Applying for student finance

Applying for
student finance

Student finance advice and guidance for parents and supporters.

Tuition fees and tuition fee loans

UK universities charge for course tuition (known as the ‘tuition fee’). Students based in the UK and students assessed as eligible under the Higher Education fee guidance currently pay the same tuition fee; European Union and international students pay a different scale of tuition fees. All Kent’s tuition fees are published on our course pages.

Tuition fee loans

You are not expected to pay your child's tuition fees upfront , unless you want to. It is expected that the majority of students will apply for the tuition fee loan online. The loan is paid directly to the university, not to your child.

Maintenance loans

Your son or daughter can also apply for a maintenance loan to help with their living costs (food, accommodation, books etc). Maintenance loans are available to UK full and part-time students and eligible EU students.

Maintenance loans are awarded based on your household income (means-testing). Only those with a low household income are likely to be eligible for full financial support.  

Maintenance loans are paid into their bank account in three instalments – one instalment each term. They will need to budget to make this loan last for the full length of the term (usually a university term is 12 weeks).

How to apply for the tuition fee loan and maintenance loan

They will apply for their tuition fee loan and maintenance loan via the GOV.UK website

They should apply early to make sure funds are in place for when they start their course. There is a deadline for applications, usually the third week in May.

When will they receive their loan payment?

  • Tuition fees will be paid directly to the university
  • Maintenance loans will be paid into their bank account once they have registered on their course. They will receive one payment each term.

Repaying loans

They will have to repay their tuition fee loan and their maintenance loan. These are added together and paid off as one and the earliest they will start making repayments is the April after the graduate. 

Repayments are based on their income, not how much they borrowed.

They won’t have to repay anything until they are earning over the threshold for their repayment plan. Find out when they start repaying. If they are earning more than that, the Student Loans Company will calculate their repayments at 9% of their income over that amount.

Interest

They will be charged interest on their loan from the day their first payment is made to them or their university, until it’s been repaid in full or cancelled. It’s important to remember that the amount of interest they are charged doesn’t change the amount they repay each month.

Repayment example:

  • They earn £29,000 a year
  • This is £1,705 over the repayment threshold of £27,295
  • They will repay 9% of £1,705, which is £153.45 a year, or £12.79 per month.

More on repayment from the GOV.UK website

Disability support

Our aim at Kent is to design all of our services with inclusivity in mind - identifying potential barriers and working towards solutions to remove them as far in advance as possible. Depending on your child's specific needs, support available may include some of the following:

  • Funding
  • Inclusive Learning Plans (ILPs) & Adapted Exam Arrangements
  • Accommodation
  • Access to leaning and teaching materials in alternative formats
  • Assistive technologies
  • Mentoring
  • Note-taking.
Find out more

Setting a budget

Helping them create and plan a budget is one of the most useful things you can do. There are many budgeting tools and apps available, but generally they should be considering: 

Money coming in

  • Maintenance loan
  • Other financial support (scholarships, grants and bursaries)
  • Savings
  • Income from work
  • Parental contributions

Student Budget Planner
Accommodation Prices

Money going out

Rent or accommodation costs

  • If they are living in university accommodation, this will be the largest chunk of their budget, Some accommodation contracts include utility bills (water, gas and electricity) Wi-Fi and contents insurance.
  • University of Kent accommodation contracts include gas, water, water, electricity, wired and Wi-Fi internet access and up to £10,000 of room insurance cover for personal possessions.

Mobile phone, internet and TV costs

  • Find the best mobile package - consider SIM only contracts
  • Check if your son or daughter will need a TV license

See also