Student Finance
You may have heard about Student Finance before, but if you’re an undergraduate student who lives and studies in England, starting your course from January 2027 onwards, you’ll need to apply through the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE). The LLE is designed to help everyone study as flexibly as they need to.
Eligible students starting an undergraduate programme don’t have to pay tuition fees up front. If you live in England, the cost can be covered by the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
If you’re starting your undergraduate programme in January 2027, you don’t have to start repaying this loan until you’ve left your course and earn over £25,000 per year.
Loans for living costs, usually called a maintenance loan, are available for help towards the cost of accommodation, food and travel.
Student finance for postgraduate students is different. Please take a look at our postgraduate money advice pages for more details.
Receiving your funding
After you’ve completed enrolment and become a fully registered student your first payment will be released. It can take up to five working days for payment to arrive in your account, or longer, if you applied for funding late. But remember, this will only be paid if your application is approved and all checks have been completed by student finance.
Our top tips
Completing your application:
You don’t need an offer to apply
If you’re still waiting for offers, you can still apply using your preferred university and course. If this changes you can update your application at a later date.
Ensure your application details are correct
Have your UCAS course code to hand and choose the correct academic year, start month and mode of study e.g. full-time.
Supporting documents
Upload any supporting documents as part of your application.
Complete your to-do list
Your online Student Finance account shows a ‘to-do’ list for any outstanding actions.
Enrol promptly to release your funding when you begin your programme
Your first payment is made 3-5 days after the University has officially confirmed your attendance with Student Finance.
Outstanding conditions
If there are any outstanding conditions of your offer when you enrol, you’ll only be able to part-enrol. Student Finance is only released when you become fully enrolled so you are advised to address all conditions of your offer as soon as possible.
If you have any queries around the conditions of your offer please contact [email protected].
Money to cover your first 2 weeks
Payments from Student Finance can take up to five days to arrive in your account, or longer if you applied for funding late.
With this in mind, it’s worth bringing enough money with you to cover your first two weeks, just in case there is a problem with your funds being released.