Introduction: What is student finance
If you’re a soon-to-be university student, you might not fully understand student finance and what it entails for your future educational journey.
Put simply, student finance is the service which allows you to pay your tuition fees for your course and which also permits you to apply for a loan and/or a grant to help you cover the cost.
Many people seem to think that applying for student finance is a complicated and confusing process, but it’s actually pretty simple when it comes down to it.
In this article, we’ll be telling you everything you need to know about applying for student finance, how it works and showing you how to navigate the process. We prepared coming Freshers week.
Prerequisites for Applying for Student Finance
Before we get to the nitty-gritty, we’ve got to make sure that you’re in a position where applying for student finance is possible and advisable for you, in addition to checking off some boxes to make sure you’re ready to get started with the process.
Right off the bat, this guide is specific to students who are planning on studying in the UK. This means that if you want to study abroad, or have multiple plans and haven’t decided yet, then you'll need to do independent research for any non-UK programmes and their individual policies.
If you are looking to study in the UK, then you’ve got to meet certain requirements before you can consider making a student finance application. There are two main ones that you absolutely must fulfil before going through with it.
💳 Having a bank account
🎓Receiving and accepting a university offer
1: Having a viable bank account
In order to receive payments from your relevant student finance service, you will need to have a bank account open which is compatible with their policy. This can either be a current account that you have control of as an adult, or a student account, which you can open for the purpose of managing your finances during your time at uni.
What won’t work are young savers accounts, or accounts which are under someone else’s name. Opening a UK account is also a good idea if you’re currently using an international bank account for whatever reason, as student loan services are unlikely to lend to such accounts.
Opening a student account is a good idea even if you already have a current account for a number of reasons.
Firstly, managing your spending and budgeting can be challenging as a student, so having a separate account can really help with allocating enough money for uni life, while keeping savings safe and separate from accidental over-spending.
Secondly, student accounts come with various appealing benefits that only students are eligible for, such as interest free overdraft and generous interest rates.
Lastly, when opening an account, or choosing to use an existing one, it is very important to make sure that there is a physical branch of this bank close to where you’ll be staying during your time at uni, so that you can visit the bank in person if the need ever arises.
2: Receiving and accepting a university offer
Before you can start the process of applying for student finance, you first need to have a confirmed offer from the university you wish to study at.
This is because the application process requires information about your course, so you need to know for certain which course you’ll be doing and when in order to be eligible for the funding.
If you haven’t got this yet, we still recommend reading the rest of this guide, or saving this page for later, since student finance is still a process you will need to go through before studying.
New students should also be aware that the deadline for applying for student finance is typically in the middle of may. While you are still able to apply after the deadline, applying before ensures that you will receive your first payment by the start of term.
Applying later might mean a delay in payment which could complicate rent and bill payments!
This means that you should aim to choose which of your university offers you are going to accept before this time, so that you can provide accurate information during the application.
Where to Apply for Student Finance
Depending on where in the UK you are going to be studying, there are different organisations and websites which you need to go through in order to apply for student finance.
Each country within the UK has its own organisation in charge of funding for students, so England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have separate avenues through which to apply.
Don’t worry though!
The application itself is almost identical wherever you’ve chosen to study, the only difference will be the exact size of the loan you will be eligible to pay, the amount you’ll have to pay back and the possibility of grants, such as the Welsh higher education grant, which gives a small grant to every full-time student.
In order to find the right website to apply, simply type in ‘Student Finance’ to your browser, followed by the country you’ll be studying in… e.g. ‘Student Finance [Wales]’.
The correct website is typically the first result, but this can vary depending on your browser, and ads can often be placed at the top of the search results, so double-check with the list below to make sure you’ve got the right one:
- England: Student Finance England
- Scotland: Student Awards Agency Scotland
- Wales: Student Finance Wales
- Northern Ireland: Student Finance Northern Ireland
Starting the Student Finance Application Process
When you’re ready to start your application, make sure you have the right information and documentation at hand so that you don’t end up stumped by any of the questions.
To start, you will need:
- A valid form of identification, such as a passport or UK driving licence.
- Your national insurance number
- Your bank card
- Your course information (Name, Institution, and Course Number)
- Proof of income if you financially support yourself
If you are financially dependent on a parent(s) or a partner, you should try to do your application with them nearby, or with your phone handy, since they will need to provide information about their income in order to validate your application.
How to Apply for Student Finance
So you’ve got everything together and you’re ready to start… What happens now?
- If you don’t yet have a student finance account, you’ll have to make one with the website. The reason for this is so that the student finance service can send you email correspondence and provide you with information and updates to do with your loan and repayments.
2. You’ll be asked to choose which kind of application you’re making. If you’re reading this article, then it’s very likely you need to select the ‘undergraduate’ application.
3. Next, you’ll need to select full or part-time study… This isn’t a choice or anything, but if you’re not sure which one to pick, double-check your course information, which should tell you whether you’re a full or part-time student.
4. After selecting the correct option, you’ll be asked what the start dates of your course will be, you’d be surprised how many people click the wrong dates, so pay close attention to the year in which your course starts and when it finishes.
5. After confirming your eligibility, you’ll be asked to provide basic information, including legal name, and current address, but also some more details, such as your place of birth, nationality, gender, and ethnicity.
Depending on where you study, some of these details influence the amount you’re eligible to take as a loan and how much you need to pay back.
🇬🇧 If you’re a UK citizen, it’s plain sailing from here on out. You’ll be asked some questions about your living and financial situation, including your household income, the marital status of your parents, as well as whether you are in a civil partnership yourself.
🌎 If you’re not, then the application process will take considerably longer and require more verification. Fortunately, the student finance services have helplines if you get stuck during the process.
Another thing to consider is whether or not you have a special need or disability that will entitle you to additional facilities and funding. If this is the case, make sure you have access to your current GPs contact information and have the relevant medical records to prove your eligibility.
The last step in the process is to submit your identification and bank information, so that the student finance service can confirm who you are and knows which account to send the money to.
Photographing Your ID
When photographing your ID to send with your application, try to use a neutral background monotone and make sure to avoid letting any lights or glare cover any of the information on the document. If any of the content on the document is obscured or obstructed, your application won’t go through and you’ll need to submit it again!
After submitting this, you’re just about done, but you can’t forget about it just yet. For the next few weeks, keep a close eye on your emails and log in to your student finance account regularly to confirm that your application has been accepted.
Once you’ve been approved, all there is to do now is wait. When the time comes, you’ll get the first instalment of your loan and it’s yours to spend as you see fit, but spend it wisely and be conscious that one day you’ll have to pay it back!
Picking up your student ID will probably be on one of the first things you do during Freshers week.
Afterword
Thank you for checking out our guide on applying for student finance, we hope you were able to learn something. If you want to learn more about student life, all the essentials you need, or brush up your knowledge on a wide range of academic subjects, check out the other articles right here on the Superprof blog.
While you’re here, why not supercharge your learning by looking at Superprofs premier service, which puts you directly in touch with the best-rated educators in your area? It’s free to use and the first lesson is free with most Superprof tutors.
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