Applying For Student Finance

New and returning full time undergraduate students in England should apply online now for their 21/22 academic year’s finance. This academic year, the Student Loans Company (SLC) has funded over 1 million students and anticipates an increase in applications for academic year 21/22.

Students should submit their applications before the deadline (21 May for new students and 25 June for continuing students) to be confident of having their funding in place before their studies start: studentfinance.campaign.gov.uk/

To help students apply we have put together the following tips for students, their parents and sponsors.

• Apply even if you don’t have a confirmed place at university - Even if you don’t know what course you are doing or even which university you are going to, you should apply online now at studentfinance.campaign.gov. uk/ Select the course you are most likely to do and you can update the application later if required.

• Have your important documents to hand when applying - Have your National Insurance Number, passport and bank details to hand before you start your application as you will be asked for this information as you apply. If you don’t have a bank account in your own name you should set one up. You will need it so we can pay you your money. • Provide your supporting evidence online - To make an application you will need to create an online account and you may be asked to provide evidence to support your application so don’t forget to submit any evidence you are asked for. All evidence apart from some forms of ID or residency evidence can be submitted digitally via your online account. We can’t process your application until we have all the evidence we need.

• Tell us if your household income has changed – If you have applied for a Maintenance Loan based on household income, then your sponsor - usually your parents or partner- will be asked to provide details of their household income for the previous tax year. For 21/22 academic year applications, that’s the 19-20 tax year. If your sponsor expects their income to drop by 15% or more, it is possible to request a Current Year Income (CYI) assessment. A CYI can only be requested once you have submitted your application and your sponsor has also submitted their household income for the 19-20 tax year to support your application too. To do this, visit the following link to download a digital version of the form which will be available once the 20-21 tax year starts in early April, once you have filled it in you can then upload it directly from your online account: sfengland.slc.co.uk/currentyearincome

• Understand how much funding you could be entitled to - You can apply for Tuition Fee Loans to cover your fees and Maintenance Loans to help with living costs. Use the student finance calculator to find out how much you could be entitled to www.gov.uk/ student-finance-calculator.

• Find out if you could be eligible for extra support - Extra funding may be available if you have a disability or a child or adult dependant who relies on you financially. www.gov.uk/student-finance/ extra-help

• Keep your contact details up to date – we may need to get in touch with you throughout the year with important information, so make sure you keep your contact details up to date on your online account.

• Follow Student Finance England (SFE) on social media

Students can stay up-to-date with all the latest student finance information by following SFE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. n

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