Student Finance
Sarah Fullwood
Schools and Colleges Liaison
(Sixth Form Enrichment)
What does it cost to go to university?
Two main costs…
• Tuition Fees -> Covers the cost of your Studies
– £9,000 Full Time Degrees
(£7,500 - £9,000)
• Living Costs -> Covers the cost of living
– Accommodation
– Food
– Social activities
– Travel
How finance might affect your course/university?
•
Cost of accommodation varies across the UK
•
En-suite or shared bathroom?
•
Catered or self Catered?
•
Living at home vs moving away?
•
Travel expenses
•
Studying in London
•
Sandwich Courses, Industrial Placements, Summer
Placements
•
Additional costs of your course e.g. books/material/trips
Average Weekly Cost for an Aston Student in 2013/14
(Living away from home)
Average living expenses per week if you
live away from home:•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Rent £107-£129.00 per week
Mobile & internet £7
Food and toiletries £40
Books and resources £10
Socialising £30 - £50
Laundry £5
TV licence £4
Travel £6
Other e.g. presents/ sports £5- £25
Per academic
year
£7,486
Lowest Estimate: £197 per week
Highest Estimate: £281per week
£10,678
Don’t panic…lots of financial support is
available to help you throughout university
• What funding is available to help
• When repayments need to be made
 How to apply for financial support
Tuition Fee Loan - Repayable
•
Tuition Fee Loan covers your tuition fees
(£6000-£9000)
•
Non-means tested & available to everyone
•
It’s not compulsory - can pay full/part of the tuition fee if you wish
£1 - £9,000
•
Paid directly to the University by the Student Loans Company
•
Placement year/year abroad tuition fees will be vastly reduced
(£1,000 at Aston)
•
No penalties for early repayment
Maintenance Loan – Repayable
•
All eligible students are entitled to a Maintenance Loan, with 65% of the total
loan being Non Means Tested (not based on household income). 35% of the
rest of the loan will depend on your household income
The amount of maintenance loan available will be linked to
where a student lives and studies while in higher education
Maintenance Loan for September 2014
• All ‘home’ students are eligible for Maintenance Loan
• Like the Tuition Fee Loan, this money has to be repaid
• Living away from home (outside of London) max loan is £5,555
• Living in London, max loan is £7,751
• Living at home, max loan is £4,418
• 65% of the loan is non means tested
• 35% depends on household income
Maintenance Grant – Non Repayable
The Maintenance Grant is 100% means-tested and measured on a sliding scale
depending on your household income
•
If your household income is below £25,000 you will be entitled to a full grant of
£3,387.
•
If your household income is between £25,000 and £42,611 you would be entitled to a
grant of between £50 and £3,387
•
Grants are payable in 3 installments
Household Income
Government Grant available
£25,000 or less
Maximum £3,387
£30,000
£2441
£35,000
£1494
£40,000
£547
£42,620
£50
More than £42,620
No grant
Combined Maintenance Support
Living away from home, outside London
Household
Income
Maintenance
Grant
Maintenance
Loan
Total
£25,000 & under
£3,387
£3,862
£7,249
£30,000
£2,441
£4,335
£6,776
£35,000
£1,494
£4,808
£6,302
£40,000
£547
£5,282
£5,829
£42,620
£50
£5,530
£5,580
£42,875
£0
£5,555
£5,555
£50,000
£0
£4,836
£4,836
£62,132 & over
£0
£3,610
£3,610
Students can get a quick estimate of their student finance
entitlement using the calculator on gov.uk/studentfinance
Scholarships and Bursaries…FREE MONEY
•
Vary by institution
•
Depend on circumstances and are
often linked to household income
•
Certain courses qualify for bursaries
such as NHS courses as well as some
Sport and Music courses
•
Scholarships are also rewarded for a
students academic achievements
•
Scholarships can be rewarded in
various ways depending on individual
institutions
Scholarships at Aston University, 2014
UK students
•
£1,000 placement year/year abroad Tuition Fee (£1,000 discount
Scholarship for most students at Aston)
•
Scholarships focused on household incomes of under £18,000 but also
available for those on £42,000 or less
•
Scholarships based on achievement of AAB at A 'Level or BTEC
equivalent
•
Aston Scholarships offer a choice of tuition fee discounts,
accommodation discounts or cash awards to reduce study/living costs.
Payment Process
Tuition Fee Loans: Are paid directly to the institution in separate
instalments.
Maintenance Loan & Grant: Are paid directly into the student’s
designated bank account
Core Student Finance is paid in 3 instalments.
The 1st instalment triggered by enrolment.
The 2nd & 3rd instalments are automatically paid at
the start of each subsequent term
* The Payment Process for Bursaries, Scholarships and Grants will differ according to
each individual University
Additional Support whilst at university
Access to Learning Fund (ALF)
– Dealt with on an individual basis
against set criteria by the university
– Up to £3,500 available
– Usually a non-repayable grant
– They do ask for evidence
*You can also speak to your student support team in
the Student Union
Additional Sources of Income
Start saving whilst in school/college....even if it’s only £10 a week
Part time work in term time and/or vacations
(not more than around 15 hours a week!)
Consider a paid placement year as past of your degree
•
•
•
•
•
•
Financial help from family members
Efficient food shopping
Young person’s railcard
Student bank accounts
NUS Card and discounts
The importance of budgeting
The Importance of Budgeting
Money Pressures in an
academic year
3rd
Semester
Only 3
“Pay days”
a year
2nd
Semester
1st
Semester
When do I have to pay it back?
Repayments
Graduates pay back Student Loans NOT Students
• Repayable only when you are earning over £21,000 per year
• Repay 9% of income above £21,000
e.g. You earn £25,000 a year
Re-pay 9% of £4000
= £360 per year, £30 per month
•
•
•
•
Not until beginning of tax year (April 1st) after you graduate
Any outstanding balance after 30 years is cleared
Good Debt VS Bad Debt
Focus on what you earn not what you owe
Income each year before
tax
Income from which
9% will be deducted
Approximate Monthly
Repayment
£21,000
£0
£0
£25,000
£4,000
£30
£30,000
£9,000
£67
£35,000
£14,000
£105
£40,000
£19,000
£142
£45,000
£24,000
£180
£50,000
£29,000
£217
£60,000
£39,000
£292
!
Any outstanding loan balance will be cleared 30 years after
entering repayment
Repayments
Graduate Tax
Tax Code
Tax month
NI Category
Legislation
Currency
National Insurance
Payment/
Benefit
Cash
A
UK
British
Pounds
JK569823L
Pay per year
£25.000
Pay per month
£1850.97
Tax
190.00
NI
130.95
Pension
85.00
Student Loans
30.00
Total
Deductions
435.95
Left with
£1415.02
What should students do next?
Applying for Student Finance
•
Applications should be made to SFE as soon as possible to ensure payments
are made at the start of the academic year.
•
Usually open late Jan/early Feb (2015)
•
Apply online www.gov.uk/studentfinance
•
Deadline for new applications is the end of May (2015)
•
No need to wait for a confirmed offer
•
All personal and course data can be transferred from UCAS application
• Tick share details (UCAS/Universities)
Family Income on which student finance
assessment is based
•
Household/family income is called ‘Residual Income’
•
Need to provide evidence of earned income and unearned income from
savings and investments. (Usually only need to provide National Insurance
number in the application as evidence of income.)
•
Based on the previous tax year
•
If circumstances change inform SFE and amendments can be made
•
If parents have separated or are divorced family income is assessed with
the parent whom you normally live.
•
www.gov.uk/student-finance
•
Student Finance England Telephone – 0845 300 50 90
Summary and Top Tips
• Make the right choice university and course choice based on full range
of factors, not fear of debt
• Graduates pay back student loans based on what they earn not what
they owe
• Do your research into bursaries and scholarships
• Inform SFE of any changes in circumstances
• Contact SFE on social media channels…quicker responses
Websites and Contact Information
• www.gov.uk/student-finance
Includes online application, finance calculator and lots of other information
• Student Finance England
Telephone: 0845 300 50 90
Textphone: 0845 604 44 34
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 5:30pm
• www.moneysavingexpert.com
• www.thestudentroom.co.uk
• www.thestudentworld.com
Any Questions
s.fullwood@aston.ac.uk