Money to learn for full-time higher education courses
What's Available?
Most people who go to Higher Education apply to Student Finance England (SFE) for
- a tuition fee loan of up to £9,790 per academic year to cover the fees for a three to four year degree and £11,750 for an accelerated degree.
- and a Maintenance Loan to help towards living costs such as rent and bills. 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.
These have to be paid back and interested is added, but you don't have to pay anything back until the course is finished.
Apply online through gov.uk/student-finance 23rd March. You can start your application without having confirmed a UCAS place.
Students need to meet certain residency criteria in order to be eligible for financial support from SFE. Click to learn more.
Click here for general information about student finance if you're going to uni in 2026!
Repaying the Loan
If your course finishes in June you won't have to start paying it back until the following April. You’ll then only repay your student loan when your income is over the threshold amount for your repayment plan (currently £25,000 for any studying since September 2023).
Your loan repayments are automatically deducted from your earnings in the same way as income tax. You will pay 9% of any earnings over the threshold (currently £25,000).
How much interest you’re charged depends on which plan you’re on.
For more information Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert has a whole section about repaying student finance.
Applying for a Maintenance Loan
You can apply for a Maintenance Loan to help pay for your living costs such as books and rent. How much you can get depends on your household income, and where you live and study. For example you can get up to £10,830 if you are living away from parents outside London.
To see how much you could get to live on go to the Student Finance Calculator.
You may not get the full amount for your maintenance loan, so you may have to find other ways to fund the rest of your living costs. This could include contributions from family, part-time work, local authority assistance, bursaries or scholarships.
Saving Money by doing a Shorter Course
- Some universities have introduced two year accelerated degrees - which could save you money. They have tuition fees at £11,440 per year from 2025. This could save you a year of living costs and some tuition fees. Pros and Cons of an Accelerated Degree
Other Financial Support Options
There are also other sorts of financial support available - which you do not have to pay back.
Government Support
- You can also get financial support if you are a parent and have childcare costs or adults who are financially dependent on you.
- If you have a disability, learning difficulty, mental health condition or health condition you may be able to apply for Disabled Students Allowance.
To find out more about the help available go to gov.uk
Bursaries and scholarships
Many universities will offer additional funding to certain target groups. This may include a bursary for students from a lower-income background, care leavers or disabled students. Each university will have a different offer of support, so check with the universities you are applying for.
Educational Grants and Awards
Some charities, trusts and organisations provide financial grants and bursaries to people for educational study. You can identify ones that you maybe eligible for and apply for these.
These could be linked to a geographical area, or because your father was in a particular occupation or linked to a specific course.
https://www.thescholarshiphub....
https://grants-search.turn2us....
Getting help sorting out the funding
When planning to study it is important to understand the costs and know your sources of income. You will then need to plan your budget so that you can manage financially throughout your study.