Full-time undergraduate students

To be eligible for Student Finance England undergraduate funding you must meet the eligibility rules.

The general rules are as follows (note that there are other ways to qualify if you do not meet these rules):

• You must be aged under 60 on 1 September before you start your course to qualify for a Maintenance Loan. There is no upper age limit for supplementary grants and the Tuition Fee Loan though.
• You must have at least three years’ residence in the UK before the first day of the first academic year of your course (for courses that start in September this is always defined as 1 September).
• Your main reason for being in the UK during the three years of residence was not solely for education purposes.
• You must be resident in the UK on this date (1 September for courses that start in September).
• You must be settled in the UK on this date (1 September for courses that start in September) with no immigration restrictions.

Other ways you may qualify

Even if you don’t meet the above rules, you may still qualify for funding if you fall into one of these categories:

• EU nationals who’ve been living in the UK for at least three years before the first day of the first academic year of their course (for courses that start in September this is always defined as 1 September)
• EU/EEA nationals and their families who are working in the UK (migrant workers)
  
• EU nationals who have obtained the right of permanent residence in the UK
• Children of Turkish nationals working in the UK
• People who have been granted refugee status in the UK and their family members
• People who don’t qualify for refugee status but are granted humanitarian protection
• Children of Swiss nationals
• Family members of Swiss or EEA nationals
• UK nationals who exercise a right of free movement within the EEA/Switzerland before returning to the UK

For detailed information on residence and eligibility conditions, we suggest you read the following:

• Guidance Note: Student Support: Applying in England
• Student Finance England information for EU students

If you don't meet the eligibility rules for the fee loan and living cost support, you may still qualify for UK Government Student Finance England Tuition Fee Loan to help you meet the cost of your course fee if:

• you are an EU national, or the spouse or child of an EU national and
• you have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland for at least 3 years before the first day of the first academic year of your course and
• you have not been resident in the EEA and/or Switzerland mainly for education purposes. If this applies to you but you were living in the EEA/Switzerland before the start of the three years, you may still qualify and
• you do not already have a degree qualification.

If you've previously enrolled or studied in higher education - even if you've attended just one day of a course - or you already hold an equivalent level qualification, your funding entitlement will be affected.

Visit our Previous studies page for full details

The maximum Tuition Fee Loan available for courses that start in September 2011 is £3,375.

For information about the tuition fees charged for 2012, visit our Fees page.

Providing you meet the eligibility criteria, you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to pay all or part of your fees. If you don’t borrow the full amount or you choose not to take out the loan, you’ll have to pay your tuition fees yourself. The loan isn’t means tested, so it doesn’t take your family’s income into account.

A Maintenance Loan is available to help with your living expenses. The amount you receive is dependent on your family household income. If your household income isn’t supplied you can still be eligible for the non income-assessed part of the Maintenance Loan.

London rates of Maintenance Loan available for courses that start in September 2011 are as follows:

• Students living away from parental home: Maximum loan £6,928. (Non income-assessed: £4,988)
• Students living at parental home: Maximum loan £3,838. (Non income-assessed: £2,763)

In the 2011/12 academic year, most courses attract an additional three weeks of Maintenance Loan. This is £106 per week if you live away from home and £54 per week if you live at your parental home. Extra weeks are applicable if you study on one of the year-long courses. Students on year-long Integrated Health courses will receive additional funding as a result of study during the summer period.

Does funding change for final year students?

Final year students receive a lower rate of Maintenance Loan. Make sure you plan ahead for this to avoid financial difficulties:

• Final year students living away from parental home: Maximum loan £6,307. (Non income-assessed: £2,498)
• Final year students living at parental home: Maximum loan £3,483. (Non income-assessed: £1,324)

The Maintenance Grant

This is an income-assessed award that's based on your family household income. Receipt of the Maintenance Grant will reduce your Maintenance Loan by a maximum of £1,453. The maximum grant for courses beginning in September 2011 is £2,906.

Special Support Grant

If you are eligible to continue to claim social security benefits as a student (eg you are a single parent, you receive the Disability Living Allowance or you are a pensioner), you may receive the Special Support Grant instead of the Maintenance Grant. Unlike the Maintenance Grant, the Special Support Grant does not reduce the amount you can receive through the Maintenance Loan. In addition, the Special Support Grant does not affect income-related Social Security benefits.

Other grants

If you have children and will be studying on a full-time course, you may be able to get further financial help – which you won’t need to pay back – through:

• the Parents’ Learning Allowance (to help with course costs)
• Childcare Grant (to help with childcare expenses)

If there is an adult who depends on you financially, you may be eligible for the Adult Dependants’ Grant, worth up to £2,642 in 2011/12.

If you have a disability or specific learning difficulty, you may be able to apply for the Disabled Students Allowance.

You should apply to Student Finance England as early as possible - the sooner you apply, the more likely you’ll be informed of your funding entitlement by the start of your course. Don’t wait until you’ve been offered a place on a course.

It’s not too late to apply for 2011/12 funding - you have until 31 May 2012 to make your application. If this is the first time you have made an application and you are applying for the fee and maintenance loan and additional grants, you can apply online or by paper form (the PN1) at Student Finance England.

Make sure you request the correct amount of Tuition Fee Loan when you apply and only request the amount you actually need. If you request the maximum fee loan but later discover that you need less, you can amend the amount online at Student Finance England or by completing a Change of Circumstances form.

Continuing students applying for the fee and maintenance loan and grants: You must remember to re-apply for your student funding for every year of your course. You can do so online, through the Student Finance England website, or you can apply by completing the paper, PR1 form.

EU nationals: If you are an EU national and you are only applying for the tuition fee loan, you should apply to the European Student Finance England Team, by completing the form EU11. Continuing EU national students who receive this funding already and who are applying for September 2011 should use a EUPR1a form. For both these forms, visit the EU student funding section of the Directgov website.

The amount of financial support you receive will depend on your household income. This can include your parent, spouse, partner or civil partner’s income and your own income, for example interest accrued from savings. Your earnings from work while studying will not be taken into account.

For assessments for the academic year 2011/12, income for the tax year 2009/10 is used. However, if the level of income has dropped by more than 15% since the tax year in question, you can request that a current year assessment be made instead.

If you’re aged 25 or over on the first day of any academic year of your course (1 September each year), you’ll be assessed as financially independent from your parents for that year and won’t need to provide details of their income.

If you’re aged under 25 at the start of the academic year, you are automatically assessed as financially dependent on your parents, unless:

• you can prove you’ve financially supported yourself for a full three years before the first day of the first academic year of your course (1 September for courses that start in September)
• you married before the first day of an academic year of your course (you’ll need to provide details of your spouse’s income)
• you have no living parents
• contacting your parents may put them in jeopardy, for example if you’ve been awarded asylum or a similar status
• your parents cannot be traced or it’s not possible or practical to contact them
• you have the care of a person under the age of 18 on the first day of the academic year
• you’ve been under the care of a local authority throughout any three-month period on or after you turned 16 and before the first academic year of your course
• you are irreconcilably estranged from your parents*

* You may fall into this category if you can prove that you have had no contact at all with either of your parents for at least one year – but proving this may not be enough to be considered estranged. You will not be considered estranged simply because you don’t get on with your parents, have recently argued with them, or don’t live with them. Similarly, you will not be considered estranged on the basis that your parents are unwilling to fill in income assessment forms or contribute towards your student funding. Each case is assessed individually by Student Finance England, and you will normally need to show some form of reliable, independent evidence of estrangement (eg a police or social services report, or evidence from a teacher/tutor, or from Jobcentre Plus proving you claimed Income Support as a young person because of estrangement).

If you fail one or more of your modules, you may be required to repeat a year as a module retriever. As a module retriever you are not classed as a part-time student and should not claim part-time student funding – you should apply for full-time funding.

Be aware that if you have to repeat more than one year as a module retriever*, you will not normally be eligible for the Tuition Fee Loan or Maintenance Grant, although you should remain eligible for the Maintenance Loan and, where relevant, the Disabled Students Allowance and any additional grants for dependants.

* Funding is provided for the standard duration of the course plus one additional year.

If you do not receive the Tuition Fee Loan, you’ll be liable to pay your own tuition fees. Please plan ahead to avoid any financial difficulties.

Compelling Personal Reasons

Student Finance England has the discretion to give you an extra year of funding, on top of your normal standard funding entitlement, if you can show that there are strong personal reasons for repeating. This is known as compelling personal reasons (CPR).

If you’ve been ill during the year or suffered significant personal problems, you should let Student Finance England know when you apply. You should highlight your circumstances and provide evidence. Each case is considered individually.

If Student Finance England don’t accept your CPR, you’re not awarded an extra year of funding and you’ve already used your additional year of finance, you’ll be liable to pay your own tuition fees. You’ll not be entitled to the Tuition Fee Loan or the Maintenance/Special Support Grant for the repeat year.

Note: If you do have CPR, it’s worth informing Student Finance England, even if you haven’t used your additional year of funding, as you could be awarded another year on top of your entitlement. This means you keep your additional year for future use, should you need to repeat again.

You may be eligible for a bursary from the University of up to either £400 or £329 depending on when you started your course and first received student funding.

For more information, visit the Bursary page.

Once you’ve received your first instalment of your Maintenance Loan, you can apply to the University Access to Learning Fund and may qualify for an additional grant. There is no fixed rate of grant payable - you must apply in order to be assessed. Not all students are awarded a grant.

The University provides a wide range of scholarships to new students.

The closing date for applications can be as early as the April before the start of your course, so you need to plan ahead.

Visit the University Scholarships page for information.

Most full-time undergraduates aren’t eligible to claim any social security benefits, including Income Support, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit or Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), but the following exceptions apply:

• single parents with a dependent child/children
• some students with disabilities
• students who are pensioners
• student couples with at least one dependent child can claim Housing Benefit throughout the year. One of the couple can claim JSA during the summer, subject to meeting the normal JSA requirements
• students who have suspended their studies due to ill health or caring responsibilities can claim JSA from the date of recovery or the date their caring responsibilities end until they resume their studies, or a maximum of 12 months – whichever is shorter
• non-student spouses and partners, subject to the normal rules

Entitlement to Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit is unchanged by study, but note that some student income will affect and reduce your income-based benefits, eg Housing Benefit and Income Support, and in some cases will cancel out any payment altogether.

Disabled students

If you receive Disability Living Allowance, Contribution-based Employment Support Allowance or Incapacity Benefit, you are eligible to claim benefits as a full-time student. However, this is a complex area so we advise you to discuss your entitlement with Student Advice.

Claiming benefits during the summer vacation

Student couples responsible for a child can claim Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA) during July and August.  In addition, if you are a single parent and you are not eligible to claim Income Support because of the age of your child, you may be eligible for JSA instead. In order to claim, you will need to fulfil the following criteria:

• You must meet the usual jobseeking rules and be available for full-time work.
• Your child/young person must either be under 16 years of age or under 20 years of age and in full-time non-advanced education (eg studying A levels) and you are therefore in receipt of Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit.

For details about JSA and how to claim, visit the Direct.gov website

Housing Benefit

You can claim this if you fall into one of the groups of students who can claim benefits (see above). This is only paid for rent and will not cover any mortgage payments. Student funding will reduce the amount of benefit payable, so it’s likely that you will have to pay some of your rent yourself.

How student funding affects benefits

You are required to inform the Jobcentre Plus/Department for Work and Pensions that you have started studying and will need to notify them of your student income.

In most cases, the Maintenance Loan cancels out payments of Income Support or income-based ESA during term-time, including short vacations, because the weekly loan income is higher than the maximum benefit payable. However, Housing Benefit is unlikely to be cancelled altogether and most students retain some benefit throughout the year. As the loan doesn’t count as income during July and August, benefits can be paid in full during summer. You’ll need to contact your benefit office for re-assessment.

During your first year, your Student Loan will be counted as income from 1 September until the end of June, regardless of your actual term dates. All new students, including those on year-long courses, should divide their loan by 42 or 43 weeks to calculate their term-time income. However, first-years won’t have their benefits reduced until they actually commence their studies. Final year students will have their loan treated as income from 1 September until the last day of their course.

What income is disregarded?

Some of your Student Loan and most grants are disregarded when your benefit is worked out, this includes:

• Higher Education Grant (‘old funded’ pre 2006 students)
• Special Support Grant (‘new funded’ students post 2006)
• Parent Learning Allowance
• Childcare Grant
• Tuition Fee Loan
• a fixed amount for books and equipment of approximately £390 per year
• a fixed amount for travel of £303 per year
• £10 per week, which is normally set against the Student Loan
• most Access to Learning Fund payments
• any allowance to meet extra expenses because you’re a student with disabilities (eg Disabled Students Allowances)

The following grants do count as income:

• Maintenance Grant
• Adult Dependants' Grant

Should I receive the Special Support Grant or the Maintenance Grant?

If you’re entitled to receive benefits while you study, you should make sure you receive the Special Support Grant instead of the Maintenance Grant. Even though these are for the same amount, only the Special Support Grant is ignored as income when calculating entitlement to benefits. So, if you receive the Maintenance Grant in error, your benefits will be reduced.

Please be aware that you will normally receive the Maintenance Grant if you’re part of a couple and your non-student partner is the person who is claiming benefit.

What if I don't want to take out my Maintenance Loan?

The Jobcentre Plus (Social Security Office) and Housing Benefit Office will assume that you have taken out your full Maintenance Loan entitlement whether or not you have. If you choose not to take the loan out, it will still be counted as income. The loan is only ignored if you are not eligible to receive it, and you can prove this to the relevant benefit department.

When your course has ended, you’re entitled to claim Social Security Benefits under the normal rules.

For more detailed information about these benefits, visit the directgov website.

To be exempt from paying Council Tax, you must be attending a full-time course that lasts at least one academic year, requires at least 24 weeks' attendance, and a minimum of 21 hours' study per week. Your exemption applies from when you start your course.

New students: If you move into a property before the start of your course, you’ll have to pay Council Tax up until when you enrol. Please bear this in mind when deciding on a date to move in.

However, if you’re aged under 20 and have just completed your A levels or an equivalent course, you should be exempt from paying Council Tax from 1 May until 31 of October - by which time you’ll be enrolled on your full-time course.

If you live in Halls of Residence, you’ll automatically be exempt from paying. However, if you live in privately rented accommodation, you’ll have to prove you’re a student to the local Council Tax Office.

If you live by yourself or in a house where every adult is a full-time student, you’ll not have to pay Council Tax, but you all need to provide proof of your student status to the local Council Tax Office.

You can request a Council Tax Exemption Certificate from your School Registry Office after enrolment.

If you’re a full-time student sharing with two or more people who aren’t students, a bill will be generated. Although full-time students aren’t liable to pay, the non-students in the house are. If you provide your Council Tax Exemption Certificate to the Council Tax Office, you should be excluded from the bill and cannot be pursued for any unpaid money.

If you’re a full-time student and you live with only one other person who isn’t a full-time student, they are liable to pay the bill but will qualify for a 25% discount called a 'single person's discount'. However, you’ll need to submit your Council Tax Exemption Certificate to be excluded and receive the discount.

If you rent and share with others, you should check the terms of your contract, as sometimes Council Tax is included as part of the rent. The agreement may also state you have to pay a share towards Council Tax. If so, you could be liable to contribute towards this cost.

There is an exception to the rules listed above: if you own your house/flat or you are the only named person on the tenancy and you have tenants or adult family members living with you who are not full-time students, there will be a Council Tax bill issued and you will be liable to pay. Your student status will not exempt you.

Visit the Students and Council Tax page at Directgov.