STUDENT FINANCE MATTERS

www.gov.uk/studentfinance

i

SESSION CONTENTS

The information and activities in these sessions will introduce you to the main areas of student finance and what they mean to you: •

Part 1 – Student Finance 14/15

• What is Student Finance England?

• What finance is available?

•

Part 2 – Applications & Beyond

• How and when to apply • Managing your money • How do you repay your student loan?

PART 1

STUDENT FINANCE 2014/15

?

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?

STUDENT FINANCE 2014/15 Before going any further, answer these questions to see what you already know about student finance:

Q 1 Which of these are available from Student Finance England?

a) Sponsorship and scholarships b) Loans and grants to help with tuition fees and living costs c) Bus tickets and a box of chocolates

Q 2 When should you apply for your student finance?

a) After you have started your course b) When you have a confirmed offer from a university or college c) As soon as possible

?

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?

STUDENT FINANCE 2014/15 Mark your answers in your work book, then come back and see how you did at the end of these sessions:

Q 3 What will your student loan repayments be based on?

a) Your future income b) How much you have borrowed c) Neither, you just pay a fixed amount regardless

Q 4 How much do you need to earn before you start to repay?

a) £16,000 a year b) £21,000 a year c) Doesn’t matter, repayments will be taken whatever you earn

PART 1

STUDENT FINANCE ENGLAND

1

STUDENT FINANCE ENGLAND

Student Finance England provide financial support on behalf of the UK Government to students from England entering higher education in the UK: • The two main costs full-time students will have while studying are tuition fees and living costs •

Student finance is available to help you with both

• Depending on your circumstances, your course and where you study, you may be able to get a range of financial help and support • You could get grants and bursaries (which you don’t have to pay back) and loans (which you do)

PART 1

WHAT FINANCE IS AVAILABLE?

1

WHAT FINANCE IS AVAILABLE?

SUPPORT AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS INCLUDES: Tuition Fee Loan Maintenance (Living Cost) Support Bursaries & Scholarships Additional Support Figures used in this section may change, subject to 2014/15 policy approval

PART 1

TUITION FEES AND LOANS

1

TUITION FEES AND LOANS

AN OVERVIEW • Universities and colleges can charge new full-time students up to

£9,000

per year for tuition fees • Eligible students

won’t

have to pay any tuition fees up front • A Tuition Fee Loan is available to cover the fee charged by the university or college (up to £6,000 for approved courses at private uni’s or colleges) • A Tuition Fee Loan is non-means tested (not linked to household income) • SFE pay the Tuition Fee Loan directly to your university or college • The loan is repayable, but only when your income is over £21,000

1

TUITION FEES AND LOANS

PART-TIME, NHS & SOCIAL WORK COURSES

Part-time courses -

If you are planning to study a part-time higher education course, the finance available to you is different; Depending on the intensity of your course you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £6,750 (£4,500 at private providers) and DSAs only

NHS and social work courses -

If you study for a degree on a pre registration health professional training course such as nursing, midwifery, dentistry, physiotherapy, medicine or social work then you may be entitled to receive some funding through an NHS Student Bursary Visit www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/students for more information Details of the tuition fees charged for specific courses can be found on university/college websites or at websites like unistats

PART 1

MAINTENANCE SUPPORT

1

MAINTENANCE SUPPORT

AN OVERVIEW • Maintenance support is available to help with your living costs while in Higher education such as your rent, books and food • Two main types of support are available, Maintenance Loan and Maintenance Grant • A Maintenance Loan is repayable and all eligible students are entitled to receive some funding • The amount of loan available will depend on where you live and study • Maintenance support is paid directly into your bank account each term

1

MAINTENANCE LOAN

2014/15 MAXIMUM RATES

Where you Live & Study Parental Home

Live at home

Elsewhere

Live away from home and study outside of London

London

Live away from home and study in London

Overseas

Study overseas as part of a UK course

Maximum Loan Available £4,418 £5,555 £7,751 £6,600

Additional loan is available for each extra week of study for students attending their course beyond 30 weeks

1

MAINTENANCE LOAN

MEANS TESTING

Full-Year Student*

Parental Home Elsewhere London Overseas

65% Non Means Tested 35% Means Tested Maximum Loan

£2,871 £3,610 £5,038 £4,290 £1,547 £1,945 £2,713 £2,310 £4,418 £5,555 £7,751 £6,600 *Slightly lower rates of support apply to final year students

1

MAINTENANCE GRANT

• The Maintenance Grant doesn’t have to be repaid • How much grant you can get depends on your household income

(100% means tested) Household income thresholds for 2014/2015:

Household Income: Up to £25,000 Full Grant of £3,387 Household Income: Up to £42,620 Partial Grant

1

GET YOUR ESTIMATE

Activity 1 –

By using the calculator on gov.uk

you can get an estimate of the student finance which may be available to you and make a note of the results in your work book

1

COMBINED MAINTENANCE SUPPORT

LIVING AWAY FROM HOME OUTSIDE LONDON

Household Income

£25,000 & under £30,000 £35,000 £40,000 £42,620

£42,875

£50,000 £62,132 & over

Maintenance Grant

£3,387 £2,441 £1,494 £547 £50

£0

£0 £0

Maintenance Loan

£3,862 £4,335 £4,808 £5,282 £5,530

£5,555

£4,836 £3,610

Total

£7,249 £6,776 £6,302 £5,829 £5,580

£5,555

£4,836 £3,610

PART 1

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT

1

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT

AN OVERVIEW

Extra money or support may be available if you:

• Have children or adults who depend on you financially • Have a disability, long-term health condition, mental-health condition or specific learning difficulty

Bursaries and scholarships

Many universities and colleges offer financial support to their students through bursaries and scholarships These can be linked to things like your household income, your course, academic achievement or if you play a musical instrument or a sport to a high standard

1

BURSARY & SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH

It’s important you spend some time looking into bursaries and scholarships offered and find out what’s on offer and how/when to apply; A lot of bursary applications can be started as part of your main student finance application, but for many scholarships you may have to apply direct to the university

Where to find the information:

• University and college websites – usually in the Fees & Funding sections • Other sites such as www.scholarship-search.org.uk

Activity 2 -

Use university/college websites and scholarship search to find examples of bursaries/scholarships offered by two of your UCAS choices and record the details in your work book

PART 2

APPLICATIONS & BEYOND

i

APPLICATIONS & BEYOND

SESSION INTRODUCTION From the information and activities in Part 1 you should now have and idea of the student finance available to you

Part 2 – Applications & Beyond

In this session you will get an overview of: • How and when to apply • Managing your money • How do you repay your student loan?

When the session is over remember to go back and check the answers you gave to the questions in Part 1, how did you do?

PART 2

HOW AND WHEN TO APPLY

2

STUDENT LOAN APPLICATIONS

KEY MESSAGES • Apply online through

gov.uk/studentfinance

as soon as possible to make sure your student finance is in place for the start of your studies • Make a note of your account log-in details (password etc) and your Customer Reference Number • You do not need a confirmed place at university or college to apply for student finance • You can change your details online before starting your course • Agree to share information from your application, this helps apply for many bursaries/scholarships

2

GOV.UK

FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO APPLY www.gov.uk/studentfinance

2

THE STUDENT ROOM

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION & RESOURCES www.thestudentroom.co.uk/studentfinance

2

STUDENT LOAN APPLICATIONS

INFORMATION YOU WILL NEED SFE will need information and evidence as part of your application, so have the following to hand: • Passport; SLC can check identity using valid UK passport details for most students • University and course details • Bank account details and National Insurance number • Parent’s or partner’s National Insurance number and income details* *For most applications SFE can verify income using these NI numbers with no need to send any original documents

PART 2

MANAGING YOUR MONEY

2

MANAGING YOUR MONEY

CONSIDER THE COSTS Before starting in higher education, it’s important to think about the costs you are likely to face and how to manage your money, particularly if you will be moving away from home,

some hints and tips include:

• Plan a budget – (Dull, but practical) • Check out student bank accounts and NUS Extra cards, but try to avoid taking credit cards, store cards or pay day loans!

• You may be able to manage a part-time job alongside your studies • If you need financial support and advice once you are at university or college, staff there will be able to help

2

MANAGING YOUR MONEY

YOUR BUDGET PLAN Some of your living costs will include things you have thought of, such as accommodation and food, through to things you may not have considered yet such as a TV licence or insurance:

Some costs to think about include:

• Rent, bills, books and study materials • Clothes, shoes, toiletries, make-up, haircuts • Leisure, sports and social activities

Activity 3 -

Using university websites, unistats , push.co.uk

and your own initiative, see how much information you can find on the costs of accommodation etc at your university of choice. Enter these in your budget sheets and compare with your expected income

PART 2

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS

2

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS

AN OVERVIEW • You wont make repayments until your income is over

£21,000

a year (£1,750 a month) • You’ll be due to start repaying in the April after graduating or leaving your course • You’ll repay 9% of your income over £21,000 and if you’re employed deductions will be made from your pay through the HMRC tax system • If your income falls to £21,000 or below your repayments will stop • Any outstanding loan balance will be written off 30 years after entering repayment

2

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS

THE FIGURES

Income each year before tax Income from which 9% is deducted Monthly Repayment (Approx)

£21,000 £0 £0 £25,000 £30,000 £35,000 £40,000 £45,000 £4,000 £?

£14,000 £19,000 £24,000 £30 £?

£105 £142 £180

Activity 4 -

If your income is £30,000 a year, the amount used to work out your student loan repayment would be; ?£...................... Giving a monthly repayment of; ?£......................

2

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS

THE INTEREST

Interest on your loan:

• Interest is charged from the day your first payment is made until your loan is paid off in full or written off • The interest charged is linked to Retail Price Index (RPI) and will vary • While you are studying until entering repayment, interest will be added at RPI +3% • On entering repayment interest will be linked to how much you earn, from RPI only if earning under £21,000 to RPI +3% if earning over £41,000 For more information on student loan repayments and interest rates go to;

www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk

?

QUESTIONS & COMMENTS

i i

WANT MORE INFORMATION?

For further Information on student finance and applications go to:

www.gov.uk/studentfinance

For a range of helpful tools and guidance, visit:

www.thestudentroom.co.uk/studentfinance

www.gov.uk/studentfinance