Connexions Home

Finance for higher education

Tuition fees and student loans

If you’re starting a higher education course in 2008, your university or college can charge you up to £3145 a year in tuition fees. The amount charged will depend on the university or college and the course you want to study. You don’t have to pay the money whilst you’re studying - you can take out a student loan to cover your tuition fees. The money will be paid direct to your university or college. These loans are at a lower interest rate than a bank loan and you only need to start paying back the money once you’ve finished studying and are earning over £15, 000 a year. You may also be able to take ‘a break’ (of up to 5 years) in repaying your loan.

Maintenance grants

If your household income (that of your parents or carers) and any income you might have is under a fixed amount, you will be able to apply for a maintenance grant. In general, the more you and your family earn, the less you will receive in the form of a grant.

If the combined income of you and your parents or carers is under £25, 000 a year, you should be able to get the maximum grant which at the moment is £2, 825 a year. Those whose income (and that if their household) is up to £60, 000 will get a partial grant – you will get more if you and your parents or carers earn less. You don’t have to repay maintenance grants.

Bursaries

If you are able to get the full maintenance grant (£2, 825) but your course tuition fees are the maximum £3, 145, your university or college has to offer you an annual bursary to help support your studies. This bursary must be at least £310 but most universities or colleges offer £1, 000 or more. You don’t need to repay bursaries. To find out more about bursaries, ask the university or college you want to go to or check out their website.

Student loans for maintenance

As well as student loans to cover tuition fees, you can also apply for a student loan to help cover your living (or maintenance) costs while you’re at university or college. The amount you can get depends on where you live whilst you’re studying, whether:

  • you’re living away from home and studying in London
  • you’re living away from home but studying elsewhere
  • you’re living at home with your parents or carers

The amount you can get is also affected by any money you might already have and the amount of money your parents or carers earn.

75% of the maximum student loan you can get is available to all students with the remaining 25% depending on the income you and your family receive and how much maintenance grant you get. As with student loans to help with tuition fees, these loans are a lower interest rate than a bank loan and you only need to start paying back the money once you’ve finished studying and are earning over £15, 000 a year. You may also be able to take ‘a break’ (of up to 5 years) in repaying your loan.

Access to Learning Funds

If when you start your course, you’re on a low income and are struggling with your money, you may be able to apply for Access to Learning Funds. Funds tend to be limited but your university or college will have more details on what’s available and how to apply.

Funding for specific courses

As well as help towards tuition fees, student loans etc., students studying certain subjects may be able to get funding (in the form of grants or bursaries) from other sources. These subjects include social work and certain medical and health courses.

Those who want to study certain social work degrees or diploma courses may be able to get some funding (a bursary) from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). For more details, telephone 0845 610 1122 or check out www.ppa.org.uk/ppa/swb.htm

Students on certain medical and health related courses e.g. nursing, midwifery, orthoptics, physiotherapy, medicine, dentistry, may be able to get funding from the NHS (in the form of bursaries). More information is available on the website: www.nhsstudentgrants.co.uk

Other financial support

If you’ve got additional needs, such as a disability, you may be able to apply for a Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). More information is available on the Skill website www.skill.org.uk.

You may also be apply for extra financial support if you’ve got children or are looking after an adult.

Sponsorship

To help you fund your time at university, you may be able to get some support (or sponsorship) from an employer or organisation. The company or organisation will help you with course fees and living costs. In return, you may be expected to work for them.

Students who get sponsorship can sometimes work for the company in the holidays or during their course. This can help you gain valuable work experience in a career area you’re interested in and also develop your skills and learn new ones. You may be offered a job at the end of the course if everything goes well. You do not have to accept job offers if you don’t want to. There are some exceptions to this – for example, if you get sponsorship from the army or RAF they generally expect you to ‘join up’ after your course.

If you’re thinking about sponsorship, you need to start looking and doing some research during the year before you want to start university.

Things to think about and do…

Check out if any companies or organisations offer sponsorship for the course you want to do.

You need to contact the companies or organisations to ask for more details.

Don’t forget to mention that you’ve applied for sponsorship when you fill in your UCAS form.

Some companies will only sponsor certain courses at certain universities. Don’t to be tempted to apply for a course you’re not that interested in just because you might be able to get sponsorship.

You can apply to as many companies or organisations for sponsorship as you want but try to make each application a bit different.

Types of companies and organisation which may offer sponsorship include: large shopping chains, local councils, the armed forces, charities and Government departments. Subjects which may be sponsored include: science, engineering, banking, business management, I.T., medicine and dentistry and economics.

You will need to research the company or organisation you want to apply to make sure that you’re suitable – there will be a lot of competition for a small number of sponsorship.

For more information on finance for higher education, check out A guide to financial support for higher education students in 2007/08.