7 Ways To Make Student Finance A Less Painful Experience

With Student Finance 2018 approaching, here's how to cut back on the stress.

Know the deadlines

Find out the Student Finance deadline 2018 in your circumstances. For those applying through Student Finance England, the deadline in 2018 for new students is May 25 while continuing students have until June 22.

The deadlines may be different for funding in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland or through other means.

Start early

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While you may feel you have lots of time, student finance applications - especially in your first year - can take weeks or even months in collecting documents and such, so start as early as you can to save the stress.

Get to grips with the loans and grants

In 2016, the way Student Finance worked changed a lot.

The student grant, which you didn't have to pay back, is GONE and instead your basic student finance is now made up of just the tuition loan and maintenance loan.

The tuition loan is up to £9,250 a year and is paid directly to the University to cover your fees

The maintenance loan is worth up to £11,000 but varies depending on where you live and if you live with your parents or not. This money is paid to you directly.

Remember, unlike the old grants, all this money will need to be paid back.

Calculate what you're entitled to

student finance calculator
While everyone will be entitled to the basic student loan and tuition fees, there are some other funds available from the government under certain circumstances.

Use the official Gov.uk student finance calculator HERE to see what you're entitled to.

Research bursaries and scholarships

As well as direct government funding, there may be other bursaries or scholarships up for grabs from your University.

For example, the University of Southampton offer £1,000 to students of some courses who achieve high A-level grades.

Look into your University to see what they offer and conditions that need to be met: It may also motivate you to study harder!

Sort out a bank account

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In order to apply for student funds you need to provide bank account details for the money to be paid into.

If you've not got one already, get a student account or upgrade your current account to student status. You'll need a UCAS letter, University acceptance or similar as proof of student status.

Get your parents in the know

Your parent(s) income and status will be influential in how much loan you receive and they will be required to provide proof of earnings such as P60s or SA100s. This may take some digging out of paperwork so make them aware!

About the author: Thomas Brella

Thomas Brella is the founder of Student Hacks, starting the website in 2013 while studying at the University of Brighton to share tips and tricks on life as a cash-strapped student. He's now spent over 10 years scoping out the best ways to live on a budget

More on: Money
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