Tuition fees
We will pay your tuition fees straight to your university or college. Your application for us to pay your tuition fees is only valid for one academic session, so you must make sure you apply every year. We may not pay your tuition fees if you have done a course of higher education before or if you have to repeat a year of your course. Please see our previous assistance section for more details. However, we can make an exception if you have to repeat a year because of medical or compassionate reasons.
Find out more about tuition fees
Student loan
The amount of loan you can get depends on:
- what course you are taking;
- where you live while you study; and
- your and your parents' or your husband's, wife's, civil partner's or partner's income
The maximum student loan we can pay if you live away from home while you study is £4,510 a year for a standard 30 week course. If the family income is over approximately £54,000 a year, you will only receive the minimum loan of £890 a year. If you want to apply for the minimum loan only, your parents, step-parent or parent's partner do not need to fill in the application form.
Find out more about who is eligible to apply for the student loan and how much you can get.
Young Students' Bursary
We will pay this bursary instead of part of the student loan so it reduces the amount of loan your need to take out. We will pay the highest amount of £2,575 a year if your household income is £18,820 or less a year, which will go down to zero for a household income over £33,330 a year. If you have done a course of higher education before you may not receive this bursary for some or all of your course.
Find out more about the Young Students' Bursary.
Additional Loan
As well as the main loan, if you are eligible to receive the Young Students' Bursary, you may also be eligible for the Additional Loan. We will pay the highest amount of £590 for a household income of £17,835 or less a year, which will go down to zero for a household income over £21,210 a year. We do not reduce this part of the loan by any parents' or husband's, wife's, civil partner's or partner's contribution.
Travel expenses
This grant is income assessed so the amount we will pay depends on your parents', step parent's or parents' partner's income or your husband's, wife's, civil partner's or partner's income. If you are a dependent student living in your parents home while you study, you can claim up to £790 a year for a standard 30 week course. If you live away from your parents home, you can claim up to £450 a year for daily travel costs and the cost of one trip between your home and your university or college at the start and end of each term or semester.
You would normally apply for help with your travel costs at the end of your first term. Application forms are available from around mid December. You can apply on line, download a form from our website or contact us and we will send you one.
Find out more about travel expenses.
Supplementary grants
There are supplementary grants available to certain categories of students such as lone parents, those with dependants and those leaving care to enter higher education . Extra help is also available to those who have a disability, learning difficulty or mental health problem .
Other sources of funding
There may also be other sources of funding you are entitled to from your college or university, the Department of Work and Pensions and other organisations .