1. What is student support?
Students in universities and colleges of higher education may be able to get help with tuition fees, the costs of their course and their living expenses by getting student support in the form of student grants (including bursaries) or loans from the Government.
A grant does not have to be paid back. A student loan has to be paid back later when you start earning over a certain amount.
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Taxable: No
Administered by: Student Finance in each country of the UK
2. How much student support will I get?
The amount of help you can get depends on where you are studying, where you are living whilst studying, the fees charged by your university or college and your family circumstances.
Some students could get extra financial help, for example:
• single parents
• student parents if they have a partner who is also a student
• students with certain disabilities
See the information on Student Finance on the Gov.UK website for more details
3. How do I claim student support?
You can apply online or on paper. Follow the links below for the applications forms.
• More information on loans and grants in England
• More information on loans and grants in Wales
• More information on loans and grants in Scotland
• More information on loans and grants in Northern Ireland
If you are a national of another European Union country, contact Student Finance Services European Team - contact details given on the Gov.UK: Student Finance England website page.
What documents will I need?
You must provide your passport. If you do not have a passport, you can send your original birth certificate (or adoption certificate). If you send either of these documents, they must be accompanied by an identity confirmation form. Ask the Student Finance organisation for the country of the UK you live in where you get this from.
Depending on your circumstances, you may have to supply other evidence. For example, if you are claiming extra money because of a disability, you will need to provide evidence of the disability, such as a letter from a doctor.
If you will be under 25 at the start of the academic year, and you are married or in a civil partnership, you need to send your original marriage or civil partnership certificate.
4. How does student support affect benefits?
5. How does student support affect tax credits?
Student loan income is ignored when working out the amount of Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit you will get.
Some student grant income is ignored for Tax Credits, including:
• any amount for tuition fees
• a postgraduate maintenance grant
• certain bursaries (such as a health bursary or social work bursary)
• childcare grants
• a parents’ learning allowance.
If you don’t apply for student income, which you could claim, you can still be treated as if you have that money. This is called “notional income.”
The period over which student grant and loan income is taken into account
Most student income is averaged out over only the weeks of the year when you are studying (usually 42/43 weeks), but there are exceptions:
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Some student income is averaged over the whole year (52 weeks), such as some National Health Service (NHS) bursaries and postgraduate awards
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If you are on a “sandwich course” your grant income is normally not taken into account for the periods when you are on the placement or work experience part of the course
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If you stop being a full-time student before the end of your course, your grant or loan income may still be treated as income, until the date your course should have ended or until the date you repay your grant.
Updated October 2016