The Maintenance Loan will probably be your main source of cash while you're at uni. But how does it all work? And how much money will you get? Allow us to explain.
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According to our National Student Money Survey, the Maintenance Loan is (alongside part-time jobs) the number one source of money for students while they're at uni.
So, as you'll almost certainly be taking one out, it makes sense for you to get clued up on the eligibility criteria, the application process and how big a Maintenance Loan you'll get, as well as how to pay it back and what to do if your loan isn't enough.
In trademark Save the Student fashion, we've got you covered – read on and we'll answer all of your questions (and more) to make sure you get the most out of your Maintenance Loan.
What’s in this guide?
What is a Maintenance Loan?
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Maintenance Loans are a type of Student Loan provided by the government, and they're intended to cover your living costs while you're at university. Rent, bills, food, nights out – all these things and more are what the Maintenance Loan is there to help you pay for.
Although you apply for the Maintenance Loan through the same process as you would a Tuition Fee Loan, and eventually make repayments on the two as a joint sum, the Maintenance Loan and the Tuition Fee Loan are technically two separate types of funding.
While we're dead against students having to take on any debt to attend university, the current repayment terms on Student Loans are actually fairly manageable. As such, in most cases, we'd argue it's best to take out both a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan, rather than one or the other (or neither).
How is the Maintenance Loan paid?
Maintenance Loans are paid straight into your bank account in three (almost) equal instalments throughout the year – one at the beginning of each semester (other than in Scotland, where loans are paid monthly). That means it's down to you to budget your loan responsibly and make sure you don't spend it all in freshers week!
Students often ask why the third payment is as big as the others when you'll likely be at home over the summer, but the answer is simple: you're still a student, and some of you still have rent to pay during July and August.
And it's thanks to that same logic that things change slightly in your final year. Your final Maintenance Loan payment is smaller than it would have been in previous years, as after June/July you're no longer a student and therefore not entitled to a Student Loan.
Note that not all of your Student Loan will be paid directly to you. Your Tuition Fee Loan will be paid straight to your university, and you'll never see the money. That means you shouldn't have to worry about your uni chasing you down for payment, nor the temptation to spend the cash yourself.
Are you eligible for a Maintenance Loan?
Whether or not you're eligible for a Maintenance Loan depends on a few factors. We'll run through each of the criteria in a moment, but don't panic – most undergraduates starting university are usually eligible to receive funding.
These are the factors that determine whether or not you qualify for a Maintenance Loan:
Your university/college and course
First and foremost, your university or college (or other type of institution) must be 'recognised' or 'listed'. This is a lot less complicated than it sounds, as in reality most unis and colleges are covered.
In addition to this, the course you're enrolling on must fall under the (fairly extensive) list of qualifying courses supplied by the government. Again, most undergraduate courses are recognised and eligible for funding, but there are some different criteria if you'll be studying part-time.
Students on most courses at most unis will be eligible for a Maintenance Loan, but just to make sure, head over to this page on the government's website for the full list of criteria.
Whether or not you've studied before
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In principle, the only way you'll be eligible to receive a Maintenance Loan is if this is the first higher education course that you're enrolling on. But, in practice, things are a little more complicated.
If you've previously started a course but had to drop out, you may be eligible to receive some funding again. Similarly, if you're resitting a year at the same institution, you may also be eligible for a Maintenance Loan.
This is because, as a rule, all students are eligible for funding for the number of years of the course they're applying for plus one extra year. So, if you've previously studied and are applying for a Maintenance Loan on a separate course, you'll need to subtract the number of years you've previously studied from this figure to find out how long you'll be eligible for.
For example, if you're applying to study a three-year course, you're theoretically entitled to four years of funding. But if you've already studied for two years on another course, you'd subtract this and find that you're only eligible for two years of funding.
The exception to this rule is if you dropped out for "compelling personal reasons", in which case you could be eligible for funding for all of your course, regardless of how long you previously studied for. These reasons tend to be things like serious illness, rather than simply not liking the course you were on.
And, finally, even if you've already completed a degree, you could still be eligible for funding. Admittedly, this only applies to a minority of students (like those 'topping up' a qualification to a full Honours degree, or those studying one of a handful of courses, listed here), but there's no harm in checking
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