Loans to help with your living costs
Full-time students
Most full-time students can also apply for a loan to cover their living costs. This loan is often called a maintenance loan and it can be used for other costs associated with going to university, like accommodation, food, travel and course materials.
If you’re eligible, you can take out a maintenance loan for every year of your course. You will have to pay the money back but only after you leave university and start earning more than £21,000.
The amount of funding you get will depend on:
- where you live
- your household income
- if you are also getting the non-repayable grant
The maximum amounts you can get are:
- Living away from home and studying in London: £7,675
- Living away from home and studying outside London: £5,500
- If you live at your parent’s home: £4,375
Unlike the tuition fee loan, this money is paid direct into your bank or building society account. It’s up to you to decide what you spend this money on.
Part-time students
Part-time students are not able to apply for the maintenance loan, but from September 2012, you will be eligible to take out a loan to cover the cost of your tuition fees.
Students from Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland
Regardless of where you live, your home nation will support the general principal of a loan for your tuition fees and support towards your living costs.
If you are currently resident in:
- Northern Ireland, go to www.studentfinanceni.co.uk/ for further details
- Scotland, go to: www.saas.gov.uk/ further details
- Wales, go to: www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/ for further details
International / EU students
If you are from a country outside the UK you will not be able to take out a maintenance loan.
Making your application for student funding
- You can apply for student loans and non–repayable grants by completing an application form online at www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance .
Remember:
- You can apply for your student funding even before you’ve formally been offered a place at university.
- You don’t start paying back your student loans until you are earning more than £21,000
- All the loans you take out will be added together after you leave university and this means that when you start paying back your student loans, you will only make one affordable monthly payment.
Need advice?
If you are unsure about the cost of going to university and whether you can afford it, please contact LJMU’s Student Advice Team. We can give you advice and guidance even before you apply to join LJMU.
Email: studentadvice@ljmu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0151 904 6056 / 6057
