Student loans
If you are from the UK, you can apply for a loan to help with the cost of university fees. There are two types of loans you may be able to apply for: tuition fee and maintenance loans.
Full-time
Tuition fee loans
Full time students from the UK can apply for a tuition fee loan up to £9,250 for 2017/18. This is paid directly to the university each year, and is not dependent on your household income.
When applying for your student loan, you will need to contact the relevant student funding authority for the area in which you live. Your loan application is likely to take around 2 months to finalise so it is important to complete your application as soon as possible. We recommend completing your application by the end of May (new students) or June (continuing students) to avoid any delays in receiving your funding.
Apply for a tuition fee loan
Maintenance loans
You can apply for a maintenance loan to assist with meeting living costs such as food, accommodation and travel expenses. These are normally paid in three instalments throughout the university year directly to your bank account.
Depending on household income, students may be able to apply for the following amounts in 2017/18:
Living at Home |
Up to £7,097 |
Living away from home (outside of London) |
Up to £8,430 |
Living away from home (in London) |
Up to £11,002 |
Studying abroad (for 1 year) |
Up to £9,654 |
You can work out how much of a loan you are entitled to apply for using the Student Finance Calculator.
If you're eligible, you may be able to access a reduced rate maintenance loan. The amount depends on where you live during the year:
- £2,425 (if you live away from home and study outside London)
- £3,405 (if you live away from home and study in London)
- £1,819 (if you live with parents)
Repaying your loan
Graduates with a home address in England, who have a student loan, only start repaying their tuition fee loan the April after graduation and once they earn over £21,000 per year, and then only on the amount above £21,000 (e.g. £7 a month for earners of £21,000).
To repay the whole amount you would need to earn £37,000 a year or more (and even then it would still take up to 30 years). This means you may have some (or even all) of your loan written off.
These loans attract interest which is charged at different rates depending on your earnings. For more details on interest rates, please visit the Student Loans Company website. Please note that the terms of student loans are set by the Government rather than the University.
Repayment calculator
Part-time
Tuition fee loans are available for students studying for their first higher education qualification which is at least 25% of the intensity of the equivalent full-time course. CPD students may also be eligible for a loan based on level of study, intensity of the course and prior study.
These loans are not means-tested and you can be apply for up to the maximum amount of your fees, which is £6,935 in 2017/18. Tuition fee loans are paid directly to the university so you don’t have to worry about arranging payment.
Eligible courses include:
- a Bachelor's Degree, e.g. BA, BSc or LLB;
- a Foundation Degree (FdA, FdSc);
- a Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE);
- a Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE);
- Initial Teacher Training (ITT).
Part time students are currently not eligible to apply for a maintenance loan, however, as a part time student, you do have the opportunity to pursue part-time employment along with your studies to balance the costs. Depending on your circumstances, you may also qualify for additional support.
For more information about funding for part-time study, you can download this handy guide.
We recommend applying to your local funding body as soon as the application process opens in January/February. You do not need to have an offer of a place before you apply-just put down which university and course would be your first choice on your application. You can change this information very easily online later.
For more guidance on applying for a student loan, visit the Student Room's student finance guide.