Going to University in England, 2013

Funding your living (or maintenance) costs

If you come from England

• You apply to Student Finance England for a means-tested Maintenance Loan. 
• The maximum maintenance loan for new students starting from 1 September 2013 is £7,675 if you live away from home and study in London; £5,500 if you live away from home and study outside London; £4,375 if you live at home. 
• You can also apply for a Maintenance Grant if your family income is below £42,611.
• You can get a maintenance grant of £3,354 if your household income is £25,000 or under; £50–£3,354 if your household income is between £25,000 and £42,611. 
• These loans and grants are paid into your bank account at the start of each term, once you've registered on your course.
• You may be able to get a bursary, scholarship or award directly from your university or college.
• The National Scholarship Programme helps students with a family income of £25,000 or less.
• Further support may be  available to certain categories of students such as lone parents, those with dependants and those leaving care to enter higher education.
• Extra help is also available to those who have a disability, learning difficulty or mental health problem.
• For new students, the deadline date for applications to Student Finance England to guarantee that funds are in place for the beginning of the academic year was 28 April, 2013. The latest you can apply is nine months after the first day of the academic year of your course, around 31 May 2014.
• Bursaries and scholarships do not have to be paid back.
• Loan repayments begin after you have finished your course. You repay 9% of your income above £21,000.

If you come from Wales

• You apply to Student Finance Wales for a means-tested Maintenance Loan to help cover your living costs. 
• The maximum available is £7,215 if you are living and studying in London; it is £5,150 if you are living and studying outside London; if you are living with your parents it is £3,987. 
• You may be able to receive a partial cancellation of up to £1,500 on your living cost (maintenance) loan, subject to the approval of the National Assembly for Wales. 
• You may be eligible to receive the Assembly Learning Grant (ALG).
• The full grant is £5,161 a year, payable if your household income is £18,370 a year or less. 
• A partial grant of between £50 and £5,000 a year is payable if your household income is between £18,371 and £50,020.
• Note that there is a sliding scale in place and up to £2,575 of the ALG will be paid instead of an element of the maintenance loan so that for every £1 of ALG a student receives the amount of maintenance loan they can receive will be reduced by 50p.
• A Special Support Grant replaces the ALG for eligible students. 
• The amount of Special Support Grant you receive will not affect the amount of maintenance loan you qualify to receive (but in these circumstances the loan counts as assessable income for state benefits).
• For new students, the deadline date for applications to Student Finance Wales to guarantee that funds are in place for the beginning of the academic year was 19 April 2013. 
• The latest you can apply is nine months after the first day of the academic year of your course, around 31 May 2014.
• Loan repayments begin after you have finished your course. You repay 9% of your income above £21,000.

If you come from Scotland

• Scottish Government has simplified the student funding system with effect from 2013–14. Changes apply to new and continuing students.
• You apply to the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for a means-tested loan of maximum £5,500 and a non-income assessed minimum £4,500.
• The Young Student's Bursary reduces this loan by a maximum of £1,750 a year if your family income is £16,999 or less a year, reducing to zero for a family income over £34,000 a year. 
• Supplementary grants are available to certain categories of students such as lone parents, those with dependants and those leaving care to enter higher education.
• Extra help is also available to those who have a disability, learning difficulty or mental health problem.
• For new students, the deadline date for applications to SAAS to guarantee that funds are in place for the beginning of the academic year is 30 June 2013. The final closing date for receiving applications in session 2013–14 is 31 March 2014.
• Loan repayments begin after you have finished your course. You repay 9% of your income above £16,365.

If you come from Northern Ireland

• You apply to Student Finance NI for a means-tested Maintenance Loan. 
• The maximum available is £6,780 if you are living and studying in London; it is £4,840 if you are living and studying outside London; if you are living with your parents it is £3,750. 
• If your course is longer than 30 weeks you can get an additional loan.
• If your household income is £41,065 or less you may be eligible to receive a Special Support Grant or a Maintenance Grant.
• A full grant is worth £3,475 and is payable if your total household income is £19,203 or less.
• Supplementary grants are available to certain categories of students such as lone parents, those with dependants and those leaving care to enter higher education.
• Extra help is also available to those who have a disability, learning difficulty or mental health problem.
• For new students, the deadline date for applications to Student Finance NI to guarantee that funds are in place for the beginning of the academic year was 12 April, 2013. The latest you can apply is nine months after the first day of the academic year of your course, around 31 May 2014.
• Loan repayments begin after you have finished your course. You repay 9% of your income above £16,365.

If you come from the (non-UK) EU, EEA or Switzerland, or if you’re the child of a Turkish worker in the UK

• Some EU nationals may qualify for a Tuition Fee Loan and additional help, but there are important eligibility criteria that should be met in full.
• You should be an EU national, or the family member of someone who is; you should have lived in the UK for three years or more before your course starts; you will be living in the UK on the first day of the academic year in which your course starts; usually your main reason for living in the UK was not to receive full-time education. 
• If these criteria are all satisfied and your course also qualifies, you apply in the same way as students from England. 
• EEA and Swiss migrant workers, and the children of Turkish workers may also qualify for additional help through Student Finance England.

If you are an international student, coming from overseas

• Read Tuition Fees for International Students or click on the international tab in our university profiles for more information.
  

Useful links

• Student Finance England
• Student Finance Wales
• Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)
• Student Finance NI
• Student Loans Company