STUDENT FINANCE MATTERS

1. STUDENT FINANCE MATTERS

2. ! COMMON CONCERNS TUITION FEES My daughter/son can’t afford to go to university, it’s far too expensive! A C Regardless of household income, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to help with the cost of fees, and a Maintenance Loan to help with their living costs.

3. ! COMMON CONCERNS COMMON CONCERNS REPAYMENTS A A C Debt from a student loan will be unmanageable! Repayments don’t start until your child’s income is over £21,000 a year. They’ll then repay only 9% of their income over this threshold. The amount they repay will only increase with their earnings as repayments are based on their income, not how much they’ve borrowed.

4. i STUDENT FINANCE ENGLAND (SFE) • SFE 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. • SFE make finance available to help students with both. • Depending on their circumstances, course and where they study, • students may be able to get a range of financial help and support. • This includes grants and bursaries (which don’t have to be paid back) • and loans (which do).

5. 1 THE STUDENT FINANCE PACKAGE SUPPORT AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS INCLUDES: Tuition Fee Loan The Student Finance Package Maintenance (Living Cost) Support Bursaries & Scholarships Additional Support

6. 1 TUITION FEES & LOANS • Universities and colleges* can charge new full-time students up to • £9,000 per year (£6,750 part-time) 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. • Remember that it doesn’t depend on household income. • SFE pay any Tuition Fee Loan directly to a university or college. • The loan is repayable, but only when the student’s future income is • over £21,000 a year. *Publicly funded

7. 1 MAINTENANCE SUPPORT • Maintenance support is available to help with living costs a student • will face while in higher education. • Two main types • Maintenance Loan • Maintenance Grant. • The Maintenance Loan is repayable and all eligible students are • entitled to get some funding. • The amount of loan available will depend on where a student lives and studies and is paid directly into the student’s bank account each term. • .

8. 1 MAINTENANCE LOAN 2014/15 MAXIMUM RATES

9. 1 MAINTENANCE SUPPORT MAINTENANCE GRANT • The Maintenance Grant doesn’t have to be repaid. • How much grant a student can get depends on their 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

10. 1 COMBINED MAINTENANCE SUPPORT LIVING AWAY FROM HOME, OUTSIDE LONDON Students can get a quick estimate of their student finance entitlement using the calculator on gov.uk/studentfinance

11. 1 ADDITIONAL SUPPORT ADDITIONAL SUPPORT • Extra support may be available to students who: • have a child or an adult who depends on them financially • have a disability, long-term health condition, mental-health condition • or specific learning difficulty • study an NHS or Social Work course • NHS courses include: • nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, • dietetics, radiography, the later stages of medicine and dentistry For more information on eligibility and applications for NHS support go to www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/students

12. 2 STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS AN OVERVIEW • Students won’t make repayments until their income is over £21,000 • a year gross (before tax). • Full-time studentswill be due to start repaying in the April after graduating from/leaving their higher-education course. • Repayments will be 9% of income over £21,000 and when employed deductions will be made from their pay through the HMRC tax system. • If their income falls to £21,000 or below, repayments will stop. • Early repayments can be made at any time, but any outstanding • loan balance will be written off 30 years after entering repayment.

13. 2 STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS THE FIGURES More information on loan repayments and interest rates can be found on www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk

14. 3 STUDENT FINANCE APPLICATIONS KEY MESSAGES FOR STUDENTS – APPLY EARLY • Each year thousands of students apply late for their finance and • have no way to pay for their course or halls • It will take at least six weeks* to process an application so apply early! • Apply online at gov.uk/studentfinance to make sure that student finance is in place for the start of their course. • Students don’t need a confirmed place at university or college to apply • for student finance. • Apply with their first choice, they can change details later if they need to. *SFE handle over 1 million applications a year, most involve interactions with other government departments, e.g. HMRC

15. i i NEED 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

16. 2 other sources of information are: http://www.thescholarshiphub.org.uk/ @enorfolkcareers