The two loans
The tuition fee loan covers tuition (up to £9,250/year in England) and is paid directly to the university. You never see it. The maintenance loan covers living costs and is paid into your bank account in three instalments. The maintenance loan is means-tested against household income — students from lower-income households receive more.
Repayment — it is not a debt like credit card debt
In England, you repay 9% of income above the repayment threshold (currently £27,295/year) once you are earning that amount. If you never earn above the threshold, you never repay anything. Any remaining debt is written off after 40 years. Think of it as a graduate tax, not a mortgage.
Managing the maintenance loan
The maintenance loan arrives in three large instalments but needs to last an entire term. Divide by the number of weeks in the term immediately. What you have per week is your budget. Use our free student budget tracker to allocate spending categories from day one.
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