Applying for undergraduate funding
As a full-time home undergraduate student, you may be eligible to receive a range of loans,
grants and bursaries for your studies here at NTU, if you meet certain criteria.
The following is a list of things you should be doing at an early stage, to ensure that your
application for funding goes smoothly. We've also listed some advice and things to watch out
for, to ensure that you are not without funding when you arrive at NTU.
There is an FAQ section at the end of this document with further useful information.
Step one - Find out what you are entitled to
Visit our fees and funding pages.
Step two - Apply for your funding now
You can apply online now to your national student finance service for your funding. Apply
early to avoid being stuck in the backlog of applications submitted later in the year. Use
these links for your student finance service:
Student
Student
Student
Student
Finance England
Finance Wales
Finance Northern Ireland
Awards Agency for Scotland
Step three - Be involved in the application process
Some students rely on their parents to deal with their application to student finance. It's
better if you can have some involvement in the process so that you can help pinpoint any
problems if your funding is delayed.
Step four - Don't miss the deadline for applications
The deadlines for new students applying for Student Finance are:
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Student
Student
Student
Student
yet.
Finance England - 31 May 2011
Finance Wales - 15 April 2011
Finance Northern Ireland - 4 May 2011
Awards Agency for Scotland has not confirmed their deadline for applications
If you miss the deadline you can still apply, but it your funding will be delayed and you could
face the start of term without funding.
Step five - Make sure you put the correct tuition fee amount on your application
The tuition fee for full-time undergraduate courses during 2011/12 will be £3375. We know
from experience that students who put the wrong tuition fee on their application can often
have problems enrolling and this means that your funding will not be released to you at the
start of term.
Step six - Don't miss out on being assessed for the bursary
Your eligibility for an NTU Bursary will automatically be checked using the information that
you (and your parents/partner) provided on your student finance application. However, when
completing the declaration on the form, you and your parents/partner can select not to share
information with NTU. If this happens, you may miss out on a bursary so be careful how you
complete the form.
Step seven - Read all correspondence carefully and respond promptly to requests
for further information
Make sure you follow instructions carefully and provide exactly what is asked for. Don't
assume copies of documents are okay when originals are requested. We would recommend
that you send any documents by recorded delivery so that it is easier to track them if they
seem to get lost.
Step eight - If you don't hear back within the normal timescale, follow it up
The standard time for assessing student funding applications is about six to eight weeks. If
this time has passed and you've still not heard anything, ring them and find out if there's a
problem. Sometimes letters/documents get lost and your application will just sit in a pile, if
your finance authority is waiting for you to provide something.
Step nine - If you apply online, don't forget to return your declaration
If you apply online, you will receive a Student Finance Declaration Form with your Student
Finance Entitlement letter. This needs returning immediately to the Student Loans Company
or your loan/grant cannot be paid to you. In addition, if you fail to return this form, the
University will not be notified of any tuition fee loan and this could prevent you becoming
fully enrolled.
Step ten - Seek advice if you encounter any problems
Step eleven - Plan a budget
Planning and budgeting is an important part of student life. You may find it helpful to use the
tools and read the advice on our Managing your money pages.
Step twelve - Seek advice if you need it
If you have any problems with your funding application or finances generally, you can contact
the NTU Student Financial Support Service directly by email or on +44 (0)115 848 2494.
Looking ahead to 2012-13
If you join NTU in 2011-12, you will not be affected by the changes to student fees
and funding that the Government is planning to introduce for students starting a
course of higher education in 2012-13. Therefore, the tuition fee levels and student
support package outlined on our fees and funding pages will be the same for the
full duration of your course, although they are normally subject to annual
inflationary increases.
FAQs
What funding can I apply for?
You may be eligible to receive a range of loans, grants and bursaries for your studies here at
NTU if you meet certain criteria. Get an overview of Fees and Funding for full-time
undergraduate study. Information is also available on the Directgov website.
Will I be affected by the changes to fees and funding due to be introduced in 2012?
If you join NTU in 2011-12, you will not be affected by the changes to student fees and
funding that the Government is planning to introduce for students starting a course of higher
education in 2012-13. Therefore, the tuition fee levels and student support package outlined
on our Fees and Funding pages will be the same for the full duration of your course, although
they are normally subject to annual inflationary increases.
When should I apply for funding?
Most national Student Finance Services have now opened online applications for 2011 entry.
Make sure you apply by the deadline stated (31 May 2011 for those applying to Student
Finance England) or your funding may not be sorted for when you arrive.
How much grant and/or loan will I get?
How much Maintenance Grant and Maintenance Loan you get will depend on your household
income. The maximum amount of Maintenance Grant for eligible English domicile students for
the academic year (2011/12) is £2,906. Those with a household income of less than
£25,000pa will be eligible for the full grant. Partial grants will be available to those with
household incomes between £25,000 and £50,778pa.
The maximum amount of Maintenance Loan for eligible English domicile students for the
academic year 2011/12 is £4,950 subject to household income. You will be entitled to at least
£3,564 per academic year (or £2,763 if living at the parental home) irrespective of household
income.
If I don’t want to apply for a loan straightaway, can I still get one later?
You are able to apply for your student funding up to nine months after the start of the
academic year. For funding purposes the academic year starts on the 1 September 2011 and
so you will have until 31 May 2012 to apply for your funding.
You can apply for all loans, grants and bursaries online in one single application form on your
national Student Finance Service website. You can also download the application form from
there and send it off to your national Student Finance Service.
If you have already submitted the application form but didn't request any maintenance loan
or tuition fee loan at that time, you will need to download and complete an individual loan
request form from your national Student Finance Service website (details at the bottom of
the screen). These forms should be returned to your national Student Finance Service directly.
When will I receive my maintenance loan/grant?
After you arrive at University and once you are fully enrolled, the first instalment of your
loan/grant will be paid to you approximately three working days after you have collected your
University Smartcard. However, please note that no payments will be made prior to the first
day of term.
Subsequent loan and grant instalments will be paid at the start of the second and third terms.
The Student Finance Entitlement letter you receive from the Student Loans Company will
outline the dates on which payments will be made, the amounts and the account into which
they will be paid.
If you are not fully enrolled or have not collected your University Smartcard, loan/grant
payments cannot be released to you.
Am I eligible for an NTU bursary?
You will be eligible for an NTU bursary during the 2011/12 academic year if you meet all of
the following criteria:
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You are receiving a maintenance grant or special support grant from your national
Student Finance Service.
Your household income has been assessed by your national Student Finance Service
as being below £35,000 per annum.
You are paying tuition fees of £3375 (either personally or using the tuition fee loan).
The amount of bursary you receive will depend on your personal circumstances. See details
of the bursary amounts.
Please note that you have to meet the above criteria at the time the bursary payments are
made and if there is any change, your entitlement to a bursary may also change. Full details
can be found on the NTU Bursary Terms and Conditions webpage.
How do I apply for an NTU bursary?
You do not need to apply separately for an NTU bursary. When you apply to your national
Student Finance Service for loans and grants, your details will automatically* be fed through
to the University, allowing us to check your eligibility for an NTU bursary.
*Please note that this will happen automatically unless you (or your parents/partner) indicate
on your application form that you (or they) do not wish to share information with the
University for this purpose. Sometimes this is done in error and can be easily rectified with a
simple telephone call to the Bursary Helpline on +44 (0)8456 034 016. You should have your
customer reference number at hand when you ring. Please note that until this is sorted, the
University will not know if you are eligible for a bursary.
When will I hear if I'm getting an NTU bursary?
If you are eligible for a bursary, you should receive a letter confirming this within a few
weeks of starting university. However, the University can only confirm your eligibility for a
bursary once your loan/grant eligibility has been assessed by your national Student Finance
Service. If you were late applying for your funding, or have not yet received confirmation of
your funding, you should not expect a bursary notification letter until after this is sorted.
The letter you receive will confirm your entitlement to a bursary at the time it is first
approved. If your circumstances change later in the year, your bursary entitlement may also
change and you will receive a separate reassessment letter in these circumstances.
All bursary letters are sent by the Student Loans Company to the correspondence address
you quote on your loan / grant application (normally your home address).
Students who are not identified as eligible for a bursary will not receive a letter.
If you think you should have received a bursary notification letter but have not heard
anything by the end of November, you should contact the Student Financial Support Service
(Telephone: +44 (0)115 848 2621/4602) and this can be investigated further.
When will I get my first NTU bursary payment?
Bursaries will be paid in two equal instalments on the following payment dates:
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22 February 2012
16 May 2012.
Bursaries are paid directly into the same account that receives your grant/loan payments.
I'm not sure that the student funding will be enough to cover all my expenses. Can
anyone help me work it out?
Planning and budgeting is an important part of student life and it is therefore essential to
have a budget plan. If you would like help putting together a budget plan for the academic
year, please contact the Student Financial Support Service to arrange an appointment with a
Student Finance Adviser. You can contact the NTU Student Financial Support Service directly
by email or on +44 (0)115 848 2494. You may also find it helpful to use the tools and read
the advice on our Managing Your Money pages.
Is there any extra funding I can get if I'm struggling?
The University does administer an Access to Learning Fund which provides additional support
for those in greatest financial need. The fund is cash-limited and demand is high. Eligibility
criteria are set nationally – including a standard assessment procedure which calculates the
level of support based on the gap between annual income and essential expenditure. For
more information, email us or telephone +44 (0)115 848 2621. You can apply to the Access
to Learning Fund after your course has started.
How can I contact my National Student Finance Service?
Use the following contact details:
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Visit the
Visit the
Visit the
Visit the
1711.
Student
Student
Student
Student
Finance England website or telephone +44 (0)845 300 50 90.
Finance Wales website or telephone +44 (0)845 602 8845.
Finance NI website or telephone +44 (0)845 600 0662.
Awards Agency for Scotland website or telephone +44 (0)845 111