Student Finance

Student Finance

Sarah FullwoodSchools and Colleges Liaison(Sixth Form Enrichment)

What does it cost to go to university?

Two main costs…

• Tuition Fees -> Covers the cost of your Studies

– £9,000 Full Time Degrees

(£7,500 - £9,000)

• Living Costs -> Covers the cost of living

– Accommodation

– Food

– Social activities

– Travel

How finance might affect your course/university?

• Cost of accommodation varies across the UK

• En-suite or shared bathroom?

• Catered or self Catered?

• Living at home vs moving away?

• Travel expenses

• Studying in London

• Sandwich Courses, Industrial Placements, Summer Placements

• Additional costs of your course e.g. books/material/trips

Average Weekly Cost for an Aston Student in 2013/14(Living away from home)

Average living expenses per week if you live away from home:-

• Rent £107-£129.00 per week Mobile & internet £7• Food and toiletries £40• Books and resources £10• Socialising £30 - £50• Laundry £5 • TV licence £4• Travel £6• Other e.g. presents/ sports £5- £25

Lowest Estimate: £197 per week Highest Estimate: £281per week

Per academic year

£7,486

£10,678

Don’t panic…lots of financial support is available to help you throughout university

•What funding is available to help

•When repayments need to be made

How to apply for financial support

Tuition Fee Loan - Repayable

• Tuition Fee Loan covers your tuition fees (£6000-£9000)

• Non-means tested & available to everyone

• It’s not compulsory - can pay full/part of the tuition fee if you wish £1 - £9,000

• Paid directly to the University by the Student Loans Company

Placement year/year abroad tuition fees will be vastly reduced (£1,000 at Aston)

• No penalties for early repayment

• All eligible students are entitled to a Maintenance Loan, with 65% of the total loan being Non Means Tested (not based on household income). 35% of the rest of the loan will depend on your household income

The amount of maintenance loan available will be linked to where a student lives and studies while in higher education

Maintenance Loan – Repayable

Maintenance Loan for September 2014

• All ‘home’ students are eligible for Maintenance Loan

• Like the Tuition Fee Loan, this money has to be repaid

• Living away from home (outside of London) max loan is £5,555

• Living in London, max loan is £7,751

• Living at home, max loan is £4,418

• 65% of the loan is non means tested

• 35% depends on household income

Maintenance Grant – Non Repayable

Household Income Government Grant available

£25,000 or less Maximum £3,387

£30,000 £2441

£35,000 £1494

£40,000 £547

£42,620 £50

More than £42,620 No grant

The Maintenance Grant is 100% means-tested and measured on a sliding scale depending on your household income

•If your household income is below £25,000 you will be entitled to a full grant of £3,387.

•If your household income is between £25,000 and £42,611 you would be entitled to a grant of between £50 and £3,387

•Grants are payable in 3 installments

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 £5,555

£50,000 £0 £4,836 £4,836

£62,132 & over £0 £3,610 £3,610

Combined Maintenance Support

Living away from home, outside London

Students can get a quick estimate of their student finance entitlement using the calculator on gov.uk/studentfinance

• Vary by institution

• Depend on circumstances and are often linked to household income

• Certain courses qualify for bursaries such as NHS courses as well as some Sport and Music courses

• Scholarships are also rewarded for a students academic achievements

• Scholarships can be rewarded in various ways depending on individual institutions

Scholarships and Bursaries…FREE MONEY

Scholarships at Aston University, 2014 UK students

• £1,000 placement year/year abroad Tuition Fee (£1,000 discount

Scholarship for most students at Aston)

• Scholarships focused on household incomes of under £18,000 but also

available for those on £42,000 or less

• Scholarships based on achievement of AAB at A 'Level or BTEC

equivalent

• Aston Scholarships offer a choice of tuition fee discounts,

accommodation discounts or cash awards to reduce study/living costs.

Payment Process

Tuition Fee Loans: Are paid directly to the institution in separate instalments.

Maintenance Loan & Grant: Are paid directly into the student’s designated bank account

Core Student Finance is paid in 3 instalments.

The 1st instalment triggered by enrolment.The 2nd & 3rd instalments are automatically paid at

the start of each subsequent term

* The Payment Process for Bursaries, Scholarships and Grants will differ according to each individual University

Additional Support whilst at university

– Dealt with on an individual basis against set criteria by the university

– Up to £3,500 available

– Usually a non-repayable grant

– They do ask for evidence

*You can also speak to your student support team in the Student Union

Access to Learning Fund (ALF)

Start saving whilst in school/college....even if it’s only £10 a week

Part time work in term time and/or vacations (not more than around 15 hours a week!)

Consider a paid placement year as past of your degree

• Financial help from family members• Efficient food shopping• Young person’s railcard • Student bank accounts• NUS Card and discounts• The importance of budgeting

Additional Sources of Income

The Importance of Budgeting

Money Pressures in an academic year

1st Semester

2nd Semester

3rd Semester

Only 3 “Pay days”

a year

When do I have to pay it back?Repayments

• Repayable only when you are earning over £21,000 per year

• Repay 9% of income above £21,000

e.g. You earn £25,000 a yearRe-pay 9% of £4000

= £360 per year, £30 per month

• Not until beginning of tax year (April 1st) after you graduate

• Any outstanding balance after 30 years is cleared

• Good Debt VS Bad Debt

• Focus on what you earn not what you owe

Graduates pay back Student Loans NOT Students

Income each year before tax

Income from which 9% will be deducted

Approximate Monthly Repayment

£21,000 £0 £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 REPAYMENT – THE FIGURES

! Any outstanding loan balance will be cleared 30 years afterentering repayment

Repayments

Graduate Tax

Tax Code Tax month NI Category Legislation Currency National Insurance

Payment/ Benefit

Cash A UK British Pounds

JK569823L

Pay per year £25.000

Pay per month £1850.97

Tax 190.00

NI 130.95

Pension 85.00

Student Loans 30.00

Total Deductions

435.95 Left with£1415.02

• Applications should be made to SFE as soon as possible to ensure payments are made at the start of the academic year.

• Usually open late Jan/early Feb (2015)

• Apply online www.gov.uk/studentfinance

• Deadline for new applications is the end of May (2015)

• No need to wait for a confirmed offer

• All personal and course data can be transferred from UCAS application

• Tick share details (UCAS/Universities)

What should students do next?Applying for Student Finance

Family Income on which student finance assessment is based

•Household/family income is called ‘Residual Income’

•Need to provide evidence of earned income and unearned income from savings and investments. (Usually only need to provide National Insurance number in the application as evidence of income.)

•Based on the previous tax year

•If circumstances change inform SFE and amendments can be made

•If parents have separated or are divorced family income is assessed with the parent whom you normally live.

www.gov.uk/student-finance

Student Finance England Telephone – 0845 300 50 90

• Make the right choice university and course choice based on full range of factors, not fear of debt

• Graduates pay back student loans based on what they earn not what they owe

• Do your research into bursaries and scholarships

• Inform SFE of any changes in circumstances

• Contact SFE on social media channels…quicker responses

Summary and Top Tips

Websites and Contact Information

• www.gov.uk/student-financeIncludes online application, finance calculator and lots of other information

• Student Finance England Telephone: 0845 300 50 90Textphone: 0845 604 44 34Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 5:30pm

• www.moneysavingexpert.com

• www.thestudentroom.co.uk

• www.thestudentworld.com

Any Questions

[email protected]