Most undergraduate students will be funded by the UK Government during their studies. This usually means that they receive a loan to cover the costs of their tuition fees and to contribute to their living costs. This loan is not paid back until students graduate and is then charged at 9% of all earnings above a set income threshold (currently £27,295 in 2022-23).
The Big Fat Guide to Student Finance by Save the Student is a good resource to use when looking for further information.
If you have read our webpages and require further advice, you are welcome to email: rsu@roehampton.ac.uk
Are you eligible for a student loan?
To be eligible for a student loan for an undergraduate degree, each of the following statements will usually need to be true:
- You are a UK or Irish national, or an EU national with ‘settled status’.
- You normally live in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man and have done so for the past three years before starting your course.
- You are studying an eligible course at a UK college or University - this should apply to all University of Exeter undergraduate degrees.
- You do not already have a degree-level qualification. There are a few exceptions here – most notably if you are studying for a healthcare degree.
Student loans are available for both full-time and part-time students, although anyone studying part-time will need to be taking at least 30 credits in a year to be eligible for a loan.
The maximum entitlement for student loans is normally the length of your course, plus one year, so if you have already received student finance for more than one year of an earlier degree, you may not be eligible for funding for the full duration of your studies. See the section below on making requests for consideration of additional funding if you need an extra year’s funding and believe you may have ‘compelling personal reasons’.
There is additional information about funding entitlement, and there are some exceptions not covered above. For example there are exceptions to these rules for students over the age of 60 and students with special residential status, e.g. refugees. We would encourage students with special circumstances, or who are uncertain of their entitlement, to contact Student Finance for information. Relevant contact details can be found here.
Eligibility details for students living in England can be found here, as well as links to the relevant processes for students living in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
If you’re not sure whether or not you would count as a home student for the purpose of tuition fees and/or student finance, you might want to review the information provided by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) here.
How much could you be entitled to receive towards your living costs?
The amount of student finance you’re eligible to receive will depend on your household income, which country of the UK you live in, and whether you will be living away from home while you study. Save the Student has helpfully collated the key information on each country within the UK, and you can find this here.
Students living in England are able to apply for loans for both tuition fees and maintenance, with the level of maintenance loan available depending on household income. In the other UK nations, as well as loans there are some grants available to students. If you want to know more, see the ‘maintenance grants’ information from UCAS.
How to apply for student finance
For students living in England:
The Government provides information on how to apply for student finance here, and Student Finance England have produced a video summary for 2022-23. The Student Loans Company has also written this article which summarises the process.
For most new and continuing students, the process is online. You’ll need to have an account with Student Finance England and can set one up if you haven’t already. You’ll then need to complete the relevant forms.