About student finance

How do students pay for uni?

University costs can be split into two types:

• study costs – these include university tuition fees and other costs such as books and equipment
• living costs – including accommodation, food, laundry, bills and socialising

Most students in the UK fund their university studies with student loans provided by the Government. Some may also be able to fund some or all of their tuition fees and living costs with a scholarship or bursary.

There are two types of student loan:

• a tuition fee loan to cover university tuition fees
• a maintenance loan to help with living costs

After university, your students would only start repaying any student loans they took out once their gross income (before tax and other deductions) is more than £25,000 a year.
 

Tuition fees and tuition fee loans

The main expense for students wanting to go to university will be tuition fees, which are paid to their chosen university to cover course and university costs.

In the UK, tuition fees in 2026/27 for all full-time undergraduate courses are £9,790 a year, and will be £10,050 a year for 2027/28. All fees are subject to annual increases.

Your students can apply for a tuition fee loan to cover the full amount of their university tuition fees, which would be paid directly to their chosen university.

The amount they can borrow isn’t based on household income, and they wouldn't have to borrow the full amount - for example, if their family wanted to fund some of their tuition fees themselves.
 

Living costs and maintenance loans

As well as a tuition fee loan, you students can also choose to apply for a maintenance loan to help them cover living costs while they're at university.

Students looking to start uni in 2026 can borrow up to £10,830 a year if they live away from home, or up to £9,118 if they live at home with their parents.

Maintenance loans are paid directly into your students' bank accounts in three instalments throughout the year.

The amount they would get depend on where they study (they can borrow more if they study in London, for example), where they live and their family income.

How do students apply for student finance?

Students from England apply for student loans on the Student Finance England website. If you're advising students based in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, they'll need to apply through their home government.

Your students can apply online - the process takes about 15 minutes to complete.

They'll need to create an account to get their customer reference number (CRN), after this they'll be asked to provide information for a secret question and a password.

This information is important to remember as they will be asked for it every time they communicate with Student Finance England.

They'll also need the following to apply:

• Proof of identity like a birth certificate or current passport.
• National Insurance number – as money won't be released with out it. Students will need to contact the Department for Work and Pensions if they don't have their National Insurance number.
• A bank account for the money to be paid into

When should students apply?

We'd advise you to encourage your students to apply for student finance in the spring before the start of their course.

There's no need to wait until they get an offer or receive exam results - they don't even need to have submitted their UCAS application in order to apply for student finance. 

They can always update their finance application once they've got their results or received their university offer(s), and change their allowance if they're going to be studying or living in London, for example.

It can take around 6-8 weeks for applications to be approved, which is why it's best for students to apply as soon as possible.

You should also remind your students that they'll need to reapply for finance before the start of each academic year, not just before their first year at uni.