Student Loans and grants
A variety of student loans and grants are available from the Government through the Student Loans Company. Loans are repayed after you have left the University and your salary exceeds a set level. Grants do not have to be repayed.
The support available to you via loans and grants depends on your tuition fee (for the fee loan), household income and other personal circumstances.
Tuition Fee Loan
The Tuition Fee Loan covers the payment of your tuition fees, and is not based on your household income. You can borrow up to £9,000 to cover the tuition fee set by your university. Unlike the Maintenance Loan and Grant, the tuition fee loan is paid directly to the University you are studying at.
Maintenance Loan and Grant
In addition to the Tuition Fee Loan to cover your tuition fee, you can choose to take out a maintenance loan which is intended to help pay your living costs. You may also be eligible for a non-repayable Maintenance Grant. The amounts you are eligible to borrow and claim per academic year are based on your household income.
Maintenance Loan
65% of the Maintenance Loan is available regardless of your household income. The remaining 35% depends on household income. Refer to the table below for details.
Maintenance Grant
The entire Maintenance Grant is means tested based on your household income. Students with household incomes of £25,000 or less will receive the full Maintenance Grant of £3,387 per year.
The table below shows the total support students entering in 2015 will be entitled to depending on household income. It also shows what proportion of that is non-repayable and what proportion is a repayable loan.
Household income
|
Maintenance Grant
|
Maintenance Loan
|
Total
|
|---|---|---|---|
£25,000 and under
| £3,387 | £3,862 | £7,249 |
| £30,000 | £2,441 | £4,335 | £6,776 |
| £35,000 | £1,494 | £4,808 | £6,302 |
| £40,000 | £547 | £5,282 | £5,829 |
| £42,620 | £50 | £5,530 | £5,580 |
| £42,875 | £0 | £5,555 | £5,555 |
| £50,000 | £0 | £4,836 | £4,836 |
| £62,132 and over | £0 | £3,610 | £3,610 |
Eligibility
Students need to meet all of the residence requirements to be eligible for funding. For students resident in England this means that on 1 September 2013 you must satisfy all of the conditions below:
- Be a British Citizen or have ‘settled status’ in the UK (under the terms of the Immigration Act 1971). ‘Settled status’ means that there are no immigration restrictions on how long you can stay in the UK.
- Be ‘ordinarily resident’ in England. Ordinary residence is where you normally live. Sometimes living abroad on a temporary basis will not prevent you from receiving student funding. If you move from England with your family overseas due to an armed forces posting you are considered ‘ordinarily resident’ in England.
- Have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, for the three years immediately before starting the course (not wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education) or have exercised a right of residence in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland before returning to the UK to study.
- Other students may also be eligible for student finance e.g. EEA/Swiss migrant workers and refugees.
- EU nationals who have been resident in the EEA will normally be eligible for the tuition fee loan only.
- You must be studying for a Higher Education qualification. Science and Engineering Foundation students are eligible for student finance.
The BTEC Art Foundation programme does not count as degree level and does not qualify for the funding set out here.
Any previous study at degree level can affect your eligibility for student finance.
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