Cost of living – student finance support
We recognise that you and other members of your household might be experiencing additional stress, anxiety, or financial strains due to the current cost of living pressures. To help, we’ve created this guide on how to make sure you’re getting the maximum student finance support you’re entitled to and to direct you to any extra support you may need during your studies.
Applies to England
Get the maximum amount of Maintenance Loan available to you
Apply for the maximum amount using your household income
If you’ve not provided your household income and have therefore only applied for the minimum amount of Maintenance Loan there’s still time to get more if you’re eligible!
Use our student finance calculator and our household income information to get an estimate of how much extra loan you may be entitled too.
How to submit your household income
If you’ve not already given us household income details as part of your application, you should complete the ‘Applying for student finance based on household income form (NMT to MT)’ to change this.
To submit your household income details your parents’ or partner should also complete the ‘Assessment of financial circumstances for parents and partners of students form (PFF2)’.
Download the NMT to MT and PFF2 forms for your academic year.
Both forms can be uploaded to your online account, visit our page for help uploading your documents.
Request the full loan amount you’re entitled to
If you initially chose not to take the maximum loan available to you, you still have time to change this!
For example, if you were eligible for £4,000 but only requested £1,000 you can still apply for the additional £3,000.
To change the amount of loan you’ve requested, you can do easily from your online account:
- Sign in and select the application you wish to change.
- Under the heading ‘Manage your student finance’, click ‘View and manage your applications then click ‘Change your application’.
- Scroll down the page, click ‘Expand your application’ and select ‘Change your application’ again.
- Click ‘Loan amounts’ and enter the new total amount of loan you want (not just the difference).
As long as you’ve applied for student finance before the deadline (up to 9 months after the start of your academic year) you can make changes to your loan amount up to 1 month before the end of your academic year.
Get more loan if your household income has dropped
If you think your household income this tax year will be at least 15% lower than the year you’ve already given us details about, and you’re not already getting the maximum Maintenance Loan, then you could be eligible for more loan.
Check out if you’re eligible for a current year income assessment and find out how to apply.
Get more loan if you’re now living away from your parental home
Did you know that where you live while you’re studying has an effect on how much maintenance loan you can get? If you live away from home for the majority of the academic year you can get more loan. Find out exactly how much you can get based on your living location.
It’s important you keep us up to date on where you are living so we know how to contact you and to make sure you’re getting everything you are entitled to.
Complete a Change of Circumstances form (CO1) if you’ve changed address to make sure you’re getting what you’re entitled to. Follow our step by step instructions to locate the form.
Grants, bursaries and extra help
Speak to your university or college money advice service to find out if you’re eligible for extra money. Each university or college has their own rules about bursaries, scholarships, grants and awards so you should speak with them directly. Many universities and colleges also have their own hardship funds that their students can apply for.
Depending on your circumstances, you could be entitled to extra help
We have grants available which offer extra help if you’re a student with children or dependant adults, or if you have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or learning difficulty.
Students with children or dependent adults can apply for:
To apply for these grants you should complete an ‘Application for Dependants’ Grants form’.
If you have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia) you can apply for:
Find out how to apply for DSA on our dedicated page.
Once your application has been approved any funding you’re entitled to will be back dated to the start of your course.
Bursaries, scholarships and grants
You might be able to access additional bursaries, scholarships and grants through other organisations or charities. Save the Student have created a list of the best places to find additional support.
Additional resources and support
For some students even the maximum amount of student finance may not be enough to cover all of your living costs. Which is why we encourage you to check that you’ve applied for everything you may be entitled to.
There are a number of third party organisations that offer helpful tips and support such as:
- Student Minds for student mental health support.
- The Student Room for forums where you can learn from other students and ask questions.
- Discover Uni for information about attending higher education.
- Money Helper for general financial guidance.
- UKCISA and UUK for international students.
Remember to check out what discounts are available for students including retail, travel and council tax. You can find deals on the UCAS student discounts page.
Last updated 27 July 2023 + show all updates
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Updated the list of third party organisations that offer helpful tips and support under the additional resources and support section.
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First published.