Tuition fee loans
Higher education institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are now able to charge UK students tuition fees of up to £3,145 per year for full-time undergraduate courses. Most universities and colleges are charging the maximum £3,145, but a small number are charging less.
Students from England who are studying in Scotland will pay lower tuition fees. In Scotland, the fee will be fixed at £1,775 per year other than for medicine courses, for which the fee is £2,825 per year.
Eligible students can take out a student loan each year to pay for all or part of whatever fee is charged. This loan is not means-tested but must be repaid, along with any loans taken out for living costs, once you’ve graduated or otherwise left the course and you have annual earnings of £15,000 or more before tax.
Higher education grant and special support grant
Low-income students will be able to receive one of two new grants for maintenance costs. Both grants are non-repayable and the maximum payable is £2,835. The amount paid depends on your family income. You can’t claim both grants.
Student loan
Eligible students can take out a student loan to help meet living costs. If you’re living away from home, and outside of London, you can access up to £4,625 for a full year and £4,280 in your final year. For those studying in London, you can access £6,475 for a full year and £5,895 for your final year. If you’re staying at home while studying at university, you can access up to £3,580 in a full year and £3,235 in your final year. 25 per cent of the student loan is means-tested. As with tuition fee loans, the full amount of borrowed loan is repayable.
Long courses loan
If you have to attend your courses for longer than 30 weeks and three days, you are entitled to an additional loan to cover living costs at a weekly rate of £103, £81 and £53 if you’re studying away from home outside of London, in London or at home respectively.
Institutional bursaries
Under the new rules, institutions that wish to charge more than £2,835 in fees must offer bursaries to low-income students. While there are mandatory minimum amounts, most institutions are offering more than this. However, both the amount of bursaries and scholarships offered, and their terms and conditions vary from institution to institution, and you should speak to your preferred institutions for details of the support they offer.
Supplementary grants
Other non-repayable grants include: the childcare grant, the parents’ learning allowance, the adult dependent grant, the disabled students’ allowance (DSA), grants to meet the travel costs of some students studying abroad, and medicine and dentistry students while they’re on placement.
Access to learning fund
If you’re experiencing financial difficulty during your studies you may be able to receive additional help from the Access to learning fund.