Student loans for 2012

• Your 3-minute guide to part-time student finance
• Come along to a free talk on Financing your course in 2012
• Attend a free webinar on Financing your course in 2012
• Check our tutorial on loans and other financial support

Overview

• The government will provide loans for eligible students, which means you don’t have to save up and pay for your course yourself if you are studying for an undergraduate level course for the first time.
• Your student loan will cover the full cost of your course fees.
• Loans are not ‘means tested’ (i.e. dependent on income or other earnings), and there is no age restriction.
• You don’t need to apply for your loan before you apply for your course. In fact, you should apply for your course as soon as possible to secure your place; Birkbeck will help you with your student loan application. If you’re eligible, you’ll get the full amount you need to pay your course fees.
• You can study first and repay when you’re earning. Regardless of your current income, you won’t have to repay anything until you finish your course and are earning more than £21,000 a year.
• The amount you repay each month only depends on how much you earn, not how much you borrowed. (This frees you up to choose the course that’s right for you without worrying about the cost of fees.)
• For example, if you earn £25,000 a year, your monthly repayment will be £30; and on £40,000 a year, you’d pay £142.50 a month.
• Full-time students can apply for a maintenance loan and grant to help with living costs as well as loans to pay their fees. (This isn’t available to part-time students, as part-time study allows you the flexibility to work alongside study.)
• If for any reason your salary falls below £21,000, your repayments stop – for example if you are unemployed or take maternity leave.
• Repayments will be deducted automatically from your pay packet, like income tax.
• After 30 years your loan will be written off, no matter how much or how little you have repaid.

Who is eligible and what the loan covers

• You will be eligible for a student loan if you are studying for an undergraduate course, e.g. foundation degree, BA/BSc/LLB or a certificate of higher education, and are:
• studying at this level for the first time (i.e. you haven’t been to university before and don’t already have an undergraduate or equivalent level qualification)
• doing a minimum of 25% of a full-time course or modules worth 30 credits a year
• classified as a Home or EU student
• The loan covers your annual course fees. It does not cover other study costs such as living expenses, books or travel.
• Your student loan will be paid directly to the university, and not to you.
• What to do if you are not eligible for a student loan.

When and how to apply and get your loan

• Student loans are managed by the Student Loans Company (SLC). Applications are made to the Student Loans Company through Student Finance England.
• Part-time students should be able to start applying for their loans from July 2012 using a paper application form. We’ll send you all the information you need about this when the forms are available
• Full-time students can apply online for their loans now.
• You should apply and enrol on your course as soon as possible to secure your place. If you’re eligible for a loan you will get it, and we’ll help you through the loan application process when that opens in the summer.

Maintenance loans and grants for full-time students

• Full-time students can apply for a maintenance loan and grant to help with living costs as well as loans to pay their fees. The maintenance loans are available to all full-time students; the grants are means-tested.
• They will be paid into your bank account at the start of each term.
• After niversity, your fee and maintenance loans are combined for repayment. But remember, the amount you borrowed doesn’t affect how much you repay, as repayment is based on what you earn.
• Note: Maintenance loans and grants aren’t available to part-time students as part-time study allows you the flexibility to work alongside study.

What you need to know about repaying your loan

• You can complete your studies before starting to repay your government loan:
• Part-time students will start to repay from the April four years after they start.
• Full-time students will start to repay from the April three years after they start.
• Students on courses shorter than three years will start to repay from the April after the course finishes.
• Note: As this is a new system, the earliest anyone will begin to repay is April 2016.
• You only start to repay when you are earning over £21,000 a year; if you earn less than £21,000 a year, you won’t repay a thing.
• You repay 9% of your income above £21,000, so the amount you repay each month will depend on your earnings – and will be the same each month no matter how much the course cost. See the table below for examples of monthly repayments.
• You will be charged interest:
• While studying: interest will be added at inflation plus 3%.
• After studying and earning below £21,000: interest will be added at inflation.
• After studying and earning £21,000-£41,000: the interest rate will be on a sliding scale from inflation up to a maximum of inflation plus 3%.
• After studying and earning over £41,000: interest rate is inflation plus 3%.
• If your salary falls below £21,000, your repayments automatically stop – for example if you take a career break, maternity leave or are unemployed. Repayments only restart when you earn over £21,000.
• Most students won’t even have to worry about making repayments. If you are working, your repayments will automatically be deducted from your pay (the same way as income tax), or through your tax return if you are self-employed.
• There are no penalties for repaying the loan early.
• If you studied full-time and got a maintenance loan as well as a tuition fee loan, both loans will be added together, and you will repay the one loan on the same terms.
• Unlike commercial loans or credit card debt, student loans do not go on credit files.
• The loan is unlikely to affect your ability to get a mortgage, but the amount of mortgage available may depend on net income (i.e. income after tax and loan repayments).
• After 30 years, your loan is written off, no matter how much or how little you have repaid.
• Check the Money Saving Expert student finance calculator

Examples of monthly repayments

Check the Money Saving Expert student finance calculator

Contact us

To talk to someone about this further, please contact us.