Student Finance

Students who have applied for university in Year 13 will need to apply for student finance at home with the support of a parent/carer. You can find further support on the Student Finance England government website.

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Key Information:

• All home students are eligible for student finance support when going to university for the first time.

• Universities can charge up to £9,250 a year in tuition fees. All home students are eligible for a loan to cover this cost in full and students do not have to pay anything up front. The tuition fee loan is paid from the Student Loans Company directly to the university at the start of the academic year.

• Students can also apply for a maintenance loan to support living costs. The amount of maintenance loan a student receives depends on where they live and is means-tested based on household income. The maintenance loan is paid directly to students in 3 instalments across the academic year for them to manage themselves.

• Parents/carers must provide supporting evidence for Student Finance England to process a student’s application.

• Students first apply for their student finance in the Spring before they start university (so by May 2025 for current Year 13 students going to university in September 2025). Students then have to re-apply for student finance support every year at university.

• There is additional non-repayable financial support that students can apply to at university, such as bursaries awarded to students based on personal circumstances, scholarships based on academic or extracurricular achievements, as well as specific support for disabled students and those studying NHS eligible courses.

• Following Brexit, students from EU countries will need to provide further evidence to receive financial support – this will depend on factors such as settled or pre-settled status, as well as how long they have lived in the UK.

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Student Loan Repayments after University:

• Students are eligible to start paying back their student loan 6 months after they graduate. Interest is charged on the loan from the start and the rate is based on the UK Retail Price Index.

• Student debt works more like a graduate tax, as the amount that a student will pay back depends on how much they go on to earn, not on how much they owe.

• Students will pay repay 9% of their income over the repayment threshold. The repayment threshold is currently £27,295. So, if a student was earning £30,000 per year, they would pay back £2,705 per year which equates to £20.28 per month. This is calculated and deducted from their monthly pay cheque automatically.

• If students ever earn below the threshold, all repayments will stop. The student debt it completely wiped after 30 years regardless of whether it’s been paid off. Most graduates will never pay it back in full.

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Useful Links:

• Student Finance Calculator: https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator

• Student Finance Quick Start Guide: https://media.slc.co.uk/sfe/quickstartfinanceguide/

• Student Card Comparison: https://www.moneysupermarket.com/current-accounts/student-bank-accounts/

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For any further questions or concerns please contact Mrs Lea at l.lea@pudseygrammar.co.uk or Miss Robinson at n.robinson@pudseygrammar.co.uk.