Student Beans » Blog » Money » Student Finance & Loans

What To Do If You Haven’t Received Your Student Loan Yet

26 Sep 2024, by Camila Karalyte, min. read

You’ve started uni and everyone else has their student loan; where’s yours?

It’s okay if you want to scream “why haven’t I received my student loan yet?!” from the rooftop of your student accommodation. We get it.

We scream from the rooftops often.

If you’re one of the unfortunate few that, when the student finance payment date drops, you’re left with no SLC text and an empty bank account. It’s heartbreaking, isn’t it?

Living on a student budget is not easy at the best of times, but when your student loan is late, it makes things more complicated and nerve-wracking. Why hasn’t it come through? Will I afford rent this month? Shall I ring home? What about our weekly Spoon’s brekkie?

Your student loan might be late for a number of reasons, many of which can be easily dealt with. We understand it’s stressful, so take a look at why you might not have received your student loan yet and what to do about it.

Jump to:

Why haven’t I received my student loan yet?
What to do if your student loan payment is late
Student Loan contact number

Why haven’t I received my student loan yet?

You might be wondering if your student loan is just late, or if you’ll ever even receive it (slight over-exaggeration). You’re probably staring at your bank account, refreshing every few seconds to see if you’ve hit the jackpot.

Before you panic too much, find out why you haven’t received your student loan yet. These are some of the possibilities.

Double check when your student loan is supposed to be paid. It won’t always line up with the first day of university, so you might have to wait a little longer. You should receive a text from the Student Loans Company (SLC) stating when it’s due and that it will arrive within 3 days of the text, so make sure you give it the full 3 days to arrive.
There might be a mistake with your Student Finance Application. You may have put in the incorrect bank account information or there might be an error in the household income processing. You might have even sent off your student loan application late, so there might be a delay in receiving money.
Have you officially registered at your university yet? As a Fresher, you need to register as a student officially at the university. If you haven’t registered, you can’t receive any money, so make sure you register as soon as you can.

Student loan applications can take up to 6 weeks to be processed, so make sure you’ve given it at least that before you start to worry.

What to do if your student loan payment is late

Can you pay my bills?

Can you pay my telephone bills?

Take a deep breath, it’s okay. Late student loans can be sorted, and are usually not caused by anything concerning. We’ll point you in the right direction to get things started and hopefully you’ll get your student loan in no time.

Call Student Finance: sometimes all it takes is a call to Student Finance to start the process of sorting out why your student loan is late. They’ll be able to help you with the issue and how to sort it.
Check your Student Finance application status: check your online account to see the status of your application. The gov site explains what the different statuses mean and what to do. It’s likely that if there’s an issue with your loan payment you’ll see it on your account.
Set up a student bank account: there are a number of student bank accounts that offer 0% interest overdrafts or extra perks and freebies that can help you out until your student loan comes through.
Ask the university for help: you never know unless you ask. You might be surprised to find that your university offers support for this situation, or there might be a grant or bursary available to you.
Budget: easier said than done, but if you’re lucky to have a few quid, even with late student loan payments, then you should budget as a student as best as possible so you’re not left eating crumbs until your loan is paid to you.