Everybody is not lucky enough to all the facilities to make their dreams come true. They have to make situations according to them. There are many students who did not have a strong family background; had to suffer a lot because of a money crisis.
But now, everybody can feel like the king of the world. Unemployed students who do not have enough to spend on their higher studies can borrow without any difficulty. And they can make their dreams come true of studying further without doing any part-time job.
Loan Laws for Students in UK
The Government of United Kingdom through the student Loan Company SLC provides loans for Students who are unemployed. Student Loan Company is a non-departmental public body that is responsible for Student Finance England and Student Finance Wales. Unemployed students can apply for tuition fee and maintenance loans to pay for course fees and living costs.
No matter where in the UK you attend university, The Student Loans Company manages all British student needs. You can get extra money in form of Student Loan to pay for university or college tuition fees and to help with living costs. You start repaying 9% of your earnings above a certain income.
The best part it, monthly installments of your student loan will depend on how much you earn, not what you owe.
Loan System for UK’s Students
British student loan is administered by the Student Loan Company. In the UK, when you want to take out a student loan, you deal with the student finance body for the nation where you originally live – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales. It is not like a commercial loan.
Unemployed Student Loans are of three types;
- Government student loans for unemployed
- Parent-student loans for unemployed
- Private Student loans for unemployed
Rate of interest is different for these three types of loans for students. Rate of interest for government unemployed student loans is comparatively low as compare to other two types.
Eligibility
There are two eligibility criterions to meet the student loan requirements: one is personal eligibility and the other is course or institution eligibility.
Personal eligibility criterion concerns the student’s residency status.
Course/ Institution eligibility criterion is that student must be studying for an undergraduate degree at a UK degree awarding institution or other verified higher education institution.
In addition, students aged less than 60 years studying for a postgraduate taught Masters at a UK degree-awarding institution or other verified HEI or students on some teacher, youth and community worker courses are also eligible for SLC support and for a £10,000 student loan.
How much Does Tuition Fee Loan?
Loan covers the cost of your course fees. The publicly-funded universities and colleges are currently charging students annually £9,250. These universities and educational institutes charge you according to your residential address and where you’d like to study.
If you live in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, then you can apply for a tuition fee loan to nation’s student finance agency which may cover some or all of your tuition fee costs. And it is up to you whether you apply for a tuition fee loan to cover the full cost of your undergraduate course in a publicly-funded institution or some of your tuition fee.
Student Finance Agency will transfer tuition fee loans directly to your universities or college and not to your bank account. And you have to pay it back once you finished your studies and start earning above a certain amount.
Full-time students can get loans of £9,250 and full-time students at a private university or college can get £6,165 for the academic years 2017-2018, 2018-2019 & 2019-2020 and onwards.
Maintenance Loan
Maintenance loan is the loan to cover your living costs while studying. UK domiciled Students who are eligible for tuition fee loan are also entitled to a maintenance loan, which is designed to help pay for living costs whilst at the university.
Maintenance loan is a set amount for all students. Students at home are entitled to less and those living away from home in London entitled to more amount of maintenance loan.
Repayment of Student loan along with any maintenance loans will be started your graduation or once you have completed your studies.
And you start earning above a certain amount.
Tuition Fee Loan for Part-time Students
If your course has a course intensity of 25% or more then you are eligible to apply for. You can check the intensity of course with your university or college. If you are eligible then you can apply for a tuition fee loan of up to £6,935 per year.
Tuition Fee Loan for Postgraduate Master’s Students
If your age is 59 years or under and you are planning to study a postgraduate master’s degree, you might be eligible to receive a loan of up to £10,609 to contribute to your course and living costs.
You’ll only make repayments of the loan when you earn over the salary threshold, which is currently £21,000 annually.
Repayment of Unemployed Student Loan; How and When
The students will be eligible to start repayments in April after they have finished or left their course. The government has set repayment threshold. A repayment threshold is a minimum income that you will have to earn before you begin to repay your student loan.
| Repayment | England & Wales | Northern Ireland & Scotland |
| Annual income | £25,725 | £18,935 |
| Monthly income | £2,143 | £1,578 |
| Weekly income | £494 | £364 |
The Scottish Government has shown their commitment to raising the repayment threshold. The Scottish Government will raise it for the students from Scotland to £25,000 from April 2021.
For more information, see the Student Loans Company website for information about loan repayment.
When you start earning and reach the repayment threshold, you will pay 9% of your income. Income includes earnings from employment, self-employment, rental income, earning from savings interest, pensions or from investments, this would count as part of your income.
| Employment | Repayment |
| Employed in UK | – If you are employed in the UK then your repayment will be collected through PAYE – HM Revenue and Customs makes the calculations and deducts the repayment from your gross pay with your income tax – It is your responsibility to inform your employer that you are due to repay a student loan |
| Self-employed | – If you are self-employed, so you will have to budget for your student loan repayment – Set money aside as the Student Loan Company cannot accept payments by credit card – You may have to deposit money as a direct debit to a saving account and repayments will be collected through the tax self-assessment system |
| Leaving Country for more than three months | In this case, you have to inform the Student Loan Company. The earning threshold differs for overseas countries |
There are possibilities that a person could not repay the loan in full 30 years after his first payment, the remaining balance will be written off.
For Further Information
For more information on grants, loans, and other financial support available for undergraduate, part-time or postgraduate students, or for special needs students contact to student support services in your college or university or speak to an adviser.
You can also contact your country’s student finance agency
- If you are a student in England – Student Finance England
- If you are a student in Scotland – Student Awards Agency For Scotland
- If you are a student in Wales – Student Finance Wales
- If you are a student in Northern Ireland – Student Finance NI
Lisa is a passionate travelers. She spends 3 months every year visiting different places worldwide. She has visited almost every famous place in the world. She herself is an affiliate blogger
Leave a Reply