Government Grants and Student Loans
Government grants and Student Loans
Full time undergraduate students
A number of grants and loans are available to students from the Government and other agencies to help them fund their studies.
The maintenance grant is a non-repayable grant from the Government, available to eligible undergraduate UK students, to help you with your living expenses. As of 2008/09, you may be eligible for a partial maintenance grant if your family income is between £25,001 and £50,020. You may be eligible for a full grant of £2,835 each year if your family income is £25,000 or less. Your maintenance grant is paid by the Student Loans Company in three instalments, usually in September, January and April.
Student Loans
As of 2008/09, the Student Loans Company has been offering two distinct loans to help students cover the cost of their studies:
1. Loan for tuition fees
The Government will pay tuition fees for eligible UK and EU students directly to the University of Worcester on your behalf and make you a loan for the amount.
2. Loan for cost of living
This loan is available to eligible UK students. How much help is available depends on household income. The maximum loan for 2008/09 was:
£4,625 per annum (p.a.) if living away from home
£3,580 p.a. if living at home
If you are in receipt of the maintenance grant then your cost of living loan is reduced by the amount of grant received, up to a maximum of £1,260 p.a.
Payment/Repayment
The tuition fees loan and cost of living loan are both paid in three instalments, usually in September, January and April.
The two loans are on exactly the same terms; if you have taken out both loans, then they are added together and you pay them back as one loan:
When? You don’t repay your loan until you have left your course and you are earning over £15,000 p.a. If you stop working or your salary falls below £15,000 p.a., you stop making repayments until you are earning over £15,000 p.a. again. Any outstanding debt (except for arrears) is written off after 25 years.
How? Repayments are normally collected through the income tax system by your employer.
How much? You pay back 9% of the amount you earn over £15,000 p.a., whether you have taken out both the tuition fees loan and the cost of living loan or just one of them. For example, someone earning £20,000 would only repay £8.65 a week. If you want to pay off your loan more quickly, you can make voluntary additional payments.
Interest is much lower than commercial rates and is linked to inflation, so what you repay will be broadly the same, in real terms, as what you borrowed. The interest starts to build up from the point you take out the loan.
Applying for Loans and Grants
You apply for your loan for tuition fees, cost of living loan and maintenance grant on the same form. Do not wait until you have been offered a place, you can apply from the March before your course begins. The form is available from your Local Authority. Go to www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance for more information.
Examples
If you are a single student, aged 18, parental income £24,500, living at home.
From 2008 you could receive:
| Government Maintenance Grant |
£2,835 p.a. |
| Student cost of living loan | £2,320 p.a. |
| University of Worcester bursary | £750 p.a. |
| Total financial support available: | £5,905 p.a |
| (of which non-repayable): | £3,585 p.a |
| If you lived away from home you could receive: | £6,950 p.a. |
If you are a single student, aged 18, parental income £34,450
From 2008 you could receive:
| Maintenance grant | £1,260 p.a. |
| Student cost of living loan (away from home) | £3,365 p.a. |
| Student cost of living loan (at home) | £2,320 p.a. |
| University of Worcester bursary | £625 p.a. |
| Total financial support available (living at home): | £4,205 p.a. |
| (of which non-repayable): | £1,885 p.a. |
| If you lived away from home you could receive: | £5,250 p.a. |
If you are a single student, aged 18, parental income £61,061
From 2008 you could receive:
| Student cost of living loan (living away from home) | £4,625 p.a. |
| Student cost of living loan (living at home) | £3,580 p.a. |
| University of Worcester bursary | £500 p.a. |
| Total financial support available: | £4,080 p.a. |
| (of which non-repayable): | £500 p.a. |
| If you lived away from home you could receive: | £5,125 p.a. |
Part-time undergraduate students
Part-time undergraduate students, who are studying at least 50% of an equivalent full-time course, may receive a means tested grant from their Local Authority towards the cost of tuition fees. Those receiving the maximum grant will also be awarded a £255 grant for books etc.
Students who already have a degree qualification will not normally be eligible for help with tuition fees.
Part time students are also eligible to apply for the Access to Learning fund.
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The University’s Welfare and Financial Guidance Service is available to you even before you apply.
If you’d like confidential, one-to-one advice, contact our Welfare and Financial Advisors, Susan Richardson and Jackie Bryant.
Tel: 01905 855501 or 01905 542091
email: moneyadvice@worc.ac.uk