Here’s All The Financial Help You Can Get At Uni This Year

Worried about affording uni? Here’s all the financial help you could get.

You’ll have got your A-Level results by now and have an idea of which uni you’re off to.

If the cost of living is worrying you, you may be pleased to know there’s a decent amount of help out there to offset the cost of living during your studies. This includes cash grants, bursaries and even help with childcare costs.

What grants are available to UK students?

There are lots of different types of grants out there, so it is important to check what you could be entitled to.

If you have a child or dependent adult, you might be entitled to:

  • Childcare Grant – up to £183.75 a week for one child, or up to £315.03 a week for two or more children
  • Parents’ Learning Allowance – between £50 and £1,863 a year.
  • Adult Dependants’ Grant – up £3,263 a year

If you have a disability, mental health condition, or long-term health issue, you may also be entitled to a Disabled Students’ Allowance of up to £25,575 a year.

For this academic year, here’s how much maintenance loan you should get when you start studying.

Are other grants available?

Maintenance grants have been scrapped for new students in England. However, they’re still available for those who started on their course before August 1, 2016. You do not have to pay the grant back, but it will reduce how much maintenance loan you’ll get.

Sites like Turn2us can check for other grants in your area, so it’s worth looking into.

Can my university help with the cost of living?

You might be entitled to extra money from your university or college, which can come in handy if you’re ever behind on bills. To do this, speak to your university or college student services department. 

You could be eligible if you are:

  • A student with children, especially single parents
  • A mature student with existing financial commitments
  • From a low-income family
  • Disabled
  • A student that was previously in care
  • Homeless or living in a foyer

If the cash is being awarded as a grant, then you won’t have to pay the money back. However, if it’s a loan, then you will have to pay it back.

Can I claim benefits while studying?

If you’re on a low income and studying, you might be eligible to claim benefits, such as Universal Credit. It only takes ten minutes to use a free benefits calculator online.

Some of the most popular online calculators include ones from Turn2us, Policy in Practice and entitledto. You will need to answer questions about your financial and living situation, as well as your employment.

How much do I need to pay for student loans?

At the time of writing, Universities and colleges in England can charge a maximum tuition fee of £9,250 per year.

If you study in Wales, you’ll be charged up to £9,000 per year.

Universities in Scotland don’t charge tuition fees to students from Scotland – but if you’re from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, you’ll pay up to £9,250 per year. Find out how you can get paid to study in Scotland.

Universities in Northern Ireland will charge a maximum of £4,395 per year to Northern Irish students, and up to £9,250 for students from England, Wales and Scotland.

When do I need to pay back my student loan?

You only start to repay your student loan once you earn a certain amount. But if you’re on a Plan 2 threshold then this is subject to change (including those with a Postgraduate loan).

You can read a more in-depth article about which student loan plan you’re on here.

Plan 1 student loan

Repay when your income is over £20,195 a year. You currently pay interest of 1.5%. Plan 1 loans are for English and Welsh students who started university any time before 2012.

Plan 2 student loan

Repay when your income is over £27,295 a year. This is being lowered to £25,000 for new students starting university in September 2023, but the cap for how long you have to pay off your loan is rising from 30 years to 40 years. For students already at university and those starting this year, the £27,295 threshold has been frozen until 2026/27. You currently pay interest of 4.5%, but this is rising to 6.3% this September.

Plan 4 student loan

Repay when your income is over £25,375 a year. You currently pay interest of 1.5% on Plan 4, which is the student loans repayment plan for Scottish students who started or attended uni any time after September 2012.

Postgraduate student loan:

Repay when your income is over £21,000 a year. You currently pay interest of 4.5%, but this is rising to 6.3% this September. 

You’ll pay 9% of the amount you earn over the threshold for plans one, two and four, and 6% of the amount you earn over the threshold for a postgraduate loan.

We hope this has given you a good idea of what grants are available to you and all the details you need to pay back your student loans.