Financial Help
Eligible students who are studying for their first undergraduate degree will not have to pay tuition fees up front. A loan is available from the Government to cover the cost of tuition so you don’t have to find the money to pay your tuition costs before or while you are studying. You won’t have to start repaying the loan until you are earning over £21,000 a year.
The loan will also be available to European Union students and part-time students studying at least 25% (30 credits) per year. However, if you already hold an honours degree or another qualification at the same level, you will not qualify for this loan.
For more information visit the government website.
What money is available?
You can apply for the following from the government:
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A Tuition Fee Loan to cover your tuition fees in full
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A Maintenance Loan for living cost such as rent (full-time student only)
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A Maintenance Grant if your household income is less than £42,611 (full-time students only)
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Extra financial help if you have a disability or children or adults depending on you (this is available from your local authority or your college/university)
Tuition Fee Loan
You can get a Tuition Fee Loan of up to:
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£9,000 for new full-time students
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£6,750 for part-time students
The Tuition Fee Loan is paid directly to the college/university. The Loan may not cover the full cost of your tuition if you’re studying on an approved course at the college/university.
If you are an EU student from outside the UK, you can still apply for a Tuition Fee Loan if you meet certain conditions. Visit the website for more information.
For more information about the Tuition Fee Loan visit the government website.
Maintenance Loans
The maximum Maintenance Loan for new students is:
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£5,500 if you live away from home and study at a university or college outside London
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£7,675 if you live away from home and study at a university or college in London
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£4,375 if you live at home
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£6,535 if you spend a year of a UK course studying abroad
For more information visit the government website.
Maintenance Grants
You can also apply for a Maintenance Grant if your family income is below £42,611. You can get:
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£3,354 if your household income is £25,000 or under
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£50 - £3,354 if you household income is between £25,000 and £42,611
Maintenance Loans and Grants are paid directly into your bank account at the start of each term, once you’ve registered onto your course.
National Scholarship Programme
The National Scholarship Programme is a Government-backed scheme to provide additional financial support to certain eligible students.
Students in receipt of a Guildford College Scholarship will have a household income of under £25,000 and all full-time students will be required to be in receipt of a full Student Finance England Maintenance Grant. Part-time students will be asked to prove their household income, as Student Finance England will no longer be conducting means tested assessments. More information about the Guildford College Scholarship scheme is available here.
Please note: Meeting the eligibility criteria does not give an entitlement to a scholarship.
Other schemes
Access to Learning Fund
This is a government funded scheme given to universities and colleges to help students facing hardship extra financial support to access and remain in Higher Education. It can help towards paying for childcare, books, travel and other necessities.
Loans
A Career Development Loan is a bank loan designed to help you pay for work-related learning. The loans are available to learners aged 18+ and can be used to support full-time, part-time or distance learning courses for up to two years, as long as the course leads to a trade, occupation or profession. You don't have to start paying your loan back until one month after you stop training. You then repay the loan to the bank over an agreed period at a fixed rate of interest.
You can apply to borrow anything between £300 and £10,000 to help you fund up to two years of learning (or up to three years if the course includes one year of relevant practical work experience).
For further details about CDLs please visit the Government website or Tel: 0800 585 505 to speak to an advisor.
Extra help
Extra help is available for students with disability, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty, and for students with children or adult dependants.
For more information
The Finance Team
Tel: 01483 44 85 26
Email: finance@guildford.ac.uk
Information, Advice and Careers
Tel: 01483 44 85 85
Email: info@guildford.ac.uk
Student Finance England
Tel: 0845 300 50 90
Web: www.gov.uk/studentfinance
Other useful websites:
www.sfengland.slc.co.uk
www.thestudentroom.co.uk/studentfinance