Guidance

SFE: Current application timescales

Use this guide to get an estimate of our current timescales and find out when to expect an update on your undergraduate student finance application for 2023 to 2024.

Applies to England

This page is updated weekly.

This page is used for undergraduate student finance applications only. To get an update on your Postgraduate Loan or Advanced Learner Loan application, you’ll need to sign in to your student finance account.

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If you’ve applied for student finance

If you’ve recently applied for student finance, we might give you the minimum amount to make sure you have some funding near the start of your course.

How long it takes us to work on your application depends on what you’ve applied for and how many other students are applying at the same time.

If you apply this week for Current timescales are Expect an update from us between
Full-time undergraduate student finance 19 working days Monday 13 May and Friday 17 May
Part-time undergraduate student finance 19 working days Monday 13 May and Friday 17 May
Childcare Grant, Parents’ Learning Allowance or Adult Dependants’ Grant 9 working days Monday 29 April and Friday 3 May

Remember to check the progress of your application using your student finance account.

If you’ve sent us evidence or made a change to your application

If you’ve sent evidence to help us work out how much you can get, or you’ve told us that your circumstances have changed, the table below shows when you should expect an update from us.

If you send us information or evidence this week about Current timescales are Expect an update from us between
your financial information, including the PFF2 form 18 working days Monday 13 May and Friday 17 May
a change in your circumstances 9 working days Monday 29 April and Friday 3 May
Childcare Grant, Parents’ Learning Allowance or Adult Dependants’ Grant 9 working days Monday 29 April and Friday 3 May

If you’ve uploaded evidence or made a change to your application, your student finance account might not update straight away. We’ll update it once we’ve actioned your change or reviewed your evidence.

If you’ve applied for Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA)

If you’ve applied for DSA, sent us evidence, or emailed us about your DSA application, the table below shows when you should expect an update from us.

This week, if you’ve sent us Current timescales are Expect an update from us between
a DSA application 11 working days Monday 6 May and Friday 10 May
medical evidence 7 working days Monday 29 April and Friday 3 May
a Needs Assessment report 10 working days Monday 6 May and Friday 10 May
a claim for expenses 6 working days Monday 29 April and Friday 3 May
an email 8 working days Monday 29 April and Friday 3 May

There’s no need to contact us once you’ve sent something. We’ll update you by email as soon as we’ve reviewed it, so make sure your contact details are up to date. Keep checking your email inbox for our replies and remember to check your junk or spam folders too!

Published 27 September 2023
Last updated 22 April 2024 + show all updates
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