Parents' guide to fees and funding
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Parents' guide to fees and funding
A GUIDE TO STUDENT FINANCE
Student loans can include a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan to help with living costs. Students can apply for tuition fee and maintenance loans at the same time via the Student Finance website.
Tuition Fees
From 2025/26, tuition fees will rise to £9,535 for the academic year.
Under the current arrangements, students are able to “study now and pay later”. They do not have to pay any tuition fees up front and are only required to pay their fees back when they are earning a sufficient income.
Students can take out a loan to cover tuition fees. The Student Loans Company will pay this loan directly to the university, so the student doesn’t need to worry about where to find their tuition fee money. This loan is available to all new home and EU students.
Maintenance Loan
The maintenance loan is available for home students and is designed to help with the day-to-day living costs of student life. This is paid directly into the student’s bank account in three instalments during the academic year. How much you get depends on your household income, where you study, and where you live. All home students qualify for a non-means tested portion of the maintenance loan. For students under 25, the remaining portion of the maintenance loan is assessed based upon parental or household income.
Parental family contribution
Maintenance loans are means tested, based upon household income. Therefore, in cases of higher income households, there is an expectation for parental/carer contribution for students under 25. If you are separated or divorced, the household income of the parent that the student predominantly lives with is taken into account. If this parent has a cohabiting partner, their income is also taken into account as household income.
Find out more at the gov.uk website.
Supporting a student funding application
After the student has applied for their loan, you’ll be sent an email asking you to confirm your income. You can do this online.
You may be asked to provide evidence of your income or circumstances. For more information, see the gov.uk page supporting an application.
When to apply for loans
Before completing an application, you can use gov.uk’s online student finance calculator or UEL's funding calculator to get an estimate of the student funding your child may receive.
Student Finance applications typically can be made from February in the year your son or daughter plans to start their course. You don’t need to wait until UCAS decisions are finalised, as institution or course details can easily be changed after an application has been submitted.
The application process can take up to six weeks, so if you want to be sure the funding is ready before they go to university you should make sure they submit their application by May.
If your son or daughter is applying for other support, such as Disabled Students’ Allowance, they can indicate it on their application form and Student Finance will send them the extra forms they need.
Apply on the Student Finance website.
Repaying the loans
Tuition fee loans and maintenance loans are combined, and repayments will start once your child has graduated or left university and is earning over a certain amount. Repayments are taken through the tax system so the student does not need to do anything to ensure they start paying their loan back. Repayments are related to income, not the actual amount of money owed by the student.
Find out more at the gov.uk website.
Scholarships and bursaries
We offer a generous package of scholarships and bursaries which are awarded on a combination of merit and need. Our range of competitive scholarships include Vice Chancellors and Deans Scholarships, applicable during the admissions stage. Post enrolment; students experiencing financial difficulties during their studies, may wish to apply for bursary support, through schemes such as the Hardship bursary. For more information please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.
Career Zone
The Career Zone platform is an online digital platform which provides all the careers and employability resources that students need to succeed. This includes access to opportunities for students to work whilst studying via paid internships and temporary work on campus.
"It's good for parents to have an understanding of how funding works because many are in the dark - and having so much jargon around the subject doesn't help. Ideally, parents should have a strategy for helping with their child's finances. They need to start thinking early about savings and budgeting. And their children can start scoping out possibilities of part-time work. At UEL we have some great onsite options - students can sign up for temporary work at the dedicated agency we have on campus."
Deborah Lindsay, Student Money Advice & Rights manager