Applying for Student Finance

Applying for university student finance is a much easier process than you might think. The Student Finance Company are able to help any and all students with any queries and your university will have plenty of useful resources to help you as well as a number of financial incentives.

What is the deadline for applying for student finance?

You should start the registration process just before A Level results day to get everything prepared. Once you have received your results and secured a place at university, you can add your chosen university and course onto your application.

Visit the gov website to start your application, they will also likely have the dates available for you if you're wondering when to start applying for student finance.

You can still apply for funding for your university course 9 months after the first day of your course, the deadline has to be in before the end of May where possible, just to give universities the chance to process your requests, but that can be flexible, depending on the university.

The exact deadline for applying for student finance changes every year, but the table below will give you a rough idea of when you need to apply:

As you can see, there is plenty of time for you when applying for student finance, so make sure you know when you start and then you should be on top of your student finance deadline.

Applying for student finance for PGCE

PGCE students often look for student finance, but luckily, we have some useful tips for PGCE funding,as PGCE funding works slightly differently.

What am I entitled to?

You can register with Student Finance and fill out an application form to see if you are eligible for support. Not everyone is entitled to support, and there can be many reasons, such as where you have been living or the amount you have been earning.

When you’re at university, there are a number of different loans or grants that you can get, but there are three main ones that you should be aware of, and they are:

• Tuition Fee Loans: These loans cover your tuition fees – how much your course actually costs to take. If your course costs £9,000 a year, and it is a three year course, it will cost a total of £27,000. Student Finance will pay this amount straight to the university and you will start paying it back when you earn enough after graduation.
• Maintenance Loan: These loans help to cover your living costs and general day-to-day life. Student Finance calculates how much you can borrow based on your household income (yes, applying for student finance based on household income is a thing), where you live, where you study and how long for. You also pay this back when you earn enough after graduation.
• Maintenance Grant: This is different to the loans as a grant is to help with your day-to-day life, which you do not have to pay back. This is free entitlement from the government and it is yours to keep. Student Finance calculates how much you may be entitled to by your household income. This grant is only offered to students with a low household income, though exceptions may be made if you are applying for student finance with divorced parents.

If you are applying late for student finance, then you should explain things to your university and they may be able to accept one of these three a bit later than normal, it does happen, don’t worry!

Do I get extra help if I have a disability?

There is a grant available, which is called Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA) that offers financial support to any student with a disability or learning difficulty. This money is for special computer programmes, office equipment and travel costs to attend university. This grant does not need to be paid back.

How do I apply for the Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA)?

You can apply for the Disabled Student’s Allowance on your Student Finance application. Student Finance will inform you of the right organisation you need to contact and you will need medical or supporting evidence for your case. DSA’s can take up to three months to arrange so make sure you apply as soon as possible.

If you have any problems applying for student finance or for your DSA, then you must contact your university as soon as possible.

When will I receive the money?

In Scotland, the annual payment is split into monthly payments that automatically go into your bank.

In England and Wales you are paid every three months, or at the start of every term. All the loans and grants are paid in at the same time, so if you are entitled to a maintenance grant and loan then you would be paid both of them on the same date.

What is a bursary?

A bursary is offered by your college or university and this is extra financial support to help you with your studies. Bursaries are not connected to Student Finance and will not affect what you are entitled to from the government.

The National Scholarship Programme helps students whose household income is £25,000 or less. Bursaries and scholarships do not need to be paid back.

Applying for second-year student finance

You will need to apply for student finance every year, just using your Student Finance login details. Student finance applying for second year works the same as the first.

The best thing to do is to apply as soon as the applications open and get it out of the way; they usually run from January until May, though this can change.

Are AVCs considered as income when applying for student finance?

AVCs are additional voluntary contributions and these are taken into effect, especially if you're looking into student finance Wales, where they do ask for evidence of any deductibles in the pay for partners or parents.

Whether or not they are considered to be income when applying for student finance for an undergraduate degree or when applying for student finance masters, is down to the university itself, but they will ask for any evidence of it, however.

Household income when applying for student finance is always taken into consideration.

Applying for student finance after dropping out

If you start a new university course after finishing or dropping out of another course, you will still need to re-apply for student finance.

If you are continuing with an old course, you will keep up with the same fee structure.

When do I start repaying my loan?

This ultimately depends on the plan that you are on. There are four plans that will dictate when you start repaying, which are:

• Plan 1: When you are making £19,895-a-year.
• Plan 2: When you are making £17,295-a-year.
• Plan 4: When you are making £25,000-a-year.
• Postgraduate loan: When you are making £21,000-a-year.

The loan repayments will automatically be deducted from your pay when you start earning enough to pay it back. There is nothing that you need to do to set this repayment up. There isn’t a penalty for paying some or all of the loan off early, however.

The amount that you pay back each month is incredibly small in comparison to what you will be bringing home each month. But if you do find that you can’t afford it, you can freeze your repayments for 5 years. The repayments will not be taken out of your pay cheque during this time.

Applying for postgraduate student finance

Postgraduate loans work in much the same way that normal undergraduate loans work, which is that you will apply for them through Student Finance and go from there.