Here are the main types of student finance you can get:

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1 Going to uni or college?you can get student finance to help pay for your costs while studying. There s lots of financial help available; loans (which do have to be paid back) and grants and bursaries (that don t). Here are the main types of student finance you can get: Tuition Fee Loan Universities and colleges can charge up to 9,000 a year for full-time courses. You can get a Tuition Fee Loan to cover tuition fees. Maintenance Loan bills. Maintenance Loan helps with living costs such as rent and Maintenance Grant (or Special Support Grant) Maintenance Grant helps with living costs. This doesn t have to be repaid. Special Support Grant replaces Maintenance Grant in certain circumstances. Maintenance Grant and part of the Maintenance Loan depend on your household income that s the income of your parents or your husband, wife or partner. There s also extra help for students with a disability, mental-health condition or specific learning difficulty or students who have children and adult dependants. Here s a guide to sorting your student finance in three easy steps!

2 Find out what you could get using our online student finance calculator. The quickest and easiest way to apply is online at Student finance at GOV.UK. Apply now to make sure you have your money sorted for the start of your course. Don t wait to apply; use your preferred choice of course and you can change the details online later. If you re applying for student finance that depends on your household income we ll need some information from your parents or partner too. Remember to print out the declaration form and sign and return it to us. If we ask you for evidence, send this as quickly as possible to avoid delays with your application. We ll look at the information you give us and send you a Student Finance Entitlement letter letting you know what student finance you can get. Register at university or college - we can t pay you until you do! We ll pay any Maintenance Grant or Loan into your bank account in three instalments - one at the start of each term. We ll pay your Tuition Fee Loan direct to your university or college. You have to pay your loans back but not until you finish or leave your course and your income is over 21,000 a year.

3 What student finance is available? While at university or college your child will have two main costs - tuition fees and living costs. Depending on your child s circumstances, their course and where they study, they could get a range of financial support to help with both. The main types of finance are tuition fee and maintenance loans (which have to be paid back), and grants and bursaries (which don t.) They can get a Tuition Fee Loan of up to 9,000 to cover tuition fees, while Maintenance Loans and Maintenance Grants help towards living costs such as rent and bills. Maintenance Grants and part of the Maintenance Loan depends on your household income - that is, the income of you and your husband, wife or partner. There s also extra support for those with specific circumstances, for example, students with children or adult dependants, or a disability, including a mental-health condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia or dyspraxia.

4 You should encourage your child to apply early to make sure they have their money on time. If your child is only applying for the Tuition Fee Loan and the basic Maintenance Loan (the bit that doesn t depend on your household income), you won t have to do anything. They can just fill in the application with their own details. If your child is applying for student finance that depends on your household income, they ll be asked to enter your address when completing their application. We ll you and you ll need to follow the instructions given to support your child s application and create an account (if you haven t already got one). When you register you ll supply your National Insurance number and details of your household income, which we ll use to assess your child s entitlement to student finance. We ll confirm your household income directly with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), using your National Insurance number. We may ask you to send us evidence or further information to support what you ve told us. Your child won t have to repay their loan until they ve left university or college and their income is over 21,000 a year, 404 a week, 1,750 a month. They ll then repay 9% of their income over these amounts. If your child s income drops below these thresholds, all repayments stop automatically.

5 Repaying your loans Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans have to be repaid but not until you ve finished or left your course and your income is over 21,000 a year. Here s a guide to repaying your loans in three easy steps! You ll be due to start repaying your loan the April after you finish or leave your course. You only repay once you ve left university or college and your income is over 21,000 a year, 1,750 a month or 404 a week. If your income stops or falls below the threshold, your repayments will automatically stop. Your employer will automatically take 9% of your income above the threshold through the UK tax system (PAYE). If you re self-employed you ll pay through self - assessment. Your employer tells HMRC how much student loan you ve repaid.

6 At the end of the tax year HMRC tells us how much you ve repaid that year and we apply it to your balance. Repayments are based on your income, not what you borrowed. You pay 9% of your income over the threshold. For example, if you re paid monthly and earn 2,250 before tax you ll repay 9% of the difference between what you earn and what the threshold is: 2,250-1,750 = 500 9% of 500 = 45 So your student loan repayment would be 45 in that month. Use our repayment calculator to work out what your repayments might be at Student loan repayment calculator Interest Interest is charged from the day we make your first payment until your loan is paid off in full. The amount of interest charged is based on the UK Retail Price Index (RPI) and will vary depending on your circumstances. For the latest interest rates go to Student loan repayment website The interest rate is updated once a year in September, using the rate of RPI from March. Any loan remaining after 30 years will be written off.