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Student finance

Student Finance Wales (SFW) – Undergraduate funding for 2024/25

Last updated: 8 March 2024

Funding for full-time undergraduate courses starting in 2024/25

The following information is based on the proposed finance package for 2024/25 for full-time students who will start an Undergraduate course in September 2024 or January 2025 and who ordinarily (lawfully) live in Wales.

Student Loans and a non-repayable grant is available for each academic year to help towards living costs and to cover the cost of the tuition fees. The Maintenance Loan and the Welsh Maintenance Grant is split into 3 equal instalments and is paid directly into the student’s bank account – 1 instalment at the beginning of each term in each academic year. The Tuition Fee Loan is paid directly to the University.

Table 1: Maintenance Support if living at the parental home whilst studying:

Taxable household income for tax year 2022/23Maintenance Grant availableMaintenance Loan availableTotal to be paid to the studentTuition Fee Loan available (not based on household income)
£18,370 or less £6,885 £3,430£10,315£9,250
£20,000 £6,651 £3,664£10,315£9,250
£25,000 £5,930 £4,385£10,315£9,250
£30,000 £5,209 £5,106£10,315£9,250
£35,000 £4,488 £5,827£10,315£9,250
£40,000 £3,767 £6,548£10,315£9,250
£45,000£3,047 £7,268£10,315£9,250
£50,000 £2,326 £7,989£10,315£9,250
£55,000£1,605 £8,710£10,315£9,250
£59,200 £1,000 £9,315£10,315£9,250

Table 2: Maintenance Support if living away from the parental home (or aged 25 and over, or if assessed as Independent) whilst studying:

Taxable household income for tax year 2022/23Maintenance Grant availableMaintenance Loan availableTotal to be paid to the studentTuition Fee Loan available (not based on household income)
£18,370 £8,100 £4,050£12,150£9,250
£20,000 £7,817 £4,333£12,150 £9,250
£25,000 £6,947 £5,203£12,150£9,250
£30,000 £6,078 £6,072£12,150£9,250
£35,000 £5,208 £6,942£12,150£9,250
£40,000 £4,339 £7,811£12,150£9,250
£45,000 £3,469 £8,681 £12,150£9,250
£50,000 £2,600 £9,550£12,150£9,250
£55,000 £1,730 £10,420 £12,150£9,250
£59,200 £1,000 £11,150 £12,150£9,250

Dependent or Independent status

To be classed as independent, you must meet one of the following criteria at the start of the academic year. If the course starts in September 2024, you must meet the eligibility before 1 September 2024; or before 1 January 2025 if the course starts in January 2025.

If Student Finance consider you to be an independent student, your parents’ income will not be considered. Instead, the means-test for the Maintenance Loan will be based on your details and the income of your partner, if relevant.

Long Courses Loan

If your academic year is longer than the standard 30 weeks and 3 days, and you are entitled to the means-tested element of the Maintenance Loan, you will be considered for the Long Courses Loan.

This means you may be entitled to an additional £94 per additional week of the course if you are living in the parental home, and £142 per additional week if you are living away from the parental home, or aged 25 and over, or assessed as Independent by Student Finance.

Grants for Dependants

Before you can apply for the Grants for Dependants, which are non-repayable, you must submit the main student loan application to Student Finance Wales, even if you don’t want to apply for student loans.

They will use the information in this application to check your identity, residency and household income. Student Finance may also send you a separate application form to apply for the grants.

Adult Dependants’ Grant

If you have a partner or other adult who is financially dependent on you, you may be entitled to a grant that is up to a maximum of £3,353.00.

If the dependant adult is not a partner but their income is less than £3,923 in the academic year, you may also qualify for this grant.

This grant will be paid directly into your bank account in 3 equal instalments during the academic year – one instalment per term.

You can only apply for this grant once in each academic year, even if you have more than one adult who financially depends on you.

This grant will be considered for benefits purposes.

Childcare Grant

The amount of Childcare Grant payable will be based on your household income.

It will cover 85% of actual childcare costs, subject to a maximum grant of £189 per week for one child only or £324 per week for two or more children.

You will not be eligible for this grant if you are expecting to receive the Childcare Element of Working Tax Credit or Universal Credit; or Tax-free Childcare from HMRC; or the Parental Support grant from the NHS.

This grant is not considered for benefits purposes.

Parents’ Learning Allowance

The maximum amount payable will be £1,914 and the minimum £52

This grant will be paid directly into your bank account in 3 equal instalments during the academic year – one instalment per term.

This grant is not considered for benefits purposes.

Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA)

You can apply for the DSA if you have a disability that affects your ability to study. DSA is non-repayable and non-means tested. Support comes in the form of practical help, not additional funding.

You are not eligible if you are:    

Evidence requirements

ConditionProof
Disabilities or long-term health condition Report or letter from your doctor or consultant – you can also fill in the disability evidence form
Mental-health condition Report or letter from your doctor or consultant – you can also fill in the disability evidence form
Specific learning difficulty like dyslexia A ‘diagnostic assessment’ from a psychologist or suitably qualified specialist teacher – you will need to be reassessed if you had this done when you were under 16

For all students in 2024/25 the DSA allowance is simplified into one allowance. An exception will be the Travel Allowance that will in effect be uncapped. The Travel Allowance helps with any extra travel costs students may have to pay to get to university because of their disability.

AllowanceMaximum amount
Single DSA £33,460
Travel allowance As required

Application process:

  1. Apply for Student Finance online
  2. Then apply for DSA online
  3. Student Finance will contact you regarding the assessment of needs
  4. A local Disability Assessor will assess you
  5. Assessment of a Needs Report will be produced
  6. Report is sent to Student Finance for approval

Important information: please note that Student Finance are currently changing the process required for needs assessments. This may cause delays for students, so please submit your DSA application as soon as possible.

If you need further advice, please contact the University’s Disability Team and/or the Mental Health & Wellbeing Team before starting your course.

How and when to apply for funding from Student Finance

You need to apply every year from April (no need to wait for confirmation of a place on a course).    

If you are starting a course in January, please don’t apply for Student Finance until August as the course details may not be available on the Student Finance course database.

In some circumstances Student Finance prefer paper forms such as the Estrangement forms. We offer a check and send service, so we can send you the application forms to complete and then return to us for checking and posting on to Student Finance.

Repayment of Student Loans

Loans are repayable in the April following graduation if you are earning a gross salary above £27,295 per year. Your monthly loan repayment will be calculated on 9% of earnings above the gross income threshold of £27,295 which is £2,274 per month.

For example, a graduate with an annual gross salary of £28,800 earns £2,400 per month which is £126 above the repayment threshold. So, 9% of £126 = £11.30. This will be your monthly repayment regardless of the size of your student loan debt.

If you are employed, a deduction will automatically be taken from your monthly salary, via your National Insurance Contributions.

If you are self-employed, repayment will be arranged when you complete your self-assessment.

Please note that interest begins to accrue as soon as you receive the first instalment of the Maintenance Loan, or when the first instalment of the Tuition Fee Loan is paid to the University.

Interest will continue to accrue until the loan is repaid in full or has been written off. The interest rate for students starting an undergraduate course in 2024/25 is currently 7.7% (March 2024). The interest is calculated daily and then applied to your balance of loan each month.

Financial Assistance Fund (FAF)

Once enrolled, you can apply to the university’s Financial Assistance Fund for possible help towards paying for such things as field trips or accommodation etc. Money can’t be guaranteed from this source, but it is worth applying as awards do not have to be repaid.

Enrolled students can apply online via their Student Record on the MyGlos app from the start of the course. Please note that if you are entitled to a Maintenance Loan you must have applied for the maximum entitlement that is available to you prior to applying to this fund.

How much will it cost to stay in Halls?

This will depend upon the type of Halls you will be staying in. View information on our accomodation.

How much do I need to live on?

This will depend on the individuals’ circumstances so an exact figure cannot be given. Learning how to take control of your money is crucial and we can help you to stay on top of your finances during your studies by helping you to create and stick to a budget. Please contact us for more information.

Council Tax Exemption

Full time students are exempt from paying Council Tax. Once enrolled you will be able to access a Council Tax Exemption Certificate from Student Records Online. 

You will need to send this to the relevant Council. If you live with one adult who is not a full-time student they will qualify for the 25% Single Occupancy Discount.  No exemption will apply if you live with more than one adult who is not a full-time student.

Overdraft

If you open a Student Bank Account you may be eligible for an interest free overdraft. Please check comparison websites for the best deals.

Benefits

Most students will not be able to access benefits from the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP). However, there are exceptions. For more information please contact us and/or the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

Please note that Maintenance Loans will be considered when calculating benefits regardless of whether you take the loan or not.

Employment

The Your Future Plan Team at the university runs a recruitment service called Unitemps. Register by getting in touch at unitemps@glos.ac.uk to gain support accessing live jobs available with a range of businesses within Gloucestershire.

Unitemps works with organisations across a range of sectors to provide students with a variety of different roles. In combination with the newly launched Career Studio, you can access support including:

Important Information

Students being targeted by cyber criminals is on the increase. Be careful of emails or texts asking for sensitive information to be provided urgently – these are phishing emails and smishing texts.  Always check them out before replying and note that official organisations, such as the University, Student Finance, Student Loans Company, Banks and HMRC, never ask for personal information (e.g. bank account details) to be provided by email, text or phone. If in doubt, contact us before providing any information.

If you are approached by someone offering you a payment if you let them use your bank account to transfer money in and out again – do not accept.  This is known as money muling.  They want to use your account to launder money – this is a criminal offence and you could be prosecuted.

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