Fees and funding – a parents' guide

Financial support

To help you and your children manage the cost of university, we offer a number of generous scholarships, bursaries and grants.

Expert financial advice, when they need it 

Additional guidance and support is available from our Student Financial Guidance team, who can provide expert financial guidance to students and prospective students on a wide range of issues – so you can get expert help before you even apply for university. The service is free, confidential, impartial and non-judgmental. 

While the team can't speak to you about your child's specific circumstances, they are always happy to offer general guidance and answer any questions you have. Feel free to give them a call, email or pop in to see them at an Open Day. 

Is my child eligible for support from the government?

Student Finance England deal with all tuition fee and living cost loans. While most students are eligible for some type of support, it's always worth checking what your child is specifically eligible for before you apply. Student Finance England have put this handy guide together explaining what financial help is available.

How do they apply?

They apply on the gov.uk website via the Student Finance section, this will open for applications in February/March. Your child must have submitted a UCAS application before applying for financial support from the Government but they do not need to have a confirmed place on a course. We recommend applying for financial support as early as possible to ensure your application is received and processed in good time.

How and when will they repay the loans?

Your child will be expected to start repaying their loan when they are earning over £26,575, so you needn't worry about them being under pressure to pay the money back before they have good graduate job. The repayments are automatically taken from wages and are currently calculated at 9% of earnings over £26,575. This is quite modest and the payments automatically stop if earning go below the £26,575 threshold. 

How does the University support students in budgeting and managing money?

Our Student Financial Guidance team has put together a number of useful resources for this very purpose, which include guidance on keeping track of money, budgeting, saving money, part-time work and even investing money. Learn more about keeping track.