Home Undergraduate Funding

What is student finance?

Student Finance is a loan available to all students who are eligible for “Home” student fee status to cover the total cost of your tuition fees. Home students are those who are resident and have settled status in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of their course. Find out if you may be eligible for Home fee status here.

There is a Student Finance England, Student Finance Scotland, Student Finance Wales and Student Finance Northern Ireland.

Tuition Fee Loan

Student Finance is a loan available to all students who are eligible for “Home” student fee status to cover the total cost of your tuition fees.

Your university or college sets your tuition fee, and the loan is paid directly to them. You have to pay it back once you start earning above the payback threshold.

	2023 to 2024 academic year
Full-time Student	Up to £9,250
Full-time Student at a private university or college	Up to £6,165
Part-time Student	Up to £6,935
Part-time student at a private university or college	Up to £4,625

Use the student finance calculator to estimate your Tuition Fee Loan.

Maintenance Loan

You may also be eligible for additional maintenance loan which is intended for help with supporting living costs (rent, groceries, travel costs). To be eligible you have to have:

lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course (apart from temporary absences such as holidays)
settled status

The maximum amount of maintenance loan that you can get depends on where you live and on your household income (or the income of your familial home if you lived with parents directly prior to going to university).

	2023 to 2024 academic year
Living with your parents	Up to £8,400
Living away from your parents, outside London	Up to £9,978
Living away from your parents, in London	Up to £13,022
You spend a year of a UK course studying abroad	Up to £11,427
If you’re 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of your course	Up to £4,221

Eligibility

However, the student loan system has a number of criteria which would affect eligibility. It is vital that prospective students meet all the criteria to get an award.

If your course lasts longer than 30 weeks and 3 days, you could get extra money included as part of your maintenance loan. This is called a Long Course Loan.

You can use the student finance calculator to estimate how much Maintenance Loan you’ll get - it will also tell you if you’re eligible for extra grants or allowances.

Some students are considered 'independent', and their award is also free from income assessment e.g., student over 25, lone parent or where both parents are full-time students.

Part-time students can also get a non-means tested tuition fee loan and a means-tested maintenance loan. The amount awarded depends on the intensity of the course. However, the only grant available is Disabled Students Allowance.

Common issues arise when someone already has a Higher Education qualification, years of previous study, and/or have not met the residency rules.

Additional Funding

Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)

Financial support for whilst you are studying which you do not have to pay back, and which covers any study-related costs that you may incur due to a mental health problem, long-term illness or other disability. It can be received on its own or in addition to Student Finance.

You can find out how much you may be able to receive and what costs it can cover on the GOV.UK website here, eligibility criteria here, and how to make an application here.

Childcare

You may be eligible for support with covering the costs of childcare, including a registered childminder, nanny, childcare agency, registered school, or home care worker. This is called “approved childcare.” Follow GOV.UK’s “Get Childcare: Step-by-Step” guide which takes you through whether you are eligible for childcare costs ;and what support you can get, how to get help paying for childcare, what to do if your circumstances change, and what to do when your child reaches school age.

Parents Learning Allowance

If you are a student in England on a full-time undergraduate or Initial Teacher Training (ITT) course, and your household income is below £18,739.99 per year, you may be eligible for Parents learning ;Allowance. Find out what you could get, ;whether you are ;eligible, and how to make an application.

Adult Dependants Grant

If you are a full-time student in higher education and an adult depends on you financially, you may be eligible for an Adult Dependants’ Grant. Find out what you could get, whether you are eligible, and how to make an application.

Non-repayable grants

Extra money may be available in the form of non-repayable grants, for instance if you have dependent children or have a disability. Since August 2017, new Nursing and Midwifery students now come under the general Student Finance regulations (continuing students remain on the old NHS bursary scheme). Additional funding for some undergraduate and postgraduate NHS courses is available through the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Use the Scholarship Hub's search engine to find out if you are eligible for financial support outside of the Student Finance system.

If you are a student in healthcare, social work or teacher training you may be eligible for extra financial help.

How can Your Advice Service help you?

We can work with you to check your eligibility for Student Finance or any additional funding and provide an accurate estimate of how much you would be entitled to, as well as supporting you with preparing, submitting and appealing applications.

You can contact us by completing our online enquiry form.

If you have any questions or require advice or support regarding Postgraduate Study and your potential funding options, please visit our webpage on Postgraduate Funding – Home Students.