Did you know Jobcentre Plus can help with student finance? Let’s explore what it is, and how the job centre can help you…
Student finance can be complicated – many people don’t understand how it works, even those who already have student debt.
You might be wondering if it’s true that student loans get written off after a certain length of time? (the answer is yes!). Or even if you won’t be able to access other types of financial loans like mortgages later if you have student debt? (the answer is no).
If you have lots of questions about student finance, help is out there! Your local Jobcentre Plus is one place to find it.
What is student finance?
Student finance is the money you get to help you afford university costs. The majority of students (whether undergraduates or postgraduates) will take out a student loan to fund their studies.
The money you will receive is to help cover tuition fees (the average is currently £9,250 a year) which is paid directly to your uni, and maintenance costs that you’ll use for things like rent, bills and food.
The amount you receive depends on:
- Whether you live at home
- How much your parents earn (if they’re financially supporting you)
- Where you’ll study (for example, London is more expensive and this is factored in)
- Whether you’ll be going abroad for any part of the course
You can use the government student finance calculator to work out how much you might be able to borrow.
Is student finance like a bank loan?
No, it’s not. You’ll be borrowing money directly from the government via an organisation called the Student Loans Company.
You don’t have to pay back the loans within a certain amount of time after you graduate, and nobody will chase after you if you don’t pay certain amounts by certain dates (unlike a bank). It also doesn’t affect your credit score!
It’s true that unpaid student loans get written off (meaning removed) after a certain amount of time – usually 30 years after you become eligible to start paying off your loan (as of 2012).
You won’t start repaying your loan until you cross a certain threshold. If you started your course on or after 1st September 2012, you don’t need to start repaying until you earn £26,375 or more a year.
Your repayments will come out of your pay before it hits your bank account, just like National Insurance tax, and they’ll be equal to 9% of what you earn over the threshold.
So if you earned £27,000, for example, that’s £425 over the threshold. You’d pay 9% of that £425.
So how can Jobcentre Plus help me with student finance?
If you’re receiving benefits, using the Jobcentre or a youth hub connected to the Jobcentre, you’ll likely have a work coach (or youth employability coach).
If you’re thinking about going to university (you can be any age) or have already accepted a place, and are wondering about applying for student finance, speaking to your work coach is a great place to start. They can guide you through the application process and support you with anything you don’t understand.
They can also help you identify any other sources of financial support you might be entitled to (such as grants or scholarships) that you might not have been aware of.
Will a student loan affect the benefits I receive?
If you’re receiving any government benefits like Universal Credit or the New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance, your benefits may or may not be impacted if you decide to go to university and use student finance.
In some circumstances, students can still claim certain benefits. Full time students could be eligible for Universal Credit (for example) if they don’t have parental support, have responsibility for a child, live with a partner who is eligible, or have a disability/medical condition. Part-time students can also be eligible, but you may be expected to work part time when not studying to receive the benefits.
It may also be helpful to know that if you’re a full time student in uni/college, you usually won’t have to pay council tax.
You can contact the Jobcentre, talk to your work coach, or work out your eligibility for financial support online.
This article was updated in December 2023.
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