Part 1: Student Finance 2015/16Student Finance EnglandWhat finance is available?

Part 2: Applications and BeyondStudent finance applicationsStudent loan repaymentsManaging your money

You can use the information and activities in this guide to find out moreabout student finance and what it means to you.

But before you start, complete the questions below to see what you already know about student finance then come back and review youranswers to see how well you did.

Which of these are available from Student Finance England?a) Sponsorship and scholarshipsb) Loans and grants to help with tuition fees and living costsc) A loaf of bread and a toaster

When should you apply for your student finance?a) After you have started your courseb) When you have a confirmed offer from a university or collegec) As soon as possible

What will your student loan repayments be based on?a) Your incomeb) How much you have borrowedc) Neither, you just pay a fixed amount regardless

How much do you need to earn before you start to repay?a) £16,000 a yearb) £21,000 a yearc) Doesn’t matter, repayments will be taken whatever you earn

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Introduction/How much do you know?

Student Finance England (SFE) is a service provided by the Student Loans Company.

We provide financial support on behalf of the UK Government to students from England entering higher education in the UK.

We’re here to help and can offer you financial support when you need it most — during your studies.

Depending on your circumstances, your course and where you study, you may be able to get a range of financial help and support.

You could get grants and bursaries (which you don’t have to pay back) and loans (which you do). Most students won’t have to pay any tuition fees up front.

The two main costs full-time students will have while studying are tuition fees and living costs. There’s student finance available to help you with both.

Tuition Fee LoanUniversities and colleges can charge up to £9,000 a year for full-time courses.

No eligible, new student will have to pay for tuition fees up front. You’re entitled to a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £9,000 to cover your fees, which won’t have to be paid back until your income is over £21,000 a year.

The Tuition Fee Loan is not linked to household income levels and SFE pay this loan directly to your university or college, so no need to worry about making the payments yourself!

NHS SupportIf you’re planning on studying an NHS course such as a degree in nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, dentistry or medicine then you may be entitled to funding through an NHS Student Bursary*.

An NHS Bursary can help with your tuition fee and living costs and additional support is also available from Student Finance England if required. For more information on NHS Bursaries, eligibility and how/when to apply, go to www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Students

*Additional support may also be available to students studying a degree in Social Work.

Student Finance England

What finance is available?

Further information on eligibility for student finance or if you plan to study a part-time course can be found at gov.uk/studentfinance

Private universities and collegesSome private universities and colleges also run courses which have been approved for student finance by the government. These providers do not have an upper limit placed on the level of tuition they can charge.

If you’re thinking of studying an approved course at a private university or college you can still apply for a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £6,000 a year but if the tuition charged is above this you’ll need to pay the extra unless any support is available from the provider.

Living CostsYou’ll face a wide range of living costs while at university or college. This will include things you have thought of, such as books, food and accommodation through to things you may not have considered yet such as a TV licence or insurance.

There are two main types of support available from Student Finance England to help with these costs, a Maintenance Loan and a Maintenance Grant.

Maintenance LoanDepending on your household income and where you live and study you could get up to £8,009.

Some of this support is available to all eligible students with the basic rate of Maintenance Loan (65% of the maximum) not depending on household income, but the remaining 35% does.

 

The Maintenance Loan has to be paid back (combined with Tuition Fee Loan) but not until your income is over £21,000 a year.

You’ll find information on courses and tuition fees at open days, on uni or college websites or on other useful websites like unistats

Where you live and studyFull rate(100%)

Doesn’t depend onhousehold income (65%)

Live with parents Up to £4,565 £2,967

Study in London and not living with parents

Up to £8,009 £5,205

Study outside of London and not living with parents

Up to £5,740 £3,731

Live and study abroad(Part of UK course)

Up to £6,820 £4,433

What finance is available?

Maintenance Grant (or Special Support Grant)A grant of up to £3,387 to help with living costs. This doesn’t have to be repaid. How much you can get depends on your household income.

The amount of Maintenance Grant you can get will affect the amount of Maintenance Loan you can borrow. The amount of Maintenance Loan you can borrow will be reduced by £0.50 for every £1 of Maintenance Grant you are entitled to. The Special Support Grant replaces the Maintenance Grant for people who, as full-time students, can claim income-related benefits. The maximum Special Support Grant is £3,387 and doesn’t affect Maintenance Loan entitlement.

 

Household income How much?

£25,000 or less Maximum £3,387 grant

Between £25,001 and £42,620Partial grant, depending on household

income

More than £42,620 No grant

What is household income?Generally your parents’ income* is assessed if you’re under 25 and depend on them financially.

*Taxable earned and unearned income (eg wages, benefits, pension or investments)For more information on income assessments, go towww.gov.uk/apply-for-student-finance/household-income

Using the calculator on gov.uk you can get an estimate of the student finance which may be available to you and make a note of the results:

Estimate 1 Estimate 2

University/College

Tuition Fee Loan

Maintenance Loan

Maintenance Grant

What finance is available?

University/College

Bursary/Scholarship

Amount available

How do you qualify?

When/how do you apply?

Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs)DSAs are available to students who have extra costs because of a disability, mental-healthcondition or specific learning difficulty.

DSAs don’t depend on household income and don’t have to be paid back. How much you can get depends entirely on your circumstances and support through DSAs can go towards costs of non-medical helpers, equipment or travel.

Childcare Grant The Childcare Grant helps with childcare costs if you have dependent children under 15 (under 17 if the child has special educational needs) in registered or approved childcare.

Parents’ Learning Allowance Parents’ Learning Allowance is to help with course-related costs if you have dependent children.

Adult Dependants’ Grant Adult Dependants’ Grant helps students who have an adult who depends on them financially. For more information on DSAs and Dependants’ Grants go towww.gov.uk/student-finance/extra-help

Bursaries and scholarshipsMany universities and colleges offer additional financial support through bursaries andscholarships. These can be linked to things like household income, academic achievement, your course or if you play a musical instrument or a sport to a high standard.

It’s important to look into what may be on offer from the universities or colleges you are applying to. The information can be found on their own websites or on sites such as scholarship search.

Find details of bursaries or scholarships offered by two of your uni or college choices and record the information below:

h

What finance is available?

How and when to applyYou only need to make one application for us to be able to assess the Tuition Fee Loan, Maintenance Grant, Maintenance Loan and, if applicable, any Parents’ Learning Allowance or Adult Dependants’ Grant you can get.

If you need to apply for other support, like the Disabled Students’ Allowances, or help with childcare costs, tell us on your main application and we’ll send you a separate application form for these.

Also make sure you and any parent(s) or partner supporting your application have ticked the consent to share information boxes on the application form. By doing this we can share relevant details with your university or college which can help in applying for many bursaries/scholarships.

Application hints & tips• Apply as soon as possible so we have time to assess your application and make sure

your student finance is ready at the start of your course.

• Applying online at www.gov.uk/studentfinance is the quickest and easiest way for moststudents to apply and for your parents or partner to support your application.

• You do not need a confirmed offer from a university or college. Apply for your finance using your preferred choice so we can start the assessment.

• If your course, university/college or personal information does change before you start you can log into your account and update your application.

• As part of your application, you’ll need to supply your National Insurance number and details of your bank account, so have these ready.

Identity evidenceWe’ll need to see evidence to confirm your identity. If you hold a valid UK passport all you haveto do is provide the details on your application form with no need to send us anything else unless we ask for it.

Income evidenceIf you’re applying for student finance that depends on household income, your parents or partner will need to provide information on their income. In most cases they can do this by completing their section of the online application, providing details of their household income and National Insurance number. We can then automatically check this with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

If necessary, we may then contact your parents or partner asking them to provide additional evidence of their household income; this could include photocopies of P60s or payslips.

If you don’t hold a valid UK passport then original documentation such as a birth certificate or non-UK passport will need to be provided.

Student Finance applications

If you’ve been studying full-time while in higher education, you’ll usually enter repayment the April after leaving or graduating from your course. Once you enter repayment, the amount you repay will depend on your income and not how much you borrowed. If your income is £21,000 a year or less, you won’t have to make any repayments. When your income is over £21,000 gross (before tax) you’ll repay 9% of income earned over this amount. The table below shows some example repayments.

Repayment amounts will be rounded down to the nearest pound so £142.50 becomes £142 etc.

Repayment facts• If you’re employed, your employer will take your repayments directly from your salary along

with tax and National Insurance contributions.

• If you stop working, your repayments will stop, only starting again when your income is back over the threshold.

• Any loan remaining 30 years after you’re due to start making repayments will be written off, but you can make penalty free repayments at any time if you want to clear your loan earlier.

• If you’re planning to travel or work abroad for more than three months after you finish or leave your course, you’ll need to fill in an Overseas Income Assessment form so your repayments can still be made if necessary.

Interest on your loan Interest is charged from the day we make your first payment until your loan is paid off in full or written off. The interest charged is linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI) and will vary.

While you’re studying until entering repayment, interest will be added at RPI +3%, then on entering repayment will be linked to your income. For more information on repayments and interest go to www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk

Income each year before tax

Income from which 9% is deducted

Monthly repayment (Approx)

£21,000 £0 £0

£25,000 £4,000 £30

£30,000 ? ?

£35,000 £14,000 £105

£40,000 £19,000 £142

Your income is£30,000

9% is deducted from?

...................................

Monthly repayment?

..................................

Student loan repayments

Studying in higher education (particularly if you live away from home) can mean a lot ofexpenses will need to be covered. Some will be one-off like a laptop or printer, some will betermly (rent and books), monthly (mobile phone bill) or more frequent such as food, travel,nights out and other leisure activities.

When the cash lands in your account, the temptation to spend it all on things like a whole newwardrobe of clothes, technology, gig tickets, or whatever else floats your boat will be right therein front of you, but do remember to be sensible with your money so you are not flat broke amonth into term and struggling to pay the bills and buy your books or food!

To avoid getting into a mess, it’s definitely worth planning some kind of budget based on whatyou expect to receive from Student Finance England, any bursaries/scholarships and any othersource of regular income (job, family, etc) and putting these up against the costs you will befacing.

We’re not all finance or accountancy students so it doesn’t have to be an in depth balance sheetbut getting an idea of the basics will help and a lot of the information can be found online or byasking staff at your university or college.

NUS extraExtra is a scheme offered through the National Union of Students and offers students discountsacross a wide range of shops, restaurants, websites and on leisure activities, and from £12, it is worth checking out: www.nus.org.uk/en/nus-extra/

Student bank accounts Many high street banks have accounts designed for students and they are keen to get yourbusiness. Some will try and tempt you in with various freebies, but what you want to be lookingout for first is the best interest free overdraft on offer, because if you do run low on funds andneed a little extra to see you through, you don’t want to be running up any interest charges.

Be sure not to go over your agreed limits though or the fines will start and think very carefullybefore even considering credit or store cards. Once you’ve decided on a bank and signed up, do remember to update your student finance account online so we know where to pay yoursupport!

Part-time or holiday jobsObviously getting the best degree possible will be the main use of your time in higher education,but if you do have a couple of afternoons, evenings or weekends free then you may be able tobalance a part-time job with your studies to earn a bit of extra cash. Of course, working duringthe holidays is also an option if term time is just too busy.

Any maintenance support you get from SFE will usually be paid to you in three instalments across an academic year (one each term) so you need to make it last.

Managing your money

IN coming

OUTgoing

Income source How much How often

Maintenance Loan

Maintenance Grant

Bursary or Scholarship

Job & family

Savings

Other

Total

Expense How much How often

Rent

Utility bills

Phone bills & internet

TV licence

Travel (16-25 Railcard?)

Books & materials

Insurance

Total

Expense How much How often Expense How much How often

Clothes & shoes Haircut

Music & films

Gym & sports

Nights out & social

Food & toiletries Total

Use this page to make a note of the finance you expect to receive, check out some of theexpenses you will face and get an idea of how your budget will look.

Not all of your income will necessarily come in at once. Some will be termly, some monthly or maybe even weekly.

How much you spend on some other expenses will depend on your personal tastes, some are listed below with extra spaces for your own suggestions too.

Accommodation costs can usually be found on university websites.

Sites like unistats and push.co.uk are also useful for finding out what costs might be in the town or city you’re going to be studying in.

Managing your money

• I’ve read this guide and checked out the extra information at www.thestudentroom.co.uk/studentfinance

• I’ve used the Student Finance Calculator and have an idea of what student finance I could get at www.gov.uk/studentfinance

• I know how to apply for student finance and when the deadline for applications is.

• I’ve registered online at www.gov.uk/studentfinance and now have a CRN (Customer Reference Number).

• I’ve made a note of my CRN and the security details for my account (password and secret answer) and will keep these safe.

• I’ve found out whether I need financial details from my parents or partner to support my application.

• I’ve logged in to my student finance account and applied online before the deadline.

• My parents or partner have completed their part of my application before the deadline.

• I’ve sent any necessary evidence or further information to SFE, remembering to only send photocopies of financial evidence.

• SFE have sent me a Student Finance Entitlement letter telling me how much I’ll get.

• I’ve signed and returned my declaration form (SFE need this before any money can be paid to you or your uni!).

APPLYONLINE Steps to follow for completing your student finance application.

APPLYONLINE

Remember, you can make changes to your application later if you need to.

Your student finance checklist