student graduation with parents/carers

Finance

Finance

Going to university is a big financial outlay, so questions about finances, and how your son or daughter will fund their studies, may well be front of mind.

You’ll find details of our course fees on the fees and funding section, as well as on the individual course pages.

Your son or daughter will also need to pay for accommodation (if they’re not living with you at home) and cover living costs for the next three or four years, depending on the duration of their course.

Student loans are available to help cover some of the costs of degree-level study. There are two types:

  • Tuition fee loan – this pays for the course and is available for full-time and some part-time programmes
  • Maintenance loan – this is to help with living costs, such as accommodation, books and bills.

Student loans are different from other types of loans, as students only start repaying them once they’re working and earning a certain level of salary. It’s worth looking on the Student Loans Company website to find out more about the repayment terms and conditions.

There’s also a disabled students allowance, which you can find out about on the gov.uk website.

Your son or daughter can apply for any loans as soon as they submit their university applications.

To make sure the loans are set up before the start of term, they need to apply for any finance by 31 May.

They need to enrol on their course at the start of each academic year. Their grant or loans could be delayed if they don’t.

It’s important to note that a student loan is the student’s responsibility. The Student Loans Company will only ever ask the student to repay the loan – never a third party.

How you can help

As the parent or carer of a prospective student, you will usually need to support their student finance application by providing your own financial information. You can find advice on supporting a loan application on the gov.uk website.

You’ll find more information on our fees and funding pages.

There’s a lot more detail on the gov.uk website, too:

If you’d prefer to talk to someone, our Finance team is happy to help. Call them on 01494 603020.