of Discipline for students.

The US Department of Education provides information on the penalties associated with drug-related offences under the US Higher Education Act.  Should you lose eligibility for your US student loan as a result of these penalties, we will provide you with a written notice which notifies you of your loss of eligibility and advises you of the ways in which to regain eligibility.

If you require further support please our Student Unions pages.

The Maynooth University Health Centre provides recommendations regarding vaccinations on the Student Health Centre web pages. This information is updated as required. Please see Meningitis vaccine, Mumps vaccine information and Flu vaccine (updated each winter) information.

Information about any required and recommended textbooks for your course will be provided to you by your department. Should you require specific information about textbooks, please contact the relevant academic department for advice. You are not required to buy books from a specific book shop.

Maynooth University retention or progression data can be found this HEA Study of Progression in Higher Education Report. See Table F2 on page 50 of the report for the Maynooth University figures. See Table G5 on page 53 for a breakdown of that figure by ISCED code. 

In the 2015/2016 academic year the completion rate for full time undergraduate degree students completed within 6 years was 82.4%. 

Please see the HEA first destination report ‘What do Graduates do? The class of 2021’ for statistics on whether undergraduate degree graduates are in employment/ further study/ seeking employment 9 months after graduation. 
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Maynooth University does not have an 'intercollegiate athletic programme’ as defined by the US Department of Education. 

Please see our Missing Person’s Protocol.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records. When a student turns 18 years old, or enters a postsecondary institution at any age, the rights under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student (“eligible student”). The FERPA statute is found at 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and the FERPA regulations are found at 34 CFR Part 99.

At Maynooth University, your rights under the Data Protection Act 1988 and the Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 are outlined in the university’s Data Protection Policy. See also additional Data and Privacy related policies. Should you have a complaint about the processing of your US loan, you have the right to file a complaint with the US Department of Education, although it would be preferable that you contact the school first so that we can try to resolve the problem for you.

Maynooth University will provide information published by the US Department of Education to students at any time that information regarding loan availability is requested, including the rights and responsibilities of students and schools under Title IV HEA (Higher Education Act) loan programs.

If you take out a federal loan at Maynooth University, we will submit the details of your loan to NSLDS and this data will be accessible to guarantee agencies, lenders and schools determined to be authorised users of the data system.

Prior to the first disbursement, first-time borrowers (other than for Parent PLUS loans) will be provided with comprehensive information on the terms and conditions of the loan and of the borrower’s responsibilities through entrance counselling. At Maynooth University, entrance counselling is required to be completed via StudentLoans.gov before a loan will be approved.

The university will notify student loan borrowers that they must complete exit counselling shortly before the student borrower ceases at least half-time study at the school. At Maynooth University exit counselling should be completed via StudentLoans.gov.

Prior to the first disbursement, borrowers who are informed by the US Department of Education that they have an adverse credit history (and have obtained an approved endorser or documented to the satisfaction of the US Department of Education that there are extenuating circumstances related to the adverse credit history) will be required to undertake PLUS counselling. At Maynooth University, PLUS counselling is required to be completed via StudentLoans.gov before a loan will be approved. 

Maynooth University’s code of conduct for US education loans is as follows:

In order to prohibit a conflict of interest with the responsibilities of an agent with respect to private education loans, all agents at the School with responsibility for US loans are prohibited from:

• revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender;
• receiving gifts from a lender, a guarantor, or a loan servicer;
• contracting arrangements providing financial benefit from any lender or affiliate of a lender;
• directing borrowers to particular lenders* or refusing or delaying loan certifications;
• offers of funds for private loans;
• call centre or financial aid office staffing assistance; and advisory board compensation.

All agents with responsibility for US loans are reminded at least annually of the code.

If you are applying for a private US student loan, Maynooth University will work with whichever private lender you decide to use, if they are willing to work with us. Please note that we are only aware of one lender currently offering such loans, which is Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae is not a preferred lender and this does not represent a preferred lender arrangement.

Students receiving US federal aid funds must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress (SAP). Please see our  SAP Policy here:
 

All Undergraduate students receiving Federal Aid are allowed to participate in Exchange Programmes for up to 25% with ineligible Institutions who meet the definition of Foreign Schools and up to 25% in US only with eligible Institutions.  For more information please see Going Abroad with Maynooth.  The Mobility Team can be emailed at [email protected] 

Maynooth University is committed to ensuring it will not provide any false incorrect information or misrepresentation.   Misrpresentation could include any false, erroneous or misleading statement an eligible institution, one of its representatives, or any ineligible institution, organization, or person with whom the eligible institution has an agreement to provide educational programs, or to provide marketing, advertising, recruiting or admissions services makes directly or indirectly to a student, prospective student or any member of the public, or to an accrediting agency, to a State agency, or to the Secretary. A misleading statement includes any statement that has the likelihood or tendency to mislead under the circumstances. A statement is any communication made in writing, visually, orally, or through other means. Misrepresentation includes any statement that omits information in such a way as to make the statement false, erroneous, or misleading. Misrepresentation includes the dissemination of a student endorsement or testimonial that a student gives either under duress or because the institution required the student to make such an endorsement or testimonial to participate in a program.