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Applying for Student Finance

Most home undergraduate students are eligible for Student Finance funding.

This will cover the cost of tuition fees, which is paid by Student Finance directly to the university.

It should also be used to help with living costs (known as maintenance loans and/or maintenance grants). These grants are paid directly to students.

This page will cover the following:

Student Finance Contact Details

For specific advice based on your individual circumstances, contact us on moneyadvice@cardiffmet.ac.uk or contact your funder directly.

You can contact Student Finance on the following numbers:

  • Student Finance Wales: 0300 200 4050
  • Student Finance England: 0300 100 0607
  • Student Finance Northern Ireland: 0300 100 0077
  • Student Awards Agency Scotland: 0300 555 0505

Eligibility

There are a number of eligibility criteria to be able to receive Student Finance:

  • Your residency status (which UK country you have lived in, and for how long).
  • The course you plan to study.
  • Your age (you need to be under 60 at the time your course starts to receive maximum eligible support).
  • Whether you have studied at undergraduate level previously.

Further information on eligibility can be found on the specific funding body website (links below).

If you have studied at undergraduate level before and received Student Finance, you may be able to apply for further funding.

This will depend on how long you studied for previously, and whether there were any exceptional circumstances for leaving your previous course.

Also, if you are planning to study a course eligible for an NHS bursary, you may still be eligible for Student Finance even if you have studied before. The rules on this can be complicated so we advise that you contact your funder directly for advice specific to your circumstances.

Funding Bodies

You apply to the funder in the country where you normally live.

Where you plan to study does not impact the funding body you apply to, e.g., if you normally live in England and are applying to Cardiff Met, then the funding body you apply to is Student Finance England.

Links below to each Student Finance provider:

How to Apply

The easiest way is to apply online, to the funder in the country that you normally live in at the time of applying for university.

When you register, you’ll be given a unique Customer Reference number, and will need to create a password and secret answer. You will need these details every time you log into your Student Finance account.

When you apply, you will be asked to provide:

  • Your National Insurance Number and valid passport details, unless you are a care leaver, estranged, or over 25.
  • contact details of the parent(s) you normally live with (or your partner if you live with them). These are known as your ‘sponsors’.

Once you have made your application, Student Finance will contact your sponsors and ask them for their employment details and National Insurance number to help them calculate your Student Finance entitlement.

Once you have applied, you can log in at any time to check the status of your application, confirm any actions required to complete your application, and view copies of any correspondence that they have sent you regarding your application.

When to Apply

You can apply for Student Finance from the March before you start your studies.

You don’t need to wait until you have a confirmed offer.

Deadlines for applying for a guaranteed assessment and funding at the start of the new term in September are:

  • Student Finance England – 16th May 2025 for new students , and 20th June 2025 for continuing students
  • Student Finance Wales – 23rd May 2025 for new students, and 27th June 2025 for continuing students

You will also need to re-apply for funding for every year of your course.

Online applications usually open in March each year, ready for the following September. To re-apply, sign into your Student Finance online account.

If any of your details have changed e.g., bank account, contact details etc., make sure you update them in your application.

Available Funding

When you apply for Student Finance, you will be applying for two separate elements:

  • Tuition fee loan – this will cover the full cost of your annual tuition fees (typically £9,250 or £9,500 for full-time students in 2025/26), and will be paid directly to the university once you have attended and enrolled (the university will confirm this on your behalf).
  • Maintenance loan/grant – the funding that Student Finance will provide directly to you to help with living costs while at university, such as rent and bills.

How much maintenance loan/grant you get will depend on which funder you are eligible to apply to, if you will be living ‘at home’, or ‘away from home’, and the combined household income of your parent(s)/partner you live with (except for students from Wales or those classified as ‘independent’).

For 2024/25:

  • students applying to Student Finance Wales will typically receive £12,150 per year if living away from home to study, and £10,315 per year if living with parents.
  • students applying to Student Finance England will receive between £4,915 and £10,544 per year if living away from home while studying, and between £3,907 and £8,877 per year if living with parents. The exact amount will be determined by the means test of household income.

You may also be entitled to additional practical help if you have a disability, mental health condition or specific learning disability (known as Disabled Students’ Allowance), or increased entitlement if you have dependent children/adult dependants.

You will be asked to confirm this in your Student Finance application.

Dates of Your Instalments

Once your application has been assessed you will receive an award entitlement letter (a copy of this will also be available on your online account).

This letter will advise of the dates you will receive your maintenance loan/grant. This is usually paid to you in 3 separate instalments at the start of each term.

If you applied by the deadlines stated above, your first maintenance payment should be received in your first week of term.

Sometimes students will experience a delay in receiving their Student Finance as not all requested information has been provided – examples of this include details of household income or marital status requested directly from students’ parents.

If you have any questions, email us:
moneyadvice@cardiffmet.ac.uk

Repaying your Loan

Interest starts accruing on Student Finance loans from the date it is issued to you.

How much interest you pay will depend on what repayment plan you are on. You will find this information on your online Student Finance account once your application has been assessed.

You will not have to start repaying tuition fee and maintenance loans until the April after you have finished or left your course, and only then if you are earning over the relevant salary threshold.

Graduates currently repaying undergraduate loans repay 9% of what they earn over the salary threshold each month, e.g., if you earn £26,000 per year and your repayment plan threshold salary is £25,000, you will pay 9% of £1,000 over the year in deductions made from your salary by your employer, so £90 in annual deductions.

The deductions are made by your employer at the same time as income tax and National Insurance, and the amounts paid will show on your payslips.

Household income assessment

The household income assessment is a means-test which will determine different things for each funder:

For Student Finance England applicants

The household income of the parent(s) or partner you live with will determine how much Student Finance maintenance loan you will receive – the higher the household income, the lower the Student Finance maintenance loan you will receive.

For students with a household income of £65,000 or more, the lowest level of Student Finance maintenance will be paid.

For Student Finance Wales applicants

Although all students will receive the same amount of maintenance, regardless of household income, the household income of the parent(s) or partner you live with will determine how much Student Finance receive as a non-repayable grant, and how much as a repayable loan.

If you only live with one parent, you will be assessed on their household income, but if you live with a parent and a step parent, their joint income will also be included in the assessment. If you split your time between living with both parents, you will be asked to include the details of the parent you live with most of the time.

The means-test

The means-test will be based on their income earned in a previous financial year.

For those starting university in September 2025, the financial year used for the assessment will be 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

If the household income of your parent(s)/partner has reduced by 15% or more since the financial year ending 31 March 2024, Student Finance have a process in place to allow you to be re-assessed on the household income of the current financial year – this is known as a current year income assessment. This can only be done once the previous financial year details have been provided first. You can find out more about this from your funder.

The household income assessment will not take into account any income from employment you earn before or during your studies.