STUDENT FINANCE MATTERS

SESSION CONTENTS i Student Finance England Section 1 – The Student Finance Package Section 2 – Student Loan Repayments Section 3 – Applications & Information Section 4 – Money Management

COMMON CONCERNS !

! My child can’t afford to go to university, it’s far too expensive! i Regardless of household income, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to help with the cost of fees, and a Maintenance Loan to help with their living costs. i No eligible students will have to pay their tuition fees up-front to go to university or college*. ! COMMON CONCERNS TUITION FEES *Studying a designated course at a publicly funded university or college

i Repayments don’t start until your child’s income is over £21,000 a year. They’ll then repay only 9% of their income over this threshold. ! Debt from a student loan will be unmanageable! i The amount they repay will only increase with their earnings as repayments are based on their income, not how much they’ve borrowed. COMMON CONCERNS ! REPAYMENTS

STUDENT FINANCE ENGLAND i

Student Finance England (SFE) provide financial support on behalf of the UK Government to students from England entering higher education in the UK: The two main costs full-time students will have while studying are tuition fees and living costs. SFE make finance available to help students with both. Depending on their circumstances, course and where they study, students may be able to get a range of financial help and support. This includes grants and bursaries (which don’t have to be paid back) and loans (which do). i STUDENT FINANCE ENGLAND

THE STUDENT FINANCE PACKAGE SECTION 1

Bursaries & Scholarships Tuition Fee Loan Maintenance (Living Cost) Support Additional Support The Student Finance Package 1 THE STUDENT FINANCE PACKAGE SUPPORT AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS INCLUDES:

TUITION FEES & LOANS SECTION 1

Universities and colleges* can charge new full-time students up to £9,000 per year (£6,750 part-time) for tuition fees. Eligible students won’t have to pay any tuition fees up front. A Tuition Fee Loan is available to cover the fee charged by the university or college (Up to £6,000 for approved courses at private HEIs). Tuition Fee Loan doesn’t depend on household income. SFE pay any Tuition Fee Loan directly to a university or college. The loan is repayable, but only when the student’s future income is over £21,000 a year. *Publicly funded 1 TUITION FEES & LOANS

MAINTENANCE SUPPORT SECTION 1

Maintenance support is available to help with living costs a student will face while in higher education. Two main types of support are available, Maintenance Loan and Maintenance Grant. The Maintenance Loan is repayable and all eligible students are entitled to get some funding. The amount of loan available will depend on where a student lives and studies. Maintenance support is paid directly into the student’s bank account each term. 1 MAINTENANCE SUPPORT

Where Students Live & StudyMaximum Loan Available Parental Home Live at home £4,418 Elsewhere Live away from home and study outside of London £5,555 London Live away from home and study in London £7,751 Overseas Study overseas as part of a UK course £6,600 MAINTENANCE LOAN 2014/15 MAXIMUM RATES Additional loan is available for each extra week of study for students attending their course beyond 30 weeks. 1

The Maintenance Grant doesn’t have to be repaid. How much grant a student can get depends on their household income (100% means tested). Household income thresholds for 2014/2015: MAINTENANCE SUPPORT Household Income: up to £25,000 Household Income: up to £42,620 Full Grant of £3,387 Partial Grant MAINTENANCE GRANT 1

If you’ll be supporting a student’s application for student finance that depends on household income, SFE will need to see details of your household (taxable earned and unearned) income and National Insurance (NI) number(s) Earned income includes: wages, salaries, tips, and other taxable employee pay long-term disability benefits received prior to minimum retirement age net earnings from self-employment Unearned income includes: interest from savings (only the annual summary is required) benefits and pensions rent from property or a room For most applications, SFE verify income from your NI number with no need to send any documents, unless we ask for them. 1 SUPPORTING AN APPLICATION HOUSEHOLD INCOME

Household Income Maintenance Grant Maintenance Loan Total £25,000 & under£3,387£3,862£7,249 £30,000£2,441£4,335£6,776 £35,000£1,494£4,808£6,302 £40,000£547£5,282£5,829 £42,620£50£5,530£5,580 £42,875£0£5,555 £50,000£0£4,836 £62,132 & over£0£3,610 COMBINED MAINTENANCE SUPPORT LIVING AWAY FROM HOME, OUTSIDE LONDON 1 Students can get a quick estimate of their student finance entitlement using the calculator on gov.uk/studentfinancegov.uk/studentfinance

BURSARIES & SCHOLARSHIPS SECTION 1

Many universities and colleges offer financial support to their students through bursaries and scholarships. Bursaries: linked to personal circumstances and often, household income awards can include fee waivers or cash Scholarships: can be linked to academic results or outstanding ability in an area such as sport, music or art can be subject specific and are limited in numbers BURSARIES & SCHOLARSHIPS 1 Important to check university websites early and ask at open days for information on available bursaries & scholarships.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT SECTION 1

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT Extra support may be available to students who: have a child or an adult who depends on them financially have a disability, long-term health condition, mental-health condition or specific learning difficulty study an NHS or Social Work course NHS courses include: nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, dietetics, radiography, the later stages of medicine and dentistry ADDITIONAL SUPPORT For more information on eligibility and applications for NHS support go to 1

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS SECTION 2

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS AN OVERVIEW 2 Students won’t make repayments until their income is over £21,000 a year gross (before tax). Full-time students will be due to start repaying in the April after graduating from/leaving their higher-education course. Repayments will be 9% of income over £21,000 and when employed deductions will be made from their pay through the HMRC tax system. If their income falls to £21,000 or below, repayments will stop. Early repayments can be made at any time, but any outstanding loan balance will be written off 30 years after entering repayment.

Interest added will vary, depending on a students circumstances: During study until entering repayment Interest rate is: Retail Price Index (RPI) +3% Income: below £21,000 Interest rate is: set at RPI Only Income: £21,000 to £41,000 Interest rate is: RPI plus up to 3% Income: above £41,000 Interest rate is: Retail Price Index (RPI) +3% The interest rate applied is updated once a year in September, using the rate of RPI from that March which is carried forward. STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS THE INTEREST 2

Income each year before tax Income from which 9% is deducted Monthly Repayment (Approx) £21,000£0 £25,000£4,000£30 £30,000£9,000£67 £35,000£14,000£105 £40,000£19,000£142 £45,000£24,000£180 £50,000£29,000£217 £60,000£39,000£292 STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS THE FIGURES 2 More information on loan repayments and interest rates can be found on

APPLICATIONS & INFORMATION SECTION 3

Each year thousands of students apply late for their finance and have no way to pay for their course or halls, some even have to drop out.....don’t let that be your son or daughter! It will take at least six weeks* to process an application so apply early! Apply online now at gov.uk/studentfinance to make sure that student finance is in place for the start of their course. Students don’t need a confirmed place at university or college to apply for student finance. Apply with their first choice, they can change details later if they need to. STUDENT FINANCE APPLICATIONS KEY MESSAGES FOR STUDENTS – APPLY EARLY 3 *SFE handle over 1 million applications a year, most involve interactions with other government departments, e.g. HMRC

May The application deadline for new students is 30 May th Student finance applications can be made from 20 January 2014* 20 th Jan STUDENT FINANCE APPLICATIONS APPLICATION DATES - NEW STUDENTS *Returning students should wait to hear from SFE before re-applying for their finance 3

GOV.UK FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO APPLY 3

Make a note of their account log-in details and keep them safe. Agree to share information from your application, this helps apply for many bursaries and some scholarships. Make sure any evidence and information needed to support an application is supplied first time (students and parent/partners’). Submit an application even if there is a delay in getting income details from parents/sponsors so some funding (Tuition and Maintenance Loan) will be available when they start their course. If SFE request any additional evidence or documents to support the application use recorded delivery! 3 STUDENT FINANCE APPLICATIONS KEY MESSAGES – GET IT RIGHT FIRST TIME

STUDENT FINANCE APPLICATIONS RIGHT FIRST TIME - COMPLETING AN APPLICATION 3 Before starting the application, students should have the following to hand: passport - SFE can check identity using valid UK passport details for most students university and course details bank account details and National Insurance number If you will be supporting a student’s application you will need to set up your own account on GOV.UK and provide information including: National Insurance number(s), household income (from prior tax year) and details of other child dependent’s

MONEY MANAGEMENT SECTION 4

MANAGING YOUR MONEY HINTS & TIPS TO CONSIDER 4 Before starting in higher education, students should think about the costs they are likely to face and how to manage their money, tips include: Plan a budget – and (try to) stick to it! Ask questions and get any advice they need. Check out student bank accounts and NUS Extra cards. Try to avoid taking credit cards, store cards or pay day loans!! If they need financial support and advice once they’re at university or college, staff there will be able to help.

Important to make the right university/college and course choice!! Tuition Fee Loans are available to all eligible students and future repayments are linked to a students income, not what they owe Research all finance available – especially bursaries & scholarships Apply on-line & on time – no need to wait for a confirmed place Application deadline for new students 30 th May 2014!! Check all details are correct before submitting an application Student Finance Matters... Apply Now!! KEY MESSAGES POINTS TO BE CLEAR ON i And remember that....

QUESTIONS & COMMENTS ?

NEED MORE INFORMATION? i i For further Information on student finance and applications go to: For a range of helpful tools and guidance, visit: