Student Finance UK – Everything you need to know (3-Part Guide 2020)

How to apply for Student Finance UK? Are you entitled to Student Finance? How much money can you get? This questions you probably have if you made it here. Welcome to my little beginner’s guide:

This article comes in 3 parts. First is my personal experience in the last year. The 2nd part will be an article I wrote for a different blog. The 3rd 

part is a small guidance written by my wife. She explained it previously easy and clear to a friend. That’s maybe the best way to share it efficiently.

Now, choose your weapon.

Part 1 – My experience with Student Finance UK

I was never a good kid at school. From an early age, I was sure this institution wasn’t made for me.  I was more interested in entertaining my classmates then listening to teachers. This school system had nothing much to do with my life in front of me. Now, roughly 25 years later I just applied for my third year of University. How did this happen?

Well, when my wife suggested me to go to university at the beginning of 2019, I was sure she made a joke. She knew my opinion about the education system. For me, it's still “Army Style” behavior. Everyone in groups, the weakest link gets punished, the teacher is like a general, etc. I was just starting my journey as a “waiterpreneur”. I consumed my food from a blender to save time for my Brand building. So how could I go for two, three days to University? Maybe even on a subject, I could easily find online. There was one simple word that got my full attention: Student Finance Loan. Up to 15k a year.

This was the amount I was making with my job as a Hospitality Freelance back then. I would swap this with an almost fulltime role for 2 days in 28 weeks in school. To be paid back in small amounts over the next 30 years. The loan is not added to any credit report history as its not really a loan. They don't even check your credit score and it doesn't affect your credit score after graduation.

Brexit was close and the future of this country not clear (and still is). So, I gave it a try. The whole application was a bit complicated. Sending the right documents in time and some other small bits and pieces. But I got the money and finally, I was able to start Lost in Hospitality. Never regret this decision.

Internal Links: 5 realistic ways how to work from home and make money online (Link)

Part 2 – My guest post

Read our bitesize guide to student finance in the UK. We take a look at how you apply and the process for EU students and international students. We look at the student loan for fees and maintenance and how it works in terms of repayment.

Apologize that your eyes will water when you see the figures involved.

The basics of student finance in the UK

Attending higher education in the UK is expensive. Indeed, it’s quite shocking to know that despite the common belief that it’s nothing compared to America, we’re wrong. Research shows that the average student debt in the UK is $55,000 compared to the American average student debt of $37,000. Ouch.

Student finance is split into two parts: tuition fees and maintenance costs. 

The UK student

A UK student can apply for a student loan to cover tuition fees. They may also be eligible for a maintenance loan based on household income.

To apply, you set up a student finance account, complete the application and submit. Find out more about applying for student finance for UK students including the deadline. The process is slightly different in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The basic agreement is that you will need to repay your student loan once you start working. However, repayment only starts when your income tips over a threshold amount of £25,725 per year or £26,575 from April 2020, once you hit that earnings threshold.

Outstanding loan balances are written off 30 years after repayment starts.

If you want to have some fun with would-be figures then play with this student loan repayment calculator.

The EU student and Brexit

EU students have traditionally been treated the same as the UK student for tuition fees and the loan to cover them. As such, tuition fees have been capped for EU students at £9250 per year. Most EU students haven’t been eligible for a maintenance loan.

We also know that, despite Brexit, EU students will continue to be treated in this way if they are already partway through their course.

For those students starting during the 2020-21 academic year and beyond, the truth is that we still don’t know what impact Brexit will have until a deal is finalized. Yes, we’re still in limbo.

Therefore, it can be helpful to look at the non-EU international student and how UK student finance works for them. Additionally, UCAS provides loads of information about student finance.

The international student

International students, have to pay higher tuition fees in the UK than domestic students.

Typically, the international student studies in the UK using a Tier 4 student visa or a short-term study visa. There is some talk in the UK about reducing the availability of these visas in the future. As with much discussion in the UK political arena at the moment, who knows what will happen, requires a crystal ball.

For the moment though, the reality is that international students pay more in terms of tuition fees. They are set by the individual university and are determined by the type of course. They are generally between £10,500 and £33,000 each academic year. Are your eyes watering yet?

Additional Links:

Expect These Student Loan Changes In 2020 (Link)

Brexit explained: What does Brexit mean for students? (Link)

How is Student Finance UK calculated

In the UK, tuition fees can be charged per year and student, adding up to £9,250 in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and up to £9,000 in Wales. If you are from Scotland, you can study at a Scottish university for no fee.

You may be eligible for support with your living costs in the form of a maintenance loan. Like a tuition fee loan, you’ll be required to pay this back. To give you a rough idea of how much this might be, for the 2019/2020 academic year, you could receive:

• Up to £7,529 for students living at home.
• Up to £8,944 for students living away from home, outside London.
• Up to £11,672 for students living away from home, in London.
• Up to £10,242 for students spending a year of a UK course studying abroad.

Just note: the above figures are maximum amounts. Maintenance loans are calculated according to your household income. So, if you have a high household income (for most students, this means you have high-earning parents) your maintenance loan will be lower. As a general rule, the higher your household income, the less maintenance loan you will receive.

Conclusion – Studying is expensive

Yes, absolutely.

However, it isn’t always the key to building a profitable career. There are other options. You just need to know where to look.

It’s imperative that school-leavers – and their families – understand everything about student finance in the UK before they apply for university. Some of these misconceptions can prevent them from applying in the first place.

 

Part 3 – My wife's message, easy to share

There are 2 options to become a student!

The first one is to look for a College or a University close to your home, or in the center, to be easily accessible by public transport!

On the University or College Website, you are starting to look for courses that can catch your interest, then you look for the entry requirements to see if you qualify for them. Later on, for the fees and funds! Usually, all the full-time courses cost between 6000 and 9250 pounds a year! You can pay the fees by applying for a student loan! On top of that money, which is called tuition loan you will apply for a maintenance loan (you can get between 6000 and 15000 pounds a year, according to your circumstances)! Those are the money to help you with your living costs!

You can apply straight on the government's page (student finance application online) or you can go to an agency that will do all the process for you, for free (from finding you a course, a College, and all the guidance you need).

If you live in London, I recommend “Atlantic London” it’s an agency that is dealing daily with prospective students, so if you are not very confident that you can do it by yourself then you can start going to talk to someone from there!

Spiralling rents consume increasing portion of student loans (Link)

 

Yours,

Dan Draper

Just in case you need more information: The Big Fat Guide to Student Finance 2020 (Link)