Unsure about student finances, your entitlements, and where to find them?
EDUEXPRESS is here to help and assist you in completing your Student Finance application.

Our straightforward guide to student fees and funding offers a clear explanation of the available options and how to access them.

Money from the Government
UK and EU Students are fully eligible for the UK Government’s student loan support package if they fulfil the appropriate criteria:

- The university, college or other institution you have applied for must be a ‘recognized’ or ‘listed’ institutional body (it must offer qualifying courses).
- You must aim to complete at least 25% of your entire course module per year.
- If you’re doing your first higher education qualification.

There are two main sources of funding from the government available to students

- A Tuition Fee Loan – £9,250 a year for undergraduate studies, £10,609 for postgraduate master’s studies and £25,000 for Postgraduate Doctoral studies.
- A Maintenance Loan – This loan of up to £11,354 a year is intended to help towards your living costs whilst at university including accommodation. Everyone is entitled to a percentage of this loan, although how much you receive is dependent on when you started your course, where you live, and what your household income is.

UNDERGRADUATE LOANS

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 AGE
There’s no upper age limit for Tuition Fee Loans or grants

IF YOU ARE 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.

IF YOU ARE 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 ARE 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 HAVE 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 change course, stop your studies or repeat a year
If you stop 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 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.

WHEN YOU ARE 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 also be eligible if your residency status is one of the following:
- refugee (including family members)
- humanitarian protection (including family members)
- 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
- granted ‘Calais leave’ to remain
- 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 ARE 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.

WHEN YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR TUITION FEE-ONLY FOUNDING
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 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.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

EU STUDENTS
EU students are eligible for the Tuition Fee Loan.

This is offered by the UK government via the Student Loans Company to all EU and home undergraduate students, allowing you to borrow any amount up to the full cost of your tuition fees. Visit www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance for more information.

NON-EU STUDENTS
If you are an international student, you will not be eligible for any financial assistance from the UK Government. You will need to apply for this kind of financial help in your home country. You may wish to consider applying for a scholarship.

MASTERS DEGREE
The Loans for Postgraduate and Master degrees in the UK for students. 

Through a postgraduate Master’s loan, you will be able to borrow up to £10,609 to pay your fees and cover your living costs and will not depend on personal or family income.

You may be eligible for this loan if you:
- Are under 60
- Ordinarily live in England
- Do not already have a master’s degree or higher qualification.

DOCTORAL - PHD DEGREES
New Postgraduate Loans for Doctoral degrees in the UK are being introduced for students commencing their PhD.

Through a postgraduate Doctoral loan, you will be able to borrow up to £25,000 to pay your fees and cover your living costs and will not depend on personal or family income.

You may be eligible for this loan if you:
- Are under 60
- Ordinarily live in England
- Don’t already have a doctoral degree

Visit the gov. uk website to find out more.

If you have any questions regarding your Student Finance application or what you may be entitled to, please get in touch:

T: +44 2033 020 920

M: +44 7803 345 488

Email: info@eduexpress.org.uk