Student Finance

Published by Newman University on 23rd February 202023rd February 2020

There are two main costs when thinking about your degree programme:

Tuition Fees – cost of the course

Between £6,000- £9,250

Maintenance costs – cost of living

Think about your accommodation, travel, food and course materials.

Tuition Fee Loan

Covers all of the student’s tuition fees (£6,000-£9,250)
Non-means tested and available to everyone
Nothing is paid upfront
Fees are paid directly to the University by the student loans company
Not compulsory – students can pay full/part of the tuition fee

Maintenance Loan

The table below indicates what Maintenance Loan you could be entitled to :

Household Income	Staying at Home	Moving Away	Moving to London
£25,000 and under	£7,747	£9,203	£12,010
£30,000	£7,095	£8,544	£11,340
£35,000	£6,442	£7,884	£10,670
£40,000	£5,789	£7,225	£10,000
£45,000	£5,137	£6,565	£9,330
£50,000	£4,484	£5,905	£8,659
£55,000	£3,831	£5,246	£7,989
£60,000	£3,410	£4,586	£7,319
£65, 000 +	£3,410	£4,289	£6,649

Students can get a quick estimate of their student finance entitlement using the calculator on gov.uk.

You can be assessed as an independent if you :

Are over 25
Married/divorced
Have children
Have no living parents
Are estranged from your parents
Are a care leaver
Have no means of contacting your parents or it is not safe to do so
Have supported yourself financially for at least 3 years

The Payment Process

Tuition Fee Loans: are paid directly to the institution in separate installments

Maintenance Loans/ Grants/Bursaries/ Scholarships: are paid directly to the student*

Core Student Finance is paid in 3 instalments:

The 1^st instalment is triggered by enrolment
The 2^nd and 3^rd instalments are automatically paid at the start of each subsequent term

*The payment process for bursaries, scholarships and grants will differ according to each institution

Dependents Allowance

Money available if you have child or adult dependants
Means tested
Full-time students only
Non-repayable

Parents’ Learning Allowance	Up to £1,766 per year
Childcare Grant	85% of actual childcare costs up to a maximum of £174.22 per week for one child and £298.69 per week for two or more children
Adult Dependants’ Grant	Up to £3,094 per year

Disabled Students Allowance

Specialist equipment allowance	Up to £5,849 for duration of course
Non-medical helpers allowance	Up to £23,258 a year
General allowance	Up to £1,954 a year
Disability-related travel costs	Reasonable spending on extra travel costs incurred by the student as a result of their condition to attend their HEI

Additional Student Support : Part Time Employment

Student job fairs at universities
Summer/ holiday jobs
The chance to work at the University
- Student Ambassadors
- Students’ Union venues
Ideally look for a job that’s going to be useful to your course, or that gives you a good set of skills for your CV
No more than 16 hours per week

Repayments

Repayable only when students are earning over £26,725 per year
Repay 9% of income above £26,725
Repayments are deducted from your salary (via tax system)
Any outstanding balance after 30 years is cleared

Income each year before tax	Income from which 9% is deducted	Monthly Repayment (Approx.)
£26,575	£0	£0
£30,000	£4,275	£25
£35,000	£9,275	£63
£40,000	£14,275	£100
£45,000	£19,275	£138
£50,000	£24,275	£175

Rates of Interest

- Whilst studying at University
– Rate of inflation (RPI is about 2.4% for 2020/21) + 3%
- If earning less than £26,575
– RPI
- If earning between £26,575 – £47,835
–RPI + up to 3%, depending on income
- If earning over £47,835
– RPI + 3%

N.B. If you lose touch with SLC or do not send them the information they require RPI + 3% (5.4%), irrespective of income, until SLC have the information they require

For further information on student finance and applications, go to gov.uk.

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