Financial information (courses starting after 01/09/12)

Students who start university or college after 1 September 2012 (academic year 2012/13) will be on a new student finance scheme.

The main changes are:

•universities and colleges can charge tuition fees of up to £9,000

•tuition fee loans will go up to cover the higher fees

•you don’t start repaying your loan until you earn £21,000 (up from £15,000)

•part-time students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan (replacing grants)

You need to wait until 14 December 2011 to apply for student finance for 2012/13 courses.

To cover the costs of studying you can apply for:

•a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your tuition fees in full

•a Maintenance Loan for living costs like rent (full-time students only)

•a Maintenance Grant if your household income is less than £42,600 (full-time students only)

•scholarships and bursaries from colleges and universities

•extra financial help if you have a disability or children or adults depending on you

Full-time students have to pay back any loans plus interest once you complete your course and start earning more than £21,000 a year. Part-time students who earn over £21,000 a year have to start paying back their loans after three years even if their course hasn’t finished.

Further details are available here

To see what types of support you may qualify for, and to get an estimate of how much, there is a student finance calculator here