Deposits

You will have to pay a non-refundable deposit if you meet the following criteria:

• Are applying for an undergraduate taught on-campus programme; and,
• Require a student visa to study in the UK; and,
• You have firmly accepted your conditional or unconditional offer by completing and submitting the Financial Guarantee Forms; and,
• You have firmly accepted your conditional or unconditional offer on your UCAS Hub; and,
• You are funding your studies yourself (or via family or an educational loan), i.e. self-funding.

Please note: No action is required on your part until you receive an email instruction detailing how to pay the deposit from the University.

The Deposit will be deducted from your Programme Tuition Fees and will be evidenced on your CAS - this is not an additional cost. Please note the Deposit is non-refundable except in certain circumstances as outlined in the Undergraduate Deposit Policy.

Paying the Deposit shows a firm commitment to study at the University of Aberdeen. We will only issue a CAS where a deposit has been paid, paperwork is in order and we believe you will be issued with a Student Visa when applying to the UKVI.

Please note: No action is required on your part until you receive an email instruction detailing how to pay the deposit from the University.

The deposit for a Taught Undergraduate Programme is £3,000. Certain nationals may be required to pay a percentage of the Programme Fee before a CAS will be issued (up to 100%) instead. You will be notified prior to any CAS being issued and will be provided with instructions on how to make the payment.

Please do not pay anything until you receive an email instruction detailing how to make the deposit payment.

You can pay as soon as you receive the email requesting the deposit payment. This will be when you have firmly accepted a conditional or unconditional offer on UCAS and completed and returned the Financial Guarantee Form. Paying the Deposit will then enable us to review your documentation in support of us issuing the CAS document as early as possible, which you will need to make a student visa application.

If you are studying online via one of our pre-sessional programmes, then you will be required to pay a deposit.  However, if you are attending the pre-sessional programme on our campus in Aberdeen, then you will not be required to pay the deposit.

No, if you are progressing from the Foundation Programme into your main programme of study, you will not be required to pay a deposit.

No, you should only make one payment towards your deposit to enable us to progress and issue a CAS.  Please use the link(s) provided in the deposit email and make one payment of a minimum of £3,000.

Yes, when making your deposit payment you can pay more than the minimum Deposit amount requested – up to the value of your programme fee.

If you are being fully sponsored (i.e. full tuition fees paid) by a recognised sponsor (as defined by the UKVI), then you are not required to pay a Deposit. You must provide the appropriate evidence, i.e. Final Award Letter. The University will only accept sponsorship letters from recognised sponsors (overseas governments, international business, universities, Trusts and Charities, etc) and not from friends or family members. If your family will be paying your tuition fees, you or your family must pay the deposit, as this is deemed to be self-funding.

If you are only partly sponsored, then you will still be required to pay a Deposit.

No, if your full fees are being covered by a US Federal Student Aid Loan, then you are not required to pay a Deposit.  However, you must notify us that this is your intention and we will liaise with our colleagues who deal with Federal Loans to ensure that an application is being processed.

No, if your fees are being covered by the Lanenkassen Loan, then you are not required to pay a Deposit.  You will have to provide supporting documentation before the deposit requirement will be waived.

If you have been awarded a full tuition fee scholarship (i.e. 100% of your tuition fees) by the University of Aberdeen, we will waive the requirement for a Deposit. If you have a partial scholarship (less than 100% of your tuition fees), you are still required to pay the deposit.

No, you will not be required to pay an additional £3,000. You will have to pay either 50% or 100% of your 1st year tuition fees and a weblink will be provided to allow you to do so.

Please note that if you decide not to come to the University of Aberdeen once you have paid your tuition fees, the first £3,000 of any payment will not be refunded, except in exceptional circumstances.

Once you have paid the deposit and you have received email confirmation the University has successfully received your payment, your file will move to the next stage of CAS issuance. An Admissions Officer will liaise with you, via CAS Shield, to review your documentation to ensure it meets current UKVI regulations which will give your visa application a greater chance of being granted.

Deposit payments will be accepted via our payment partners Flywire and Convera who accept a variety of payment methods including international and UK bank transfer, card and ewallet payments. A University of Aberdeen link to our partner website will be provided via email when you have firmly accepted a conditional offer via UCAS and state that you are self-funding via the Financial Guarantee form. The University of Aberdeen does not accept Applicant Deposit payments by any other method.

Both of our payment partners provide receipts and payment tracking. You will also receive an email from the University to confirm that your payment has been received and your record has been updated. Please note once you have completed your transfer with our payment partner it can take up to 14-days for the University to receive your payment.

No, if you have used the link in the deposit email sent out to you, you do not need to let us know that payment has been made, as we will be automatically notified by our payment partner. Please note once you have completed your transfer with our payment partner it can take up to 14-days for the University to receive your payment.

You can advise that payment has been made through your CAS Shield account but this will only be confirmed once payment has been received by our Finance Team.

Yes, the Deposit amount will be shown on your CAS as a deduction from your tuition fees.

Please email our Undergraduate Admissions Team who will be able to answer your specific questions, but please check the FAQs in case your question is answered here. You can email ugadmissions@abdn.ac.uk. 

No, if you decide to defer your place to the next intake, and have already paid your Deposit, the Deposit will be retained and rolled over to the next entry point. You will not have to pay it again.  Please note that the Deposit will only be rolled over to the next entry point once.

Your deposit will be refunded in the following situations:

• If requested within 14 days of payment being received by the University and the CAS has not been issued. It will be assumed, however, that you no longer wish to study at the University of Aberdeen and your place will be Declined via UCAS. However, if a CAS has been issued, no refund will be authorised.
• If you do not meet the conditions of your offer, including any English language requirements, and you provide satisfactory validating evidence to show that you have not met your conditions detailed on your offer letter and via UCAS. However, if you have made no attempt to meet the conditions of your offer, no refund will be given.
• If the Undergraduate Programme you have been offered and accepted is withdrawn and you do not wish to take a place on any alternative programme offered.
• If your Student Visa application is refused a refund would be authorised, except where the visa refusal is a result of:
  • A fraudulent visa application or providing fraudulent documents, either during the application process, when applying for a visa or providing fraudulent documentation to show that a visa has been refused.
  • Non-attendance or failing a credibility meeting.
  • Insufficient funds being evidenced.
  • Supply of incorrect documentation.
  • Not supplying documentation requested by UKVI during the visa application process in a timely manner which results in a visa refusal.

Your Deposit will not be refunded:

• If you decide to go to another Institution.
• If you cannot be released from work to study at the University of Aberdeen.
• If you do not send completed documentation as requested by University staff to meet conditions of the offer.
• If you have not secured funding - either not being successful in Scholarship applications OR not having sufficient funds available at time of visa application or for the issuance of a CAS.
• Where a Student Visa application is refused due to any of the following:
  • A fraudulent visa application or providing fraudulent documents, either during the application process, when applying for a visa or providing fraudulent documentation to show that a visa has been refused.
  • Non-attendance or failing a credibility meeting.
  • Insufficient funds being evidenced.
  • Supply of incorrect documentation.
  • Not supplying documentation requested by UKVI during the visa application process in a timely manner which results in a visa refusal.

You must email deposits@abdn.ac.uk to request a Deposit Refund detailing in full the reason for requesting a refund and provide any relevant documentation to support your request. Please ensure that you provide your UCAS Personal ID number and your Date of Birth to ensure we can locate your file.

The refund will be processed through our payment partners to the source of the original payment. If a family member paid the Deposit on behalf of the applicant, the University is unable to refund directly to the applicant. You may be requested to provide proof of payment (e.g. payment receipt or bank statement showing payment from that account). Failure to provide any of these will delay the refund and may render it unpayable.

If being refunded into a non-Sterling Bank where currency conversion is necessary, any exchange rate fluctuations and any charges made by the receiving bank are the responsibility of the party receiving the funds.

Once a refund has been approved, it can take up to 60 working days for the payment to be processed.

If you are an Undergraduate International Applicant who has received a conditional or unconditional offer, which you have Firmly accepted via UCAS and have completed and returned the Financial Guarantee Form, you will receive an email from the University of Aberdeen requesting payment of your non-refundable deposit. You can make payment using the Flywire and Convera payment links. No other payments should be made on these portals.

Do not make payment until you receive an email requesting payment.

Be Fraud Aware - The University of Aberdeen does not accept Applicant Deposit Payments by any other method.