1. www.gov.uk/studentfinance 2015/16 INTRODUCTION TO STUDENT FINANCE INFORMATION & ACTIVITES

2. 2015/16 SESSION INTRODUCTION i The information and activities in these sessions will introduce you to the main areas of student finance and what they mean to you: Part 1 – Student Finance 2015/16 Student Finance England What finance is available? Part 2 – Applications & Beyond Student finance applications Student loan repayments Managing your money

3. www.gov.uk/studentfinance 2015/16 INTRODUCTION TO STUDENT FINANCE PART 1

4. 2015/16 Before going any further, answer these questions to see what you already know about student finance: Which of these are available from Student Finance England? a) Sponsorship and scholarships b) Loans and grants to help with tuition fees and living costs c) A loaf of bread and a toaster When should you apply for your student finance? a) After you’ve started your course b) Once you have a confirmed offer from a university or college c) As soon as possible Q1 Q2 ? HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?

5. 2015/16 Mark your answers in your work book, then come back and see how you did at the end of these sessions: What will your student loan repayments be based on? a) Your income b) How much you have borrowed c) Neither, you just pay a fixed amount regardless How much do you need to earn before you start to repay? a) £16,000 a year b) £21,000 a year c) Doesn’t matter, repayments will be taken whatever you earn Q3 Q4 ? HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?

6. 2015/16 STUDENT FINANCE ENGLAND SECTION 1

7. 2015/16 STUDENT FINANCE ENGLAND AN INTRODUCTION Student Finance England 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. Student finance is available to help you with both. Depending on your circumstances, your course and where you study, you may be able to get a range of financial help and support. You could get grants and bursaries (which you don’t have to pay back) and loans (which you do).

8. 2015/16 WHAT FINANCE IS AVAILABLE? SECTION 1

9. 2015/16 SECTION TITLE IN HERE SUBHEADER IN HERE SECTION 3 Tuition Fee Loan Maintenance support Extra support Student Finance Package

10. SECTION 1 2015/16 Universities and colleges* can charge new full-time students up to £9,000 per year in 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 a university or college.** A Tuition Fee Loan doesn’t depend on household income. SFE pay your Tuition Fee Loan directly to your university or college. The loan is repayable, but only when your income is over £21,000. *Publicly funded unis and colleges **Up to £6,000 for approved courses at private providers TUITION FEES AND LOANS AN OVERVIEW

11. SECTION 1 2015/16 TUITION FEES AND LOANS PART-TIME & NHS COURSES Part-time courses - If you are planning to study a part-time course, the finance available to you is different. Depending on your course intensity you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan of up to £6,750 (£4,500 at private providers) and DSAs only. NHS and social work courses - If you study for a degree on a pre- registration health professional training course such as nursing, midwifery, dentistry, physiotherapy or medicine you may be entitled to get some funding through an NHS Student Bursary. Visit www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/students for more information.www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/students i Details of the tuition fees charged for specific courses can be found on university/college websites or at websites like unistatsunistats

12. 2015/16 SECTION TITLE IN HERE SUBHEADER IN HERE SECTION 3 Tuition Fee Loan Maintenance support Extra support Student Finance Package

13. SECTION 1 2015/16 Maintenance support is available to help with your living costs while in higher education. There are two main types of support, Maintenance Loan (repayable) and Maintenance Grant (non-repayable). All eligible students are entitled to receive some maintenance support. The amount of Maintenance Loan you can get depends on where you live and study. Maintenance support is paid directly into your bank account each term. MAINTENANCE SUPPORT AN OVERVIEW

14. SECTION 1 2015/16 London Live away from home & study in London Up to £8,009 £ Elsewhere Live away from home & study outside London Up to £5,740 £ Parental home Live at home while you study Up to £4,565 £ MAINTENANCE LOAN MAXIMUM LEVELS 2015/16 If studying overseas as part of a UK course, Maintenance Loan support is still available. Up to £6,820 for 2015/16. i

15. SECTION 1 2015/16 Full-Year Student* 65% Non Means Tested 35% Means Tested Maximum Loan Parental home£2,967£1,598£4,565 Elsewhere£3,731£2,009£5,740 London£5,205£2,804£8,009 Overseas£4,433£2,387£6,820 i Additional loan may be available for any extra weeks of study if your course goes beyond 30 weeks in an academic year *Lower rates are available to final year students MAINTENANCE LOAN MAXIMUM LEVELS 2015/16

16. SECTION 1 2015/16 The Maintenance Grant doesn’t have to be repaid. How much grant you can get depends on your household income (100% means tested). Full Grant: £3,387 Partial Grant: (Min £50) Household income: Up to £25,000 Household income: Up to £42,620 MAINTENANCE GRANT SUPPORT AND MEANS TESTING Household income is the taxable earned and unearned income of the parents/partner you live with most of the time. i

17. SECTION 1 2015/16 www.gov.uk/studentfinance Activity 1 – By using the calculator on gov.uk you can get an estimate of the student finance which may be available to you and make a note of the results in your work book.gov.uk A GET YOUR ESTIMATE

18. SECTION 1 2015/16 Household Income Maintenance Grant Maintenance Loan Total £25,000 & under£3,387£4,047£7,434 £30,000£2,441£4,520£6,961 £35,000£1,494£4,993£6,487 £40,000£547£5,467£6,014 £42,620£50£5,715£5,765 £42,875£0£5,740 £50,000£0£4,998 £62,143 & over£0£3,731 COMBINED MAINTENANCE SUPPORT LIVING AWAY FROM HOME OUTSIDE LONDON

19. 2015/16 SECTION TITLE IN HERE SUBHEADER IN HERE SECTION 3 Tuition Fee Loan Maintenance support Extra support Student Finance Package

20. SECTION 1 2015/16 Extra money or support may be available if you: have children or an adult who depends on you financially. have a disability, mental-health condition or specific learning difficulty. Bursaries and scholarships Many universities and colleges offer financial support to their students through bursaries and scholarships. These can be linked to things like your household income, your course, academic achievement or if you play a musical instrument or a sport to a high standard. EXTRA SUPPORT AN OVERVIEW

21. SECTION 1 2015/16 It’s important you spend some time looking into bursaries and scholarships offered and find out what’s on offer and how/when to apply. A lot of bursary applications can be started as part of your main student finance application, but for many scholarships you may have to apply direct to the university. Where to find the information: University and college websites – usually in the Fees & Funding sections. Other sites such as www.scholarship-search.org.ukwww.scholarship-search.org.uk BURSARY & SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH Activity 2 - Use university/college websites and scholarship search to find examples of bursaries/scholarships offered by two of your UCAS choices and record the details in your work book. A

22. www.gov.uk/studentfinance 2015/16 PART 2 INTRODUCTION TO STUDENT FINANCE

23. 2015/16 From the information and activities in Part 1 you should now have an idea of the student finance available to you. Part 2 – Applications & beyond In this session you will get an overview of: Student finance applications Student loan repayments Managing your money When the session is over remember to go back and check the answers you gave to the questions in Part 1, how did you do? APPLICATIONS & BEYOND SESSION INTRODUCTION i

24. 2015/16 APPLICATIONS & INFORMATION SECTION 2

25. 2015/16 SECTION 2 *Register on UCAS and check the SFE websites for updates on when to apply for student finance STUDENT FINANCE APPLICATIONS KEY MESSAGE – APPLY EARLY i Apply online at gov.uk/studentfinance as soon as possible to make sure your student finance is in place for the start of your course.* Make a note of your account log-in details (password etc) and your Customer Reference Number. You don’t need a confirmed place at university or college to apply for student finance. You can change your details online before starting your course. Agree to share information from your application, this helps apply for many bursaries/scholarships.

26. 2015/16 SECTION 2 www.gov.uk/studentfinance GOV.UK FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO APPLY

27. 2015/16 SECTION 2 www.thestudentroom.co.uk/studentfinance www.youtube.com/SFEFILM www.twitter.com/SF_England www.facebook.com/SFEngland SFE ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

28. 2015/16 SECTION 2 Before starting an application, have the following to hand: passport - SFE can check identity using valid UK passport details university and course details bank account details and National Insurance number The easiest way for your parents, partner or other sponsor to support your application is online through GOV.UK, providing information including: National Insurance number(s) household income information (based on prior tax year*) details of other child dependants STUDENT FINANCE APPLICATIONS KEY MESSAGE – COMPLETING AN APPLICATION *If your household income drops by 15% or more in the current tax year, SFE can reassess your application. i

29. 2015/16 STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS SECTION 3

30. 2015/16 SECTION 3 You won’t make repayments until your income is over £21,000 a year gross (before tax). If you study a full-time course, you will be due to start repaying in the April after graduating from/leaving higher education. You’ll repay 9% of your income over £21,000 and if you’re employed deductions will be made from your pay through the HMRC tax system.* If your income falls to £21,000 or below your repayments will stop. Any outstanding loan balance will be written off 30 years after entering repayment. STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS AN OVERVIEW *If you move/work overseas you will repay 9% of your earnings over the repayment threshold for the country you are living in i

31. 2015/16 SECTION 3 Income each year before tax Income from which 9% is deducted Monthly Repayment (Approx) £21,000£0 £25,000£4,000£30 £30,000£? £35,000£14,000£105 £40,000£19,000£142 £45,000£24,000£180 Activity 3 - If your income is £30,000 a year, the amount used to work out your student loan repayment would be:?£...................... Giving a monthly repayment of: ?£...................... A STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS THE FIGURES

32. 2015/16 SECTION 3 Interest on your loan: Interest is charged from the day your first payment is made until your loan is paid off in full or written off. The interest charged is linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI) and will vary. While you are studying until entering repayment, interest will be added at RPI +3%. On entering repayment interest will be linked to how much you earn, from RPI only if earning under £21,000 to RPI +3% if earning over £41,000. i For more information on student loan repayments and interest rates, go to www.studentloanrepayment.co.ukwww.studentloanrepayment.co.uk STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS THE INTEREST

33. 2015/16 MANAGING YOUR MONEY SECTION 4

34. 2015/16 MANAGING YOUR MONEY CONSIDER THE COSTS Before starting in higher education, it’s important to think about the costs you are likely to face and how to manage your money, particularly if you will be moving away from home, some hints and tips include: Plan a budget – dull, but practical. Check out student bank accounts and NUS Extra cards, but try to avoid taking credit cards, store cards or payday loans! You may be able to manage a part-time job alongside your studies. If you need financial support and advice once you are at university or college, staff there will be able to help.

35. SECTION 4 2015/16 Some of your living costs will include things you have thought of, such as accommodation and food, through to things you may not have considered yet such as a TV licence or insurance. Some costs to think about include: rent, bills, books and study materials clothes, shoes, toiletries, make-up, haircuts leisure, sports and social activities MANAGING YOUR MONEY YOUR BUDGET PLAN Activity 4 - Using university websites, unistats, push.co.uk andunistatspush.co.uk your own initiative, see how much information you can find on the costs of accommodation etc at your university of choice. Enter these in your budget sheets and compare with your expected income. A

36. www.gov.uk/studentfinance 2015/16 IF YOU ARE UNSURE PLEASE ASK! QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

37. 2015/16 For further information on student finance and applications go to: www.gov.uk/studentfinance For a range of helpful tools and guidance, visit: www.thestudentroom.co.uk/studentfinance i i NEED MORE INFORMATION? REMEMBER SFE IS ONLINE Keep track of the progress of your student finance application using the checklist in your work book. A