Student finance for undergraduates
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1. Overview
You may be able to borrow money to help pay for university or college tuition fees and to help with living costs.
You might get extra money on top of this, for example if you’re on a low income, are disabled or have children.
You may be able to get student finance even if you’re not from the UK.
If you’re a continuing student or you’ve already created an account, log in to your account.
Before you apply
You start repaying once you earn over a certain amount. The size of your monthly repayments will depend on how much you earn, not what you owe.
You’ll be charged interest on the loan from the day you take it out. The terms and conditions can change.
Student loans: a guide to terms and conditions 2023 to 2024
Student loans: a guide to terms and conditions 2024 to 2025
The rules are different if your course started before September 2016.
Read the student finance privacy notice to find out how the information you provide will be used.
You can give someone permission to act on your behalf (for example using Power of Attorney) if you want them to apply for you.
How to apply
Find out how to apply for student finance.
If you’re under 25 and have no contact with your parents, you might be able to apply as an ‘estranged student’.
If you spent at least 13 weeks in the care of your local authority before you turned 16, you might be able to apply as a care leaver.
If you’re not from England
There’s a different process if you’re:
2. New full-time students
You can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan if your course starts on or after 1 August 2016.
Tuition Fee Loan
Your university or college sets your tuition fee, and the loan is paid directly to them. You have to pay it back.
If you’re a full-time student, you can get up to £9,250.
If you’re studying an accelerated degree course, you could get up to £11,100.
Maintenance Loan for living costs
You have to give details of your household income and your course start date.
The loan is paid directly into your bank account at the start of each term. You have to pay the loan back.
If you’re a distance learning student, you can only apply for a Maintenance Loan if you cannot attend your course in person because of a disability.
How much you can get
The maximum amount you can get depends on where you live.
| 2023 to 2024 academic year | 2024 to 2025 academic year | |
|---|---|---|
| Living with your parents | Up to £8,400 | Up to £8,610 |
| Living away from your parents, outside London | Up to £9,978 | Up to £10,227 |
| Living away from your parents, in London | Up to £13,022 | Up to £13,348 |
| You spend a year of a UK course studying abroad | Up to £11,427 | Up to £11,713 |
| If you’re 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of your course | Up to £4,221 | Up to £4,327 |
If your course lasts longer than 30 weeks and 3 days, you could get extra money included as part of your maintenance loan. This is called a Long Course Loan.
You can use the student finance calculator to estimate how much Maintenance Loan you’ll get - it will also tell you if you’re eligible for extra grants or allowances. You’ll need to know if you’re eligible for a Loan before you use the calculator.
You may not get the full amount, so you may have to find other ways to fund the rest of your living costs. This could include, for example, part-time work, local authority assistance, bursaries, scholarships, or family contributions.
You must report any changes to your living arrangements in your online account, so you get the correct amount of student finance. You might need evidence of any changes.
Extra help with travel costs
You might get a grant to cover some travel expenses if you normally live in England but study away from home. If you’re a medical or dental student you might also qualify for help with the costs of attending clinical placements in the UK.
Further information
2023 to 2024 academic year
Student loans: a guide to terms and conditions 2023 to 2024
How you’re assessed and paid - 2023 to 2024 guide
2024 to 2025 academic year
3. Continuing full-time students
What you’re eligible for depends on when your course starts.
If your course starts on or after 1 August 2016, you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan.
If your course started before 1 August 2016, find out which grants and loans you can apply for.
You might also be able to get extra financial help.
Tuition Fee Loan
Your university or college sets your tuition fee, and the loan is paid directly to them. You have to pay it back.
If you’re a full-time student, you can get up to £9,250.
Maintenance Loan for living costs
You may have to give details of your household income and your course start date.
The loan is paid directly into your bank account at the start of term. You have to pay the loan back.
If you’re a distance learning student, you can only apply for a Maintenance Loan if you cannot attend your course in person because of a disability.
You may not get the full amount, so you may have to find other ways to fund the rest of your living costs. This could include, for example, part-time work, local authority assistance, bursaries, scholarships, or family contributions.
You can use the student finance calculator to estimate how much Maintenance Loan you’ll get - it will also tell you if you’re eligible for extra grants or allowances. You’ll need to know if you’re eligible for a Loan before you use the calculator.
You must report any changes to your living arrangements in your online account, so you get the correct amount of student finance. You might need evidence of any changes.
How much you can get
The maximum amount you can get depends on where you live.
| 2023 to 2024 academic year | 2024 to 2025 academic year | |
|---|---|---|
| Living with your parents | Up to £8,400 | Up to £8,610 |
| Living away from your parents, outside London | Up to £9,978 | Up to £10,227 |
| Living away from your parents, in London | Up to £13,022 | Up to £13,348 |
| You spend a year of a UK course studying abroad | Up to £11,427 | Up to £11,713 |
| If you’re 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of your course | Up to £4,221 | Up to £4,327 |
If you’re in your final year of study
You’ll get less money in your final year because SLC stops paying you after the last day of term.
| 2023 to 2024 academic year | 2024 to 2025 academic year | |
|---|---|---|
| Living with your parents | Up to £7,904 | Up to £8,102 |
| Living away from your parents, outside London | Up to £9,436 | Up to £9,672 |
| Living away from your parents, in London | Up to £12,065 | Up to £12,367 |
| You spend a year of a UK course studying abroad | Up to £10,229 | Up to £10,485 |
| If you’re 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of your course | Up to £4,221 | Up to £4,327 |
Further information
Find out more about how you’re assessed and paid.
2023 to 2024 academic year
Student loans: a guide to terms and conditions 2023 to 2024
How you’re assessed and paid - 2023 to 2024 guide
2024 to 2025 academic year
4. Part-time students
You may be able to get a loan if your part-time course has a ‘course intensity’ of 25% or more.
‘Course intensity’ measures how much of your course you complete each year compared to an equivalent full-time course.
You can work this out by comparing your module credits with the number of module credits a full-time student will study. You’ll be asked how many credits you’ll study when you apply for the loan.
Check with your university or college if you’re not sure.
What you can apply for depends on when your course starts.
You must report any changes to your living arrangements in your online account, so you get the correct amount of student finance. You might need evidence of any changes.
If your course starts on or after 1 August 2018
You can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan.
Tuition Fee Loan
Your university or college sets your tuition fee, and the loan is paid directly to them. You have to pay it back.
You can get up to £6,935 in an academic year.
Maintenance Loan for living costs
How much you can get depends on:
- where you live while studying
- your household income
- your course intensity
The loan is paid directly into your bank account 2 weeks after the start of each term. You have to pay the loan back.
If you’re a distance learning student, you can only apply for a Maintenance Loan if you cannot attend your course in person because of a disability.
If you’re eligible for a Maintenance Loan, you can use the student finance calculator to estimate how much you’ll get.
You’re not eligible for a Maintenance Loan if you’re 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of your course.
If your course started before 1 August 2018
You can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan.
Your university or college sets your tuition fee, and the loan is paid directly to them. You have to pay it back.
You can get up to £6,935 in an academic year.
Apply
Apply for student finance or find out how to apply.
Further information
2023 to 2024 academic year
Student loans: a guide to terms and conditions 2023 to 2024
How you’re assessed and paid - 2023 to 2024 guide
2024 to 2025 academic year
5. Extra help
Check on the student finance calculator to see what extra help you might be able to get. You’ll need to know if you’re eligible for a Loan before you use the calculator.
Students on a low income
You can apply for:
- Universal Credit
- extra help if you’re experiencing financial hardship
Students with children or dependent adults
You can apply for:
- Childcare Grant - full-time students only
- Parents’ Learning Allowance - full-time students only
- Adult Dependants’ Grant - full-time students only
- Universal Credit
- extra help if you’re experiencing financial hardship
Disabled students
If you have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia) you can apply for:
- Disabled Students’ Allowance
- extra help if you’re experiencing financial hardship
You may also qualify for disability related benefits.
Medical, nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students
You can apply for:
- NHS Learning Support Fund if you’re studying pre-registration nursing, midwifery and allied health profession courses
- NHS bursaries if you’re studying certain medical or dentistry courses
- a grant to cover some travel expenses if you’re studying a medical or dentistry course
Social work students
You can apply for social work bursaries if you’re a social work student.
Teacher training students
You can apply for extra funding if you’re a teacher training student.
Students studying abroad
You might get a grant to cover some travel expenses if you normally live in England but study away from home.
Help from your university or college
Many universities and colleges offer extra help directly to students.
Funding from charitable trusts
Use the Turn2us grant search to check whether you qualify for funding from a charitable trust.
6. Eligibility
Whether you qualify for student finance depends on:
- your university or college
- your course
- if you’ve studied a higher education course before
- your age
- your nationality or residency status
Your university or college
This should be a university, college or other institution that offers a qualifying course.
Your course
Check with your university or college if you’re not sure whether your course qualifies for funding.
If you’re studying full-time
You may be eligible for student finance if your course is in the UK and one of the following:
- a first degree, for example BA, BSc or BEd
- a Foundation Degree
- a Certificate of Higher Education
- a Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE)
- a Higher National Certificate (HNC)
- a Higher National Diploma (HND)
- an Initial Teacher Training course
- an integrated master’s degree
- a pre-registration postgraduate healthcare course
- a level 4 or 5 course with Higher Technical Qualification approval
If you’re studying part-time
Your course needs a ‘course intensity’ of 25% or more for you to be eligible for student finance.
You may be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan if your course is in the UK and one of the following:
- a first degree, for example BA, BSc or BEd
- a Foundation Degree
- a Certificate of Higher Education
- a Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE)
- a Higher National Certificate (HNC)
- a Higher National Diploma (HND)
- an Initial Teacher Training course
- an integrated master’s degree
- a level 4 or 5 course with Higher Technical Qualification approval
You may be eligible for a Maintenance Loan if your course is in the UK and one of the following:
- a first degree, for example BA, BSc or BEd
- an Initial Teacher Training course (if it’s degree level or above)
- an integrated master’s degree
- a Foundation Degree in dental hygiene and dental therapy
- a DipHE in dental hygiene and dental therapy or operating department practice
- a level 4 or 5 course with Higher Technical Qualification approval
You are not eligible for student finance if you’re doing a Degree Apprenticeship.
If you’ve studied before
You’ll usually only get student finance if you’re doing your first higher education qualification - even if your previous course was self-funded. You may still be eligible for limited funding in certain circumstances and for some courses.
If you changed course, stopped your studies or are repeating a year
If you stopped your course within the first year, you’ll get funding for the same course or a new course when you go back.
You might also get funding if you:
- suspended your course or withdrew before it finished - and you’re going back to study any course
- are repeating a year of your course at the same university, college, or institution.
If you stopped your studies for a personal reason (for example, you were ill or pregnant) you might get funding for all of your course - you should apply online with supporting evidence.
You can calculate the amount you will get by taking the total number of years of the course you are applying for and adding one year. Then take away the number of years you studied for. If you studied for part of a year you should count it as a whole year.
Example
If you are applying for a 3 year course and have studied 5 months of a different course, you’ll get 3 years of funding.
If you are applying for a 4 year course and have studied 2 years of a different course, you’ll get 3 years of funding.
If you already have a degree
You may be eligible for limited funding in certain circumstances.
You may get limited funding if you’re ‘topping up’ a higher education qualification, for example you’ve finished an HNC, HND or Foundation Degree and now want to do an Honours degree.
You may also get limited funding if you hold an Honours degree or a higher level of qualification and start a new course. This could be a part-time Honours degree, a joint Honours degree or an Integrated Master’s degree in one of the following (or 2 if it’s a joint Honours degree):
- agriculture and related subjects
- architecture (if it’s a MArch RIBA Part 2 course)
- biological sciences
- computer science
- mathematical sciences
- medicine and allied subjects
- physical sciences
- technologies
- courses leading to qualification as a veterinary surgeon
You could also be eligible if you’re starting a healthcare course on or after 1 August 2017.
Your age
There’s no upper age limit for Tuition Fee Loans or grants.
If you’re 60 or over
You may get limited funding for Maintenance Loans if all of the following apply:
- you’re 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of your course
- you’re studying full-time
- your course started on or after 1 August 2016
The amount you can apply for depends on your household income.
Your nationality or residency status
You may be able to get help with:
- your tuition fees and living costs (full support)
- tuition fees (tuition fee-only funding)
The type of help you can get depends on your nationality and residency status.
When you’re eligible for full support
You can apply for full support if all the following apply:
- you’re a UK national or Irish citizen or have ‘settled status’ (no restrictions on how long you can stay)
- you normally live in England
- you’ve been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course (apart from temporary absences such as holidays)
You may be eligible for full support if you’re a UK national who:
- was living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein on 31 December 2020, or returned to the UK between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020 immediately after living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
- has been living in the UK, the EU, Gibraltar, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein for 3 years in a row immediately before the first day of the first academic year of your course
If you’re a family member of the UK national, you may also be eligible for full support so long as you also meet these requirements.
You may also be eligible if your residency status is one of the following:
- refugee (including family members)
- humanitarian protection (including family members)
- migrant worker or frontier worker from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein (including family members) with settled or pre-settled status
- child of a Swiss national and you and your parent have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
- child of a Turkish worker who has permission to stay in the UK - you and your Turkish worker parent must have been living in the UK by 31 December 2020
- a stateless person (including family members)
- an unaccompanied child granted ‘Section 67 leave’ under the Dubs Amendment
- a child who is under the protection of someone granted ‘Section 67 leave’, who is also allowed to stay in the UK for the same period of time as the person responsible for them (known as ‘leave in line’)
- granted ‘Calais leave’ to remain
- a child of someone granted ‘Calais leave’ to remain, who is also allowed to stay in the UK for the same period of time as their parent (known as ‘leave in line’)
- you or your parent have been given settled status (‘indefinite leave to remain’) because you or your parent have been the victim of domestic violence
- you or your parent have been given settled status (‘indefinite leave to remain’) as a bereaved partner
- you or your family member have been granted leave under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) or the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)
- you or your family member have been granted leave to enter or remain in the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme, the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme or the Ukraine Extension Scheme
You could also be eligible if you’re not a UK national and are either:
- under 18 and have lived in the UK for at least 7 years
- 18 or over and have lived in the UK for at least 20 years (or at least half of your life)
You must have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course. You must have had a form of leave to enter or remain during this time.
If you’re eligible for finance you can use the student finance calculator to estimate how much you’ll get - it will also tell you if you’re eligible for extra grants or allowances.
When you’re eligible for tuition fee-only funding
You can apply for tuition fee-only funding if you have one of the following:
-
pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and you’re an EU national or the family member of an EU national
-
Irish citizenship
You must have been living in the UK, the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course.
You may also be eligible for tuition fee-only funding if either of the following apply to you:
- you’ve lived in Gibraltar or the other British Overseas Territories
- you’re a person of Chagossian descent and have British citizenship
- you’re the family member of a person with settled status and you’ve lived in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for 3 years in a row before the first day of the first academic year of your course
If you’re eligible for finance you can use the student finance calculator to estimate how much you’ll get - it will also tell you if you’re eligible for extra grants or allowances.
Apply
Apply for student finance or find out how to apply.
7. Apply
Find out how to apply for student finance.
Parents or partners of students
Confirm your income if you’re the student’s parent or partner.