Welcome to the third series of the HE Knowledge Hub Podcast
For this third episode of the podcast we’re talking with Stacey-May Fox who works for the Student Loans Company England, we’ll be discussing Student Finance. We’ll look at what’s changing for 2024, but also going over all the fundamentals for those who are entitrely new to student finance, from what you might be entitled to and how to apply, and what evidence you’ll need to provide, to repayments and what other funding could be available, we’ll cover all bases.
Stacey-May’s top three tips for student finance :
- Research
- Apply on time, and right first time
- Repayments are based on what you earn, not what you owe
- Tuition Fees – the money that you pay to the university or college each year of study, currently (March 2024) it is up to £9,250 per year. The tuition fee loan is paid straight to your university or college, and doesn’t come to you first.
- Maintenance Loan – this is a loan to cover your living costs (including your accommodation) it is paid directly to you, in termly instalments. For 2024 the maximum loan amounts have risen by 2.5% on the previous year. It’s also worth noting that if students are in recewipt of benefits themselves they could receive more funding under a “special support” element.
- Repayment Threshold – we use this term to mean the amount you can earn before you start paying your loans back, currently £25,000 (this figure is subject to change but we have been told to expect it not to change until April 2027).
- Plan 5 – new Students (from academic year 2023/24) this will stay this way until April 2027 (under current guidelines).
- Disabled Student Allowance – these have risen by 2.5% for 2024. You could be eligible for this if you have a disability that affects your ability to study, the list includes the below but is not limited to it, you can find out more here: https://www.ucas.com/student-finance-england/disabled-students-allowances#eligibility
- learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or ADHD
- mental health condition, such as anxiety or depression
- physical disability, such as if you’re partially sighted or have to use crutches
- long-term health condition, such as cancer, chronic heart disease, or HIV
- Parents’ Learning Allowance – £50 and £1,963 a year, amount awarded is based on household income.
- Adult Dependants Grant – up to £3438, amount awarded is based on household income and students are only eligible for ADG if the adult who is dependent on the student does not earn more than £3,796 (after tax and NI) in the academic year.
- Childcare Grant – up to 85% of childcare costs capped at £193 per week (for one child), amount awarded is based on household income.
More information about the changes for 2024 can be found here: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/ – How we are supporting students with their living costs
Download the free money manager app Blackbullion to help with budgeting and managing spending.
- Find out the latest information about student finance from us by visiting: https://nextstepssw.ac.uk/home-page/what-is-higher-education/a-guide-to-student-finance/
- For the most up-to-date information about student finance visit Student Finance England’s (SFE) Quickstart Finance Guide: https://media.slc.co.uk/sfe/quickstartfinanceguide/index.html
- To apply for student loans, you can make your application via the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/apply-online-for-student-finance
- For further information about what to do if your household income has changed since the date of the documentary evidence asked for: https://media.slc.co.uk/sfe/currentyearincome/index.html
- Do you want to know how much of a loan you could expect, visit the loan calculator page: https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator
- For the most current and comprehensive information about the Disabled Student Allowance go to: https://www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowance-dsa
- To see what funding there is from the NHS for certain healthcare courses go to: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/student-services
- Find out about scholarships and bursaries that could be available here: https://www.thescholarshiphub.org.uk/
- SFE YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/SFEFILM
Sound credits – https://www.bensound.com/