As the years pass by, student finance continues to change. Every academic year there are new rules to understand and ways to access funding. Whether you are an undergraduate or postgraduate student there is cash out there to help with your studies. It’s just knowing what’s around in 2017 that wasn’t available in 2016.
The funds that you can access are either well hidden or eligibility criteria continues to change. Even keeping track of changes in fees is enough to contend with. As always, the fees and rules for funding in 2017 are different to what they were in 2016 and the deadlines are quite strict for applying.
Here’s a summary of the main changes that you need to know if you are planning to study in 2017.
- Current university tuition fees for the academic year 2017 – 2018 per year is £9,250. In comparison with the 2016 – 2017 academic year, this is an increase of £250 a year.
- In 2017, full time students can only apply for a maintenance loan rather than a grant. This loan is currently £8,430 depending on household income
- A maintenance grant is still available for existing students who started university in 2016 or earlier.
- Students can also get help fromother sources of funding and grants from 2017 if they have a disability or a dependant. An undergraduate or postgraduate with a low incomebackground can also apply for funding.
One of the major changes to student finance in recent years is the replacement of student grants with loans for living costs. Those on a low income will be hardest hit by the changes. Prior to this, students with a yearly income of up to £25,000 would receive a full grant of £3,387each academic year. Although this change was introduced in 2015, it continues to have an impact on the way in which students can access essential streams of finance for their living costs while studying in 2017 and beyond.
There are many things to contend with when considering university study. Not only do you have to worry about your next writing assignment or short essay, before you even start you have to navigate the complexities of university funding.
Each year there are more and more changes to the rules surrounding funding for study. It is important that before you sign up to any course or programme you fully understand the financial implications of doing so.
