STUDENT FINANCE MATTERS
www.gov.uk/studentfinance
i
SESSION CONTENTS
The information and activities in these sessions will introduce you to the
main areas of student finance and what they mean to you:
•
•
•
Part 1 – Student Finance 14/15
What is Student Finance England?
What finance is available?
•
•
•
•
Part 2 – Applications & Beyond
How and when to apply
Managing your money
How do you repay your student loan?
PART 1
STUDENT FINANCE 2014/15
?
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?
STUDENT FINANCE 2014/15
Before going any further, answer these questions to see what you already
know about student finance:
Q1
Which of these are available from Student Finance England?
a) Sponsorship and scholarships
b) Loans and grants to help with tuition fees and living costs
c) Bus tickets and a box of chocolates
Q2
When should you apply for your student finance?
a) After you have started your course
b) When you have a confirmed offer from a university or college
c) As soon as possible
?
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?
STUDENT FINANCE 2014/15
Mark your answers in your work book, then come back and see how you
did at the end of these sessions:
Q3
What will your student loan repayments be based on?
a) Your future income
b) How much you have borrowed
c) Neither, you just pay a fixed amount regardless
Q4
How much do you need to earn before you start to repay?
a) £16,000 a year
b) £21,000 a year
c) Doesn’t matter, repayments will be taken whatever you earn
PART 1
STUDENT FINANCE ENGLAND
1
STUDENT FINANCE ENGLAND
Student Finance England provide financial support on behalf of the UK
Government to students from England entering higher education in the UK:
•
The two main costs full-time students will have while studying are
tuition fees and living costs
•
Student finance is available to help you with both
•
Depending on your circumstances, your course and where you study, you
may be able to get a range of financial help and support
•
You could get grants and bursaries (which you don’t have to pay back)
and loans (which you do)
PART 1
WHAT FINANCE IS AVAILABLE?
1
WHAT FINANCE IS AVAILABLE?
SUPPORT AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS INCLUDES:
Tuition Fee Loan
Maintenance (Living Cost) Support
Bursaries & Scholarships
Additional Support
Figures used in this section may change, subject to 2014/15
policy approval
PART 1
TUITION FEES AND LOANS
1
TUITION FEES AND LOANS
AN OVERVIEW
•
Universities and colleges can charge new full-time students up to
£9,000 per year for tuition fees
•
Eligible students won’t have to pay any tuition fees up front
•
A Tuition Fee Loan is available to cover the fee charged by the university
or college (up to £6,000 for approved courses at private uni’s or colleges)
•
A Tuition Fee Loan is non-means tested (not linked to household income)
•
SFE pay the Tuition Fee Loan directly to your university or college
•
The loan is repayable, but only when your income is over £21,000
1
TUITION FEES AND LOANS
PART-TIME, NHS & SOCIAL WORK COURSES
Part-time courses - If you are planning to study a part-time higher education
course, the finance available to you is different;
Depending on the intensity of your course you can apply for a Tuition Fee
Loan of up to £6,750 (£4,500 at private providers) and DSAs only
NHS and social work courses - If you study for a degree on a preregistration health professional training course such as nursing, midwifery,
dentistry, physiotherapy, medicine or social work then you may be entitled to
receive some funding through an NHS Student Bursary
Visit www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/students for more information
Details of the tuition fees charged for specific courses can be
found on university/college websites or at websites like unistats
PART 1
MAINTENANCE SUPPORT
1
MAINTENANCE SUPPORT
AN OVERVIEW
• Maintenance support is available to help with your living costs while in
Higher education such as your rent, books and food
• Two main types of support are available, Maintenance Loan and
Maintenance Grant
• A Maintenance Loan is repayable and all eligible students are entitled to
receive some funding
• The amount of loan available will depend on where you live and study
• Maintenance support is paid directly into your bank account each term
1
MAINTENANCE LOAN
2014/15 MAXIMUM RATES
Where you Live & Study
Maximum Loan Available
Parental Home
Live at home
£4,418
Elsewhere
Live away from home and study outside
of London
£5,555
London
Live away from home and study in
London
£7,751
Overseas
Study overseas as part of a UK course
£6,600
Additional loan is available for each extra week of study for
students attending their course beyond 30 weeks
MAINTENANCE LOAN
1
MEANS TESTING
Full-Year
Student*
65% Non Means
Tested
35% Means
Tested
Maximum Loan
Parental Home
£2,871
£1,547
£4,418
Elsewhere
£3,610
£1,945
£5,555
London
£5,038
£2,713
£7,751
Overseas
£4,290
£2,310
£6,600
*Slightly lower rates of support apply to final year students
1
MAINTENANCE GRANT
•
The Maintenance Grant doesn’t have to be repaid
•
How much grant you can get depends on your household income
(100% means tested)
Household income thresholds for 2014/2015:
Household Income:
Up to £25,000
Full Grant of £3,387
Household Income:
Up to £42,620
Partial Grant
1
GET YOUR ESTIMATE
Activity 1 – By using the calculator on gov.uk you can get an
estimate of the student finance which may be available to you
and make a note of the results in your work book
1
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
PART 1
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
1
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
AN OVERVIEW
Extra money or support may be available if you:
• Have children or adults who depend on you financially
•
Have a disability, long-term health condition, mental-health condition
or specific learning difficulty
Bursaries and scholarships
Many universities and colleges offer financial support to their students
through bursaries and scholarships
These can be linked to things like your household income, your course,
academic achievement or if you play a musical instrument or a sport to
a high standard
1
BURSARY & SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH
It’s important you spend some time looking into bursaries and scholarships
offered and find out what’s on offer and how/when to apply;
A lot of bursary applications can be started as part of your main student
finance application, but for many scholarships you may have to apply
direct to the university
Where to find the information:
•
University and college websites – usually in the Fees & Funding sections
•
Other sites such as www.scholarship-search.org.uk
Activity 2 - Use university/college websites and scholarship
search to find examples of bursaries/scholarships offered by two
of your UCAS choices and record the details in your work book
PART 2
APPLICATIONS & BEYOND
APPLICATIONS & BEYOND
i
SESSION INTRODUCTION
From the information and activities in Part 1 you should now have and idea
of the student finance available to you
Part 2 – Applications & Beyond
In this session you will get an overview of:
•
•
•
How and when to apply
Managing your money
How do you repay your student loan?
When the session is over remember to go back and check the answers you
gave to the questions in Part 1, how did you do?
PART 2
HOW AND WHEN TO APPLY
2
STUDENT LOAN APPLICATIONS
KEY MESSAGES
•
Apply online through gov.uk/studentfinance as soon as possible to
make sure your student finance is in place for the start of your studies
•
Make a note of your account log-in details (password etc) and your
Customer Reference Number
•
You do not need a confirmed place at university or college to apply for
student finance
•
You can change your details online before starting your course
•
Agree to share information from your application, this helps apply for
many bursaries/scholarships
2
GOV.UK
FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO APPLY
www.gov.uk/studentfinance
2
THE STUDENT ROOM
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION & RESOURCES
www.thestudentroom.co.uk/studentfinance
2
STUDENT LOAN APPLICATIONS
INFORMATION YOU WILL NEED
SFE will need information and evidence as part of your application, so
have the following to hand:
•
Passport; SLC can check identity using valid UK passport details for
most students
•
University and course details
•
Bank account details and National Insurance number
•
Parent’s or partner’s National Insurance number and income details*
*For most applications SFE can verify income using these NI
numbers with no need to send any original documents
PART 2
MANAGING YOUR MONEY
2
MANAGING YOUR MONEY
CONSIDER THE COSTS
Before starting in higher education, it’s important to think about the costs
you are likely to face and how to manage your money, particularly if you
will be moving away from home, some hints and tips include:
•
Plan a budget – (Dull, but practical)
•
Check out student bank accounts and NUS Extra cards, but try to avoid
taking credit cards, store cards or pay day loans!
•
You may be able to manage a part-time job alongside your studies
•
If you need financial support and advice once you are at university or
college, staff there will be able to help
2
MANAGING YOUR MONEY
YOUR BUDGET PLAN
Some of your living costs will include things you have thought of, such as
accommodation and food, through to things you may not have considered
yet such as a TV licence or insurance:
Some costs to think about include:
•
Rent, bills, books and study materials
•
Clothes, shoes, toiletries, make-up, haircuts
•
Leisure, sports and social activities
Activity 3 - Using university websites, unistats, push.co.uk and
your own initiative, see how much information you can find on the
costs of accommodation etc at your university of choice. Enter
these in your budget sheets and compare with your expected
income
PART 2
STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS
2
STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS
AN OVERVIEW
•
You wont make repayments until your income is over £21,000
a year (£1,750 a month)
•
You’ll be due to start repaying in the April after graduating or leaving
your course
•
You’ll repay 9% of your income over £21,000 and if you’re employed
deductions will be made from your pay through the HMRC tax system
•
If your income falls to £21,000 or below your repayments will stop
•
Any outstanding loan balance will be written off 30 years after entering
repayment
2
STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS
THE FIGURES
Income each year Income from which Monthly Repayment
before tax
9% is deducted
(Approx)
£21,000
£0
£0
£25,000
£4,000
£30
£30,000
£?
£?
£35,000
£14,000
£105
£40,000
£19,000
£142
£45,000
£24,000
£180
Activity 4 - If your income is £30,000 a year, the amount used to
work out your student loan repayment would be; ?£......................
Giving a monthly repayment of;
?£......................
2
STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS
THE INTEREST
Interest on your loan:
• Interest is charged from the day your first payment is made until your
loan is paid off in full or written off
•
The interest charged is linked to Retail Price Index (RPI) and will vary
•
While you are studying until entering repayment, interest will be added
at RPI +3%
•
On entering repayment interest will be linked to how much you earn,
from RPI only if earning under £21,000 to RPI +3% if earning over
£41,000
For more information on student loan repayments and interest
rates go to; www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk
?
QUESTIONS & COMMENTS
i
WANT MORE INFORMATION?
For further Information on student finance and
applications go to:
www.gov.uk/studentfinance
For a range of helpful tools and guidance, visit:
www.thestudentroom.co.uk/studentfinance
www.gov.uk/studentfinance