You may have seen in the news that the way students finance their studies has changed. This page will hopefully answer some of your questions! If you have more questions, don't forget you can always ask them on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/ueareach or by email outreach@uea.ac.uk.
Why have the fees changed?
The government has cut the amount of money it gives to universities by 80%. To make up for this, universities will be charging between £6,000 and £9,000 per year for their courses. This is because it costs between £6,000 and £7,000 per student to keep a university open.
Universities who have chosen to charge over £7,000 will be using their additional income to create a better experience for their students. That extra money will be reinvested into facilities and buildings and to attract highly qualified staff to ensure that their facilities are world class.
The University of East Anglia will be charging £9,000 per year for full time courses for new UK and EU students starting their courses from September 2012.
Loans, grants and waivers
There is lots of support to help you whilst you study. The important thing to remember is that no student needs to find money up front in order to be able to study at university. All students can borrow money that they then repay. Lots of students will also be eligible for money that they never have to pay back.
The types of repayable support are outlined below:
- Tuition fee loan. This is paid directly to your university by the Students Loan Company, and covers your tuition fees.
- Living cost loan. This helps you pay for the things you need to live: accommodation, books, food, clothes and entertainment, for example.
The types of non-repayable support (money for you to keep forever) are outlined below:
- Government grant. If your household income is less that £42,000, you will be eligible for a government grant of up to £3,250. This is paid yearly and the best part is: you never have to repay the money. It's yours to keep.
- University support. If a university has decided to charge over £6,000, they must provide some additional financial support for their students. This varies from university to university, so it's important to check what universities can offer you.
- At the University of East Anglia, we are offering a series of fee waivers. A fee waiver is money off your tuition fees and they are given every year. If your household income is less than £30,000 per year, you will be eligible for a fee waiver of up to £3,000 each year.
Paying it back
- You never need to find lots of money at once to pay back your student loans - and you never have to find the money upfront when you start your course.
- You start paying back your loan once you graduate and you are earning over £21,000.
- Once you earn over £21,000, you pay back 9% of your salary of £21,000. For example, if you earn £24,000 you will pay back 9% of £3,000. This is the same as £22.50 per month.
- The repayments are designed to be affordable.
- Your never have to worry about remembering to pay your student loan each month. Your repayment is deducted from your pay at the same time as your tax.
- Compared to the old system, students in the future will have £540 more in their pocket each year. This is because their monthly repayments will be less than students who borrowed money under the old system.
- Your student loan will accrue (gain) interest on it. This means that the overall amount you owe to the Students Loan Company will increase slightly over time. You will accrue less interest than you would on a bank loan, though.
- You will repay your loan for 30 years (providing you are employed and earn over £21,000). After this, whatever you still owe will be written off.
- The important thing to focus on is how much you pay off each month - not the overall size of your student loan. This is because most people will never pay off all their student loans.
Any questions?
There is lots of information and support available to help students study at university. For example, you could visit the University of East Anglia finance pages here.
If you have any finance worries please do get in touch with us and ask us any questions you have either on our Facebook page or by email: outreach@uea.ac.uk
Below is an independent information video from the Independent Taskforce on Student Finance Information, explaining the new system of fees, loans, bursaries and repayments.
