How To Get A College Degree

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1 PEMBROKE COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE Postcode CB2 1RF Telephone (01223) FINANCING YOUR STUDIES AT PEMBROKE PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY AS IT LAYS OUT SOME OF THE COSTS YOU WILL INCUR AND WHAT FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE TO HELP YOU MEET THESE COSTS Dr Becky Coombs College Registrar Telephone (01223)

2 Website addresses: If you normally live in England, then your application for student finance will be dealt with by Student Finance England: If you normally live in Northern Ireland, then your application for student finance will be dealt with by Student Finance Northern Ireland. If you normally live in Scotland, then your application for student finance will be dealt with by Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). If you normally live in Wales the your application for student finance will be dealt with by Student Finance Wales. If you are from another EU country then you should follow the relevant links from the following website: The information in this document is based on support available for students from England. If you normally live in another UK region or another EU country then different rules apply. You are strongly recommended to consult the relevant website to determine what support, if any, you are entitled to based on your individual circumstances

3 INTRODUCTION The cost of studying at Pembroke can be divided into two parts: 1 Tuition fees (what you pay towards your course costs) (p. 2) 2 Daily living costs (maintenance) (pp. 3-7) This document sets out the fees that you will pay if you are a student at Pembroke College and the steps that you should take now in order to get financial support for both your fees and your maintenance. 1. TUITION FEES The information concerning fees applies to all students whether you are from England, another UK region or another EU country. All students are entitled to take out a loan to cover the tuition fee. The tuition fee for 2015/16 is 9,000 for all undergraduate degree courses 1. To pay this tuition fee you can either: take out a loan from the Student Loans Company (SLC) for the fees (these will be paid direct to Pembroke). Repayment of this loan is deferred until after you have graduated and are earning over 21,000 a year (this threshold may be increased); or, take a loan from the SLC to cover partial payment of your fees, with the remainder being paid directly by you (at the start of the academic year), pay the full 9,000 fee direct to the College at the start of the academic year. This will be shown on your Michaelmas term College bill unless we have evidence that the SLC is paying it. PEMBROKE FEE BURSARIES The College plans to offer a limited number of 6,000 fee bursaries to undergraduate students from households with a residual income of less than 25,000 and who have either spent more than three months in care, are lone parents or received free school meals whilst at school. A student from a household with a residual income of less than 25,000 who does not meet one of these criteria might still qualify for a fee bursary. Granting of these bursaries will be subject to annual review of financial circumstances. Further information about Pembroke fee bursaries is available on the college website. THE COLLEGE FEE AND HOW TO OBTAIN EXEMPTION There is a special College fee payable for Oxford and Cambridge students; the College fee ( 6,345 in 2015/16) covers the cost of the educational service provided specifically by the College and not the University. This is almost always paid, on your behalf, by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) providing that you are classified as a publicly funded student. To be classified as a publicly funded student you must apply to Student Finance, even if you do not intend taking out a loan for either the tuition fee or maintenance or do not wish to be means tested. Student Finance will then establish your eligibility to be classified as a publicly funded student and will issue you with a Student Finance Breakdown (SFB) an example of which is on p. 12. You must send us a copy of your SFB in order for us to classify you as a publicly funded student and not be liable for the College fee. 1 The tuition fee figure is set by the Government and will rise in subsequent years. 2

4 2. DAILY LIVING COSTS (MAINTENANCE) Almost all Pembroke undergraduates live in college-owned accommodation for the full three or four years that they are in Cambridge. Students live in single study bedrooms either on the main college site or in college-owned houses nearby. Rents (this includes background heating, electricity and Ethernet) are charged termly, for a nine- or ten-week period; please note rent is not charged if you are not here during the vacations so if you are only resident during the ten week term you will only pay 30 weeks rent (and therefore save paying rent on the remaining 22 weeks of the year!). Rents vary according to the size of room and facilities offered. In 2015/16 most rents will be in the range per week per week and are among the cheapest in Cambridge. The table below lays out maximum and minimum annual costs in 2015/1615: Accommodation max rent Accommodation min rent Kitchen Facilities Charge2 Approximate weekly living costs (includes food expenditure) /week 77.67/week /term /week Max. annual costs, based on ten weeks residency 7, Min. annual costs, based on ten weeks residency 5, The university estimates that students need approx. 8,360 to cover living expenses in Cambridge, but as the above table suggests, Pembroke students regard this figure as more than ample. Significant financial support is available from central government funds (pp. 3-4), from the University (p. 5) and from the College (pp. 6-7) to help you meet the costs of your maintenance. The support available from these three separate sources is outlined below. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT Central Government Support for help with daily living costs can be divided into two sections: i) Maintenance grants (non repayable) ii) Loans (repayable once you have graduated and are earning over 21,000/annum) All the Student Finance websites listed at the beginning of this document have a calculator which will give you a more detailed estimate of the support that you might be entitled to, depending on levels of assessed household income. Information concerning maintenance and the level of loan and/or grants available is based on support available to students from England. Support for students from Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales varies and students from these areas should consult the relevant websites addresses given on the inside of the front cover. EU students are not eligible for any National support towards their maintenance but, depending on their financial circumstances they might be eligible for a Cambridge European Bursary - details of which have already been sent to qualifying students. 2 The kitchen facilities charge (known as KFC) contributes towards the running costs of the College kitchens and allows the College to offer meals at lower prices. 3 Please note that this is a minimum estimated figure, and that living costs vary from student to student depending on lifestyle and other factors. 3

5 i. Government maintenance grant Students who are from households whose income is less than 42,620 could be eligible for a nonrepayable Maintenance Grant of up to 3,387 a year. If you receive a Maintenance Grant then this will be paid directly to you in 3 instalments along with any Maintenance Loan you have applied for. Assessed household incomes of less than 25,000 will qualify for a full Maintenance Grant. Assessed household incomes of up to 42,620 will qualify for some element of the Maintenance Grant. ii. Student Maintenance Loan All students are entitled to apply for a Student Maintenance Loan to help with maintenance costs. The basic Student Maintenance Loan (i.e. non means tested) is 3,731 in 2015/16; there is a further 2,009 loan available which is subject to means testing. Students in receipt of a Maintenance Grant are entitled to a Maintenance Loan. However those receiving larger Maintenance Grants qualify for a smaller Maintenance Loan: e.g. a student receiving a full Maintenance Grant is entitled to a Maintenance Loan of 4,047 whereas a student receiving a Maintenance Grant of 1,494 is entitled to a Maintenance Loan in the region of 4,993. Students from households with incomes greater 42,620 and less than 62,140 could be eligible for all or part of the additional 2,009 means tested element of the loan, depending on their assessed household income. Your assessed household income is calculated by Student Finance, on the basis of your application; it is NOT calculated by either the University or by the College. We do recommend that you/your parents do not tick the boxes signifying refusal to allow data sharing between Student Finance and the University. If the boxes are left un-ticked, then Student Finance can communicate directly with the University (specifically the Isaac Newton Trust who administer the Cambridge Bursary Scheme) about your entitlement to support. How to apply for Government Loans and Government Maintenance Grants All students, irrespective of whether: they are from England, another UK region or another EU country, they wish to be means tested or not wish to take out a loan or not MUST apply for student financial support in order to establish their right to be classified as a publicly funded student and therefore be exempt from the College fee. Applications are made on-line via the relevant websites (given on the inside of the front cover). In order to avoid any delays in the processing of your application you should start your application as soon as possible. When you apply, you must declare the name of the institution you plan to attend as: Pembroke College, University of Cambridge You must ensure that you have applied by the specified date. If you delay in applying then there is a risk that it will not be possible for the SLC to release your first maintenance grant and/or loan instalment at the start of the Michaelmas term. All information must be correctly completed to ensure that there are no delays with the bank transfer of your loan and/or your grant. All correspondence with the SLC will be sent to your home address. Once your application for student support has been processed, you will receive a Student Finance Breakdown (SFB) from Student Finance informing you of the amount of loan you have applied for, for both the tuition fee and maintenance. It will also indicate if you are entitled to a Government maintenance grant and the amount you will receive. An example of a SFB is given on p

6 It is important that you send a copy of your SFB to the Tutorial Office, Pembroke College, Cambridge CB2 1RF, as soon as possible and not later than 31 st August Your student maintenance grant and/or loan will be paid by BACS and is only released once the College has notified the Student Loans Company that you are in attendance. Attendance is confirmed once you have seen your tutor at the start of the Michaelmas term. In order to confirm your attendance with the SLC we require your Student Support Number this will be on your University or College Payment Advice (an example is given on p. 13). UNIVERSITY SUPPORT - THE CAMBRIDGE BURSARY SCHEME Any student who is in receipt of a Government Maintenance Grant is eligible to apply for a Cambridge Bursary. These bursaries are funded partly by the University, partly by the Newton Trust, and partly by the College. The value of each bursary will be based on your assessed household income, and calculated on a sliding scale up to a maximum of 3,500 per year in 2014/15 ( 5,600 per year for some mature students). That is, a student in receipt of the full 3,387 maintenance grant will receive a Cambridge Bursary of 3,500 (i.e. in total 6,887 which is nonrepayable). Bursaries of smaller amounts will be awarded on a sliding scale to all those students who qualify for a lower level of maintenance grant. Students will be eligible for a bursary for each year of their undergraduate course as long as they continue to meet these conditions. Applying for a Cambridge Bursary for Home students is very simple; with applications being made online via a dedicated website. There is only one application round each year (deadline towards the end of October). We will send you further information about applying in late August/early September. Any bursary you receive will be paid in two equal instalments, usually by deduction from your College bills at Christmas and at Easter. More information about the Cambridge Bursary Scheme is available at: EU students with a household income of less than 42,620 per year might be eligible for Cambridge European Bursary all EU students have already been contacted with details of the scheme and how to apply. 5

7 PEMBROKE SPECIFIC FINANCIAL SUPPORT Owing to the generosity of donors, the College has money available to help students to reduce the burden of debt, in addition to its participation in the Cambridge Bursary scheme. Whilst most of Pembroke s financial support is linked to household income, Pembroke is also able to offer smaller grants to students irrespective of their household income. Means Tested Maintenance Support Pembroke seeks to offer targeted financial help to students to reduce their debt burden (to be eligible for either of the above schemes you must have been financially assessed by Student Finance). It does this through two schemes: For students from household incomes of between 0 and 42,620, who are in receipt of a government maintenance grant, the College aims to make up a percentage of the shortfall between non repayable support available to students and the 7,200 estimated living costs. The first 1,000 will be paid as a contribution towards maintenance with the remaining amount being paid as a rent rebate. Household income Approx. non repayable income from maintenance grant & Cambridge Bursary Est. annual living costs at Pembroke Shortfall' % of shortfall contributed by College College contribution Approx. total non repayable income with College contribution < 25k 6,887 7, % 313 7,200 25k- 30k 6,790-4,941 7, ,259 65% - 41% ,057-5,867 30k- 35k 4,843-2,994 7,200 2,357-4,206 40% - 31% 943-1,304 5,786-4,298 35k- 40k 2,896-1,047 7,200 4,304-6,153 30% - 21% 1,291-1,292 4,187-2,339 40k- 42, ,200 6,258-7,100 20% - 12% 1, , For students from household incomes of between 42,620 and 62,140, who are in receipt of the means-tested element of the student loan 4, the College will offer rent rebates of between 25% and 11%: Household Income Rent rebate Annual rent rebate* credited to student bill 42,620-44,000 25% ,001-45,300 24% ,301-46,600 23% ,601-47,900 22% ,901-49,200 21% ,201-50,500 20% ,501-51,800 19% ,801-53,100 18% ,101-54,400 17% ,401-55,700 16% ,701-57,000 15% ,001-58,300 14% ,301-59,600 13% ,601-60,900 12% ,901-62,140 11% * based on 10 weeks occupancy No application is needed for either scheme as bursaries are calculated automatically from the information given on the Student Finance Breakdown (SFB) and will be automatically be credited to your College bill in instalments. 4 the loan subject to income assessment must be greater than the assessed contribution to living costs in order to qualify 6

8 Other Pembroke Specific Financial Support available at all Undergraduate Students Pembroke Merit Awards Students who achieve First Class Honours in any Tripos examination are awarded Scholarships of per year, and Prizes of between 250 and 300. Book grants of between 75 and 100 are awarded to those who do not get a First, but have a number of First Class marks on their papers. Pembroke participates in the Instrumental Awards Scheme. Pembroke support for specific study-related costs, travel etc. Pembroke also offers financial assistance, wherever possible, to students to help with specific study-related costs, course-related travel and certain extramural activities. For example it: awards grants to students who remain in Cambridge, for study purposes, outside of term; offers all students a book grant of up to 60 per year towards relevant course books; offers help towards the payment of music lessons; offers help towards additional language teaching where appropriate; offers travel grants for work-related trips; organises exchange schemes with other universities; awards grants for sports-related expenses for serious sportsmen and women; in some circumstances assists with the purchase of essential equipment for a course. Pembroke College Hardship grants Pembroke has a flexible scheme which offers extra funds to those who fall into proven genuine need, at any time during their course. Students will need to be prepared to discuss their financial circumstances with their Tutor; these discussions are confidential. Further information on all these additional sources of support will be sent to you late August/early September. 7

9 SUMMARY OF SUPPORT AVAILABLE What s it for? Who s eligible? Means-tested support How much? Do I have to pay it back? Tuition fee loan Tuition fees All students No Up to 9,000 yes Government maintenance grant Government means tested loan Daily living costs Daily living costs Students from household incomes of < 42,620 Students from household incomes > 42,620 and < 62,140 Yes yes Up to 3,387 depending on household income Up to 2,009 depending on household income Government basic loan Daily living costs All students No Up to 3,610 Yes Cambridge Bursary Daily living costs Students in receipt of Government maintenance grant No Yes Yes Up to 3,500 No How is it paid Directly to the College By bank transfer to your account termly By bank transfer termly By bank transfer termly In two instalments via College bill (Lent and Easter term How do I apply Deadline for applications Online 31 st May 2015 Online 31 st May 2015 Online 31 st May 2015 Online 31 st May 2015 Online via CamSIS self-service page End of Oct 2015 Pembroke fee bursaries Help with tuition fees Students from household incomes < 25,000 Yes 6,000 No Directly by the College Online 1 st August 2015 Pembroke means tested maintenance support Pembroke Merit awards Daily living costs Recognition of achievement in Tripos exams Students who have been means tested and who are in receipt of either Government maintenance grant or Means tested element of student loan Students who achieve First class Honours in University examinations Yes Up to 1,350 depending on household income No No variable No In instalments via College bill (first in Lent term) By bank transfer to your account No application necessary automatically calculated by College based on information given on SFB No application awarded by College once examination results are known No deadline (although no awards will be made after June 2014) N/A Pembroke support for specific study related costs, travel etc. Help with specific study-related costs, courserelated travel and certain extramural activities All students No Variable No Variable (Cheque, bank transfer, College bill etc.) Students must apply via grant forms available on the College website Variable

10 Caution deposit COLLEGE CHARGES All students are required to pay a 350 caution deposit at the start of their course. This deposit will only be refunded once you have finished your course and graduated. You will need to pay your deposit before you take up residence. Your College bill College bills are issued quarterly, covering room rent and other fixed charges for the coming quarter, and the cost of meals etc. taken in the previous quarter. Your College bill will most likely show charges for: Room rent (where applicable). This includes background heating, electricity and ethernet. Rents range from /week. Vacation Rent. This is payable by students for extra residence over and above the three termly rental periods. If you come into residence prior to the 4 th October 2015 then you will be charged a nightly pro rata rent for your room. Kitchen Overhead Charge (KFC) of /term for students living in College-owned accommodation and 76.70/term for students who live in private accommodation. This charge is consequent upon membership of the College, and is not related to actual use of the facilities of the Hall and Buttery in any term. Meals. Meals bought in the buttery are paid for using your meal account and accessed using your University card. You are allowed to accumulate up to 100 of debt on this account each term. You may need to pay into the account to keep it within this limit. At the end of each term any debit or credit balance on the meal account is transferred to your main College bill. Formal Hall is currently charged at 8.80; there is a charge of for guests. These meals are also paid for using your meal account. Faxes. Personal incoming faxes are charged at 22p a sheet. Outgoing faxes are charged at 22p a sheet inland and 55p a sheet overseas. Fees. If you have stated that you are paying all or an element of the 9,000 tuition fee then this will be shown on this bill. If you have NOT provided us with a Student Finance Breakdown (SFB) then you risk having the College fee ( 6,345) also added to your bill. 9

11 Timetable for Payment of College Bills Your College bill and where applicable Fee bill will be ed to you shortly before you arrive at the start of the Michaelmas term Please note that if you arrive before Sunday 4 th October you will be charged a nightly pro rata rent for your room before 4 th October in addition to your termly rental. Friday, 16 th October 2015: Friday, 15 th January 2016: Friday, 22 nd April 2016: Friday, 5 th August 2016: Last date for payment of Michaelmas Term bill, i.e. Room Rent and Kitchen Overhead Charge Last date for payment of Lent Term bill Last date for payment of Easter Term bill - please see note on Estimated bills. Last date for payment of Long Vacation bill. This will cover the charges incurred during the Easter Term. You should receive the bill by the middle of July. If you are away during the summer please make arrangements for the account to be paid in your absence. How to pay your College bill: College bills are payable by: 1 debit card via the Finance Office (open Monday-Friday, 10:30 14:00); 2 by bank transfer, see page 4 for account details; 3 cheque please ensure that your College account number is shown on the reverse of the cheque. Cheques may be left at the Porters Lodge in an envelope clearly marked College Bill. The Finance Office will be open to deal with student enquiries from Monday to Friday. If you experience problems meeting the payment date of your College bill please see the College Registrar, Room (LL3) before settlement is due. Unless authorised by the College Registrar unpaid accounts will incur a fine of 20 plus interest charges. Under no circumstances will any student be allowed to take his/her Degree until his/her account with the College has been cleared. Please remember that your student loan and any maintenance grant to which you are entitled will be paid by BACS and is only released once the College has notified the Student Loans Company that you are in attendance. Confirmation of attendance is done using your Student Support Number (SSN) which is on your University or College Payment Advice. Attendance is confirmed once you have seen your tutor at the start of the Michaelmas term. 10

12 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS I do not wish to take out a loan for either my fees or my maintenance why do I need to apply for Student Finance? We ask all students to apply to student finance to establish their eligibility to be classified as a publicly funded student (i.e. you have the right to take out a loan should you wish to). There are strict criteria as who to can and can t be classified as publicly funded (see the relevant section of the websites for further information on these criteria). Occasionally students have found that they can t make an application without saying they wish to take out a loan. If this occurs whilst you are making your application then we advise students to say they would like to take out a loan for either fees or maintenance but to put 0 in the section where it asks how much loan is required. I can t find any information about taking out a loan to pay the College fee on the student finance website and having rung them they told me they knew nothing about it? The College fee is unique to Oxbridge and covers the cost of educational services provided by the College (rather than the university). By applying to student finance (even if you do not wish to take out the loans) and producing a Student Finance Breakdown you have established that you are eligible, in principle, to be classified as a publicly funded student. This will then allow us to claim the College fee, on your behalf, from HEFCE. Will I be notified that I am exempt from the College fee? We do not notify students that they are exempt from paying the College fee, however if you wish to check that we have received your Student Finance Breakdown then you can contact us and we can let you know if everything is in order. I m confused sometimes you refer to Student Finance and other times Student Loans Company? Student Finance (which are regional organisations) process all student applications for financial support. They then pass this information onto the Student Loans Company (SLC) who pay out the money to the College (tuition fee loans) and to the student (loans and/or maintenance grants). The College confirm your attendance with the SLC in order for payments to be made. 11

13 2015/16 University or College Payment Advice Please keep this letter in a safe place. It should be given to your university or college should they ask for it 1 August 2016 SFDU Z Name: John Name Customer Reference Number: University or College: Campus Name: Course: PEMBROKE COLLEGE - CAMBRIDGE PEMBROKE COLLEGE - CAMBRIDGE BA HISTORY (3 YEARS) Course year: 1 Tuition Fees Payment Timetable for Tuition Fee Loan This will be paid directly to the university or college Expected payment date Amount Course Year University or college to be paid 15/10/ PEMBROKE COLLEGE - CAMBRIDGE 15/02/ PEMBROKE COLLEGE - CAMBRIDGE Course HISTORY (3 YEARS) HISTORY (3 YEARS) 15/05/ PEMBROKE COLLEGE - CAMBRIDGE HISTORY (3 YEARS) Total Student Finance Summary John Name will receive the following student finance for the academic year 2015/16: Maintenance Loan Grants

14 2015/16 Your Student Finance Breakdown 1 August 2015 Name: John Name Customer Reference Number: University or College: Campus Name: Course: PEMBROKE COLLEGE - CAMBRIDGE PEMBROKE COLLEGE - CAMBRIDGE BA HISTORY (3 YEARS) Course year: 1 You will need to pay back the Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan Tuition Fees Tuition Fee amount Tuition Fee Loan to be paid to your University or college: The amount we will pay directly to your university or college: Maintenance Loan Loan not based on household income: Plus loan based on household income: Minus loan replaced with grant*: Equals loan available to you: Loan requested: Loan to be paid to you: The amount we will pay to you: Grants Maintenance Grant: Grants Total: *This amount of your maintenance Loan has been replaced with a Maintenance Grant. This means you have less student finance to repay. For more information go to Payment of your student finance will be made to the following bank or building society account: Sort Code Account Number ****123 The first four digits of your account number are not shown for security reasons. 12