Student finance, explained plainly

Eligible full-time undergraduates can apply for a tuition fee loan, paid straight to the university, and a maintenance loan for living costs, paid to you in instalments each term. Neither requires a credit check or a guarantor, and there is no upfront payment at enrolment.

In England the fee cap for full-time courses at approved providers was £9,535 for 2025/26, having risen from £9,250. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate systems with different caps and different support, and Scottish students studying in Scotland do not normally pay tuition fees at all. Check the figures for your nation and your start year.

The maintenance loan is means tested against household income and varies by where you live while studying: at home, away from home outside London, or away from home in London. Higher household income means a smaller loan, on the assumption that families contribute the difference — an assumption that often is not discussed at home until it is urgent.

Before you commit to a city, compare the maximum loan for your circumstances against local rent. That gap, not the fee, is the real cost difference between two offers. Many universities also offer bursaries and scholarships that are not loans, some awarded automatically on household income, so check each institution's own funding pages.

• It is income-contingent. You repay a percentage of income above a threshold, collected through payroll like tax. Earn below the threshold and you repay nothing that month.
• Plan 5 applies to most students starting undergraduate courses in England from September 2023: 9 per cent of income above £25,000, written off 40 years after repayments are due to begin.
• Plan 2 applies to English students who started between 2012 and 2022: 9 per cent above a higher threshold, written off 30 years after repayments begin.
• Interest applies and is set by the government, linked to inflation and, on some plans, to income. Because of write-off, many graduates never repay the full balance.
• Nothing follows your family. The loan is written off on death and is not inheritable.

Thresholds and interest rates are reviewed annually, so treat the numbers above as the current published position and verify on GOV.UK for your start year.

Because repayment is 9 per cent of income above the threshold, the monthly cost is easy to estimate: subtract the threshold from your salary, take 9 per cent, and divide by twelve. On Plan 5, a graduate earning £31,000 repays 9 per cent of £6,000 a year, which is £540, or £45 a month. That framing is far more useful for decisions than the total balance.

It also explains why overpaying early is usually a poor idea for people who will not clear the balance before write-off, and a reasonable one for those on high-earning trajectories. If you are unsure, the official repayment calculator is more reliable than any rule of thumb.

Additional funding exists for specific circumstances: Disabled Students' Allowance, Childcare Grant and Parents' Learning Allowance, extra help for care leavers and estranged students, and NHS Learning Support Fund payments for many healthcare courses. Apply early, because assessments take time.

And if avoiding fees altogether is the priority, a degree apprenticeship pays you a wage with no tuition cost to you. Compare it honestly against the degree using our side-by-side guide.

Do you pay tuition fees upfront?

No. Eligible students take a tuition fee loan that is paid directly to the university, so nothing is paid at enrolment. You repay through the tax system after you graduate and only once your income passes the threshold for your repayment plan.

How much is the tuition fee cap?

For full-time undergraduate courses at approved providers in England the cap was £9,535 for the 2025/26 academic year, having risen from £9,250. Caps are set annually and differ across the four UK nations, so confirm the figure for your start year on GOV.UK.

How is the maintenance loan calculated?

It is means tested against household income and depends on whether you live at home, away from home outside London, or away from home in London. The maximum amounts are updated each year, and studying in London attracts the highest rate.

When do you start repaying, and how much?

Repayments start the April after you finish your course, and only on income above your plan's threshold. Students who started an undergraduate course in England from September 2023 are on Plan 5, repaying 9 per cent of income above £25,000, with any remaining balance written off 40 years after repayments become due.

Does a student loan affect your credit score or mortgage?

It does not appear on your credit file like a commercial debt, but lenders consider the monthly repayment as a deduction from your income when assessing affordability, in the same way as tax.

Rules, wage rates and fee caps change. These are the official pages to check before you commit to anything.

• GOV.UK — student finance overview
• GOV.UK — repaying your student loan
• GOV.UK — student loan repayment plans and thresholds
• GOV.UK — extra help such as DSA and Childcare Grant
• Student Finance Wales, SAAS and Student Finance NI