Student Finance

HOW STUDENT FINANCE WORKS

Students can get a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £9,250 to cover the fees charged by their uni or college, and a Maintenance Loan to help towards their living costs such as rent and bills. If they're starting an Accelerated Degree course they can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £11,100. These have to be paid back, but not while they’re studying.

There are grants for students who have a disability, including a long-term health condition, mental-health condition or specific learning difficulty. These don’t usually have to be paid back.

For more information on this, please take a look at Martin Lewis' Student Loans Decoded film below:

THE TUITION FEE LOAN

Pretty much all UK and EU students studying their first undergraduate degree will be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan – regardless of how much their parents earn.

This loan will cover the complete cost of the degree, which will be a maximum of £9,250 a year. Student Finance will pay this money straight to the university, meaning the student will never see it.

This means that students don't really need to think about tuition fees at all – until they start paying it back, of course...

THE MAINTENANCE LOAN

The Maintenance Loan is where things start to get a little bit more complicated. This is the money students receive to cover their living expenses while they study, but how much your child receives will depend on how much you (the parents, or the household) earns.

Basically, the higher the students' household income, the less money they'll get, as it's assumed the students' parents will be able to cover the shortfall.

Unlike the Tuition Fee Loan, this money is deposited directly into students' bank accounts in three instalments throughout the year, and it's up to them to learn how to budget it. Our complete guide to budgeting at university has some advice on how to do this.

There are a couple of other factors which will determine how much money your child receives in their Maintenance Loan. Students moving away from home receive more than those staying put (to cover rent costs) and those studying in London receive more to cover the capital's higher cost of living.

Repaying a student loan

Your child will need to repay any loan they borrow, but not until after they’ve finished or left their course.

Interest will be charged on the loan from the day we make their first student finance payment until the loan is repaid in full or cancelled. The interest rate is based on the UK Retail Price Index (RPI) and will vary depending on their circumstances.

How much they repay each month depends on their income, not how much they borrowed. They’ll repay 9% of their income over the repayment threshold. If their income drops below the threshold, all repayments will stop automatically.

For more information about repayment, visit www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan

TOP TIPS:

• Students don’t need to wait until they have a confirmed place at uni or college to apply for finance – they can use their preferred choice and update it online later if they need to.

• Once your child has applied, you’ll get an email within 24 hours with a link to submit your household income details. You’ll need to create your own account if you haven’t already got one.

• When you register you’ll need to give us your National Insurance number and your personal income for the previous tax year.

• It’s really important that you send us your income details and any evidence we ask for as soon as possible so we can make sure that your child gets as much as they’re entitled to. They’ll only get the minimum amount of finance until you give us your details.

• Once we’ve received their application and any evidence we need, we’ll assess how much they can get and send them a Student Finance Entitlement letter. Your child should take this to their university or college when they register.

• Once the uni or college let us know they’ve started their course, we’ll make the first of three Maintenance Loan payments into your child’s bank account and pay the Tuition Fee Loan directly to their university or college.

SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD'S FINANCE APPLICATION WITH STUDENT FINANCE ENGLAND