Your Guide to Applying for Student Finance

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This post is part of our "Next Stop: Uni" series which guides you through each week of the summer between finishing school and Freshers so you can start uni prepared and excited.

Next Stop: Uni by UniHomes

Student finance is a student’s lifeline during uni. Covering your student loans in the UK, student finance is not only how you’ll pay for your university course itself, but also how you’ll be able to afford to live.

Still, figuring out how it works – and what exactly you yourself need to do – can be confusing. I mean, this is entirely new territory, bordering on ‘adulting’. So why not let us make your life that little bit easier? We’re here to guide you through everything you need to know about student finance and more, so that you can get on with all the other important things you have to do before uni (like buying your first set of pots and pans).

What is student finance? ❓

With student finance comprising a tuition loan and maintenance loan (barring Scotland, where Scottish students studying in Scotland don’t face tuition fees so don’t need a tuition loan), you’ll find it pretty hard to get by without either of these whilst you’re studying.

But what are the individual loans for? It’s easy enough; the tuition loan does exactly what it says on the tin, and is basically a yearly sum of money that’s paid directly to the university on your behalf to cover the costs of your course.

The maintenance loan bit goes into your own bank account – if you haven’t set up your student bank account yet, read the previous post in our “Next Stop: Uni” series for an idea of how to get started – and is paid to you in three instalments each year you’re at uni. This, of course, helps you afford those essential socials and nights out, but also enables you to pay for your rent, utilities, groceries… all that lot that you probably won’t have had to sort out for yourself before heading off to uni.

How much is my student loan? 🤔

Now we’re onto the important question. Because your tuition loan and maintenance loans have two different purposes, how much you can get for each differs.

Tuition Loan 📚

For your tuition loan, you can receive up to £9,535 a year if you’re a full-time, undergraduate student starting university in September 2025, regardless of your household income. Part-time students are eligible to get up to £7,145 per year.

The numbers are different for Scottish and Northern Ireland students studying in their respective home countries, though, as university in Scotland is free for Scottish students whereas tuition for NI students in Northern Ireland is only £4,855 a year.

Maintenance loan 🏠

When it comes to your maintenance loan, the amount you can get depends on a few different factors, namely household income (i.e. how much your parents/guardians earn), location, and whether or not your course is a full-time one or not. This means that you’ll receive more if you’re studying in London (due to the capital’s high cost of living), and you’ll get less if you’re living at home with parents or if you’re on a part-time course.

All that being said, there is a minimum and maximum amount of money that you can receive – as a general rule of thumb, the smallest loan you could get for the 25/26 academic year is £4,915 whilst the highest is £10,544, but once again these amounts will vary based on location and individual circumstances.

For further information, check out the government's student finance pages, or go ahead and use their student loan calculator to get a better idea of how much you could receive.

Am I eligible for student for student finance? ✅

Not many people aren’t eligible for student finance, but there are a few factors to consider when trying to figure out if you can get a student loan or not:

• Your course – those doing degree apprenticeships are eligible for student finance. Likewise, some part-time students aren’t eligible, either.

• The institution you’re studying at – your university or college has to give out recognised degrees.

• If it’s your first time at uni or not – if this isn’t your first bachelor’s degree, you’re unlikely to get any student finance unless you’re going to be studying for a specific subject such as agriculture, maths, or medicine.

• Your age – anyone over 60 starting a course won’t receive as high of a student loan.

• Your nationality – this entirely depends on your settled status, but we’ll explain more in a bit.

Can postgrad students apply for student finance? 🧑‍🎓

The short answer? Yes, postgrad students can receive student finance. The long answer, however…

Student loans work a little differently when you’re a master’s or PhD student. For those studying for a master’s degree, you’ll only be eligible to receive a master’s loan rather than the two loans you get in undergrad. This single loan is paid directly into your bank account in three separate instalments, and goes towards covering your tuition fees and cost of living (meaning that you’re responsible for paying your tuition fees via direct debit to the university).

Because the amount you get is capped at £12,858 and master’s degrees cost around £11,000, master’s students often choose to work alongside their degree. If you’re struggling to get a part-time job while at uni, give our student summer jobs and student Christmas jobs posts a read.

Can international students get student finance? 🌍

This is where things get a bit more complicated. If you have settled status (i.e., permission to remain in the UK indefinitely) and you’ve lived in the UK for at least the three years leading up to you starting uni, you can apply for the full amount of student finance.

If you don’t have settled status, your eligibility for a student loan depends on your nationality and temporary status. It’s best to use the government's student loan tool for more accurate information on what you could be entitled to.

How to apply for student finance ✍️

This bit is really easy. Applying for student finance is done online, and all you need is your passport and National Insurance number (for proof of identity), your bank account details (so that you can receive your loan), details of your course and where you’ll be living, and information on your household income.

It doesn’t take too long to complete, and your application should be processed within six weeks.

When is the deadline for student finance? 📅

Technically, the deadlines for 2025 student finance applications have now been and gone. But don’t panic! These deadlines are in place to make sure that you receive your loans on time, and you can still apply for student finance for the 25/26 academic year until the end of May 2026 – you just might not get your loan in time or as much in your student loan as you’re entitled to (though it will be reimbursed later).

When do you start paying back your student loan? ⏱️

If you’re on an undergraduate course, you don’t have to start repaying your student loans until you start earning over £25,000 a year (before tax).

This number is a bit lower for those doing a postgraduate degree, however; the threshold in this case is £21,000 a year.

One nice little bonus though is that you don’t have to worry about remembering to set up a direct debit or anything for these repayments, as what you owe is automatically deducted from your wages every month on your behalf (kind of like a tax).

The amount you'll be repaying varies from person to person, too – anyone repaying back undergraduate loans will pay 9% of their monthly income that’s over the threshold, whereas those with postgraduate loans will be repaying 6% of their wages over the threshold.

Confused? Don’t be! Let’s break it down:

• Say, for instance, that you have a bachelor’s degree that you took out an undergraduate loan for, and you now earn £26,000 a year (or almost £2,167 a month, before tax).

• The threshold is £25,000 a year, which is £2,083 a month.

• Your monthly repayments will only come out of any earnings above £2,083; in this case, £2,167 - £2,083 = £84, meaning that your loan repayments will be taken from this £84.

• It won’t be all of this £84, though – in fact, it’ll only be 9% of this, or £7.56, a month. Which isn’t a lot, if you ask us!

Want more information on how student finance works in the UK? Check out our UniHomes guide to how many years of student finance you can get, as well as our blog post on student finance deadlines.

This blog is written for general informational purposes only and does constitute legal or financial advice, nor does it reflect the opinion of UniHomes. Information correct as of July 2025. See each individual web page for full terms and conditions, and always carry out your own research and seek independent financial advice. UniHomes is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and its authors are not financial advisors.