UK Student Finance
An A-Z of Student Finance

Student Finance: Do You Qualify?

To qualify for student finance, you and your course must be ‘eligible’. This means you must meet certain conditions, for example, concerning where you normally live and whether you’ve studied before.

Who can Apply for Financial Help?

The financial help outlined in this page is for students who are:

·        on a higher education course (or a postgraduate course of Initial Teacher Training)

·        normally living in England

       and:

·        studying anywhere in the UK

Different rules apply if you are a student and any of the following is true:

·        you are ordinarily resident in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales

·        you are a European Union (EU) national or a family member of an EU national who has come to study in England

·        you are on a postgraduate course (apart from a course in Initial Teacher Training)

Do you Qualify for Financial Help?

To qualify for financial help as a higher education student, you must meet certain conditions of ‘eligibility’. These cover three areas:

·        your personal eligibility

·        your course

·        your college or university

Your Personal Eligibility

Your personal eligibility consists of:

·        where you normally live, known as ‘residence’

·        whether you have taken a higher education course before

·        your age

   Residence

Normally, to qualify for the standard student finance package, on the first day of your course you must:

·        have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for the three years immediately before starting the course, other than wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education

·        be ‘ordinarily resident’ in England

·        have ‘settled status’ within the UK (under the terms of the Immigration Act 1971)

‘Ordinarily resident’ means where you normally live. It allows for temporary or occasional times when you were out of the country.

‘Settled status’ means that there are no immigration restrictions about how long you can stay in the UK.

However, you may still qualify for the standard student finance package, even if you don’t meet these residence requirements. Ask your local authority or university for advice.

   Previous study

If you have studied before, this may affect your entitlement to student finance.

You may not be able to get financial help if you have taken a course of higher education in the past and either:

·        you received student finance from the government to do it

   or:

·        the college or university received funding from the government

Generally, from September 2006 onwards, you will be entitled to financial help for the length of your course, plus one extra year if necessary to cover things like false starts and transfers.

If you are unsure about whether your previous study affects your entitlement to financial help, speak to your local authority or university.

   Your age

There are no upper age limits to receive grants or a Student Loan for Fees.

However, in order to receive a Student Loan for Maintenance, you should be aged under 60 when you start your course. People aged 50-54 no longer have to prove that they intend to return to work when they finish their course.

Your Course

You can apply for student finance if your course is full-time (including sandwich courses) or part-time. But the help for full-time and part-time students is different.

Generally, to qualify for finance as a full-time student, your course should lead to one of the following qualifications:

·        first degree such as a Bachelor of Arts, Science or Education

·        Foundation Degree

·        Diploma of Higher Education

·        Higher National Diploma

·        Higher National Certificate

·        National Vocational Qualification at level 4 where this is awarded with a first degree, Diploma of Higher Education or Higher National Diploma

Part-time courses should last at least one year and not take more than twice as long as an equivalent full-time course.

Further education and postgraduate courses do not qualify for the standard student support package (apart from postgraduate courses in Initial Teacher Training).

Your Place of Study

Usually, you can receive student finance if your course takes place at:

·        a UK university

·        a college that receives government funding

·        a specified private institution (ask your university or college if it qualifies)

·        a group of schools taking part in the School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) scheme
 

 

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