Home Undergraduate Funding

If you have “Home” fee status you may be eligible for undergraduate loans. Find out more here!

What is student finance?

Student Finance is a loan available to all students who are eligible for “Home” student fee status to cover the total cost of your tuition fees. Home students are those who are resident and have settled status in the UK on the first day of the first academic year of their course. Find out if you may be eligible for Home fee status here.

There is a Student Finance England, Student Finance Scotland, Student Finance Wales and Student Finance Northern Ireland.

Tuition Fee and Maintenance Loans

For the academic year 2024/2025, the rates for Student Finance loans in England are as follows:

Full-Time Students

  • Tuition Fee Loan: Up to £9,250 per year.
  • Maintenance Loan:
    • Living at home: Up to £8,610.
    • Living away from home outside London: Up to £10,227.
    • Living away from home in London: Up to £13,348.


Part-Time Students

  • Tuition Fee Loan: Up to £6,935 per year.
  • Maintenance Loan: The amount depends on your course intensity (how much of the course you complete each year compared to a full-time course) and your living arrangements. For example:
    • Living at home: Up to £6,458.
    • Living away from home: Up to £7,670.
    • Living in London: Up to £10,011, depending on your course intensity (how much of the course you complete each year compared to a full-time course).

Eligibility

However, the student loan system has a number of criteria which would affect eligibility. It is vital that prospective students meet all the criteria to get an award.

If your course lasts longer than 30 weeks and 3 days, you could get extra money included as part of your maintenance loan. This is called a Long Course Loan.

You can use the student finance calculator to estimate how much Maintenance Loan you’ll get - it will also tell you if you’re eligible for extra grants or allowances.

Some students are considered 'independent', and their award is also free from income assessment e.g., student over 25, lone parent or where both parents are full-time students.

Part-time students can also get a non-means tested tuition fee loan and a means-tested maintenance loan. The amount awarded depends on the intensity of the course. However, the only grant available is Disabled Students Allowance.

Common issues arise when someone already has a Higher Education qualification, years of previous study, and/or have not met the residency rules.

Additional Funding

Financial support for whilst you are studying which you do not have to pay back, and which covers any study-related costs that you may incur due to a mental health problem, long-term illness or other disability. It can be received on its own or in addition to Student Finance.

You can find out how much you may be able to receive and what costs it can cover on the GOV.UK website here, eligibility criteria here, and how to make an application here.

You may be eligible for support with covering the costs of childcare, including a registered childminder, nanny, childcare agency, registered school, or home care worker. This is called “approved childcare.” Follow GOV.UK’s “Get Childcare: Step-by-Step” guide which takes you through whether you are eligible for childcare costs ;and what support you can get, how to get help paying for childcare, what to do if your circumstances change, and what to do when your child reaches school age.

If you are a student in England on a full-time undergraduate or Initial Teacher Training (ITT) course, and your household income is below £18,739.99 per year, you may be eligible for Parents learning ;Allowance. Find out what you could get, ;whether you are ;eligible, and how to make an application.

If you are a full-time student in higher education and an adult depends on you financially, you may be eligible for an Adult Dependants’ Grant. Find out what you could get, whether you are eligible, and how to make an application.

Extra money may be available in the form of non-repayable grants, for instance if you have dependent children or have a disability. Since August 2017, new Nursing and Midwifery students now come under the general Student Finance regulations (continuing students remain on the old NHS bursary scheme). Additional funding for some undergraduate and postgraduate NHS courses is available through the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Use the Scholarship Hub's search engine to find out if you are eligible for financial support outside of the Student Finance system.

If you are a student in healthcare, social work or teacher training you may be eligible for extra financial help.

How can Your Advice Service help you?

We can work with you to check your eligibility for Student Finance or any additional funding and provide an accurate estimate of how much you would be entitled to, as well as supporting you with preparing, submitting and appealing applications.

You can contact us by completing our online enquiry form.

If you have any questions or require advice or support regarding Postgraduate Study and your potential funding options, please visit our webpage on Postgraduate Funding – Home Students.

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