If you’re going to university in September, you’ve more than likely looked into financial support and how to apply for student finance. You’ll have heard of terms such as student loan, tuition fee, and maintenance loan, but it can be difficult to see past all the jargon to find the real question – do student loans cover accommodation costs? Luckily, we’ve done some of the research to help you out. Keep reading to find out!
Firstly, you’ll need to know an estimate of how much you’ll be able to borrow from Student Finance England (SFE). They’ll provide you with a maintenance loan to help you with your living costs while you’re studying. The amount you receive will depend on the following:
Students who live in London can be entitled to a larger loan as this reflects the higher living costs in the area. However, wherever you live, your household income – sometimes referred to as your parent’s income – will still be taken into consideration. The more your parent or parents earn, the less you may receive. The reasoning behind this is that wealthier families have a better ability to support their children throughout their studies, while children from lower-income families might need more help.
You can get a maintenance loan up to a total amount of £10,227 if you’re living away from your parents and outside of London (academic year 2024-2025). The minimum amount you can get is £4,767.
For a more detailed explanation of the amounts you could borrow, please visit the Government website.
The whole point behind student finance and maintenance loans is to help you with your living costs while you study at university. This loan is different to a tuition fee loan which is paid directly to your university each term to cover the cost of your course. A maintenance loan aims to help with the following living expenses:
👉🏻Accommodation costs
👉🏻Travel
👉🏻Course materials
👉🏻Food and drink
👉🏻Utility bills (gas, electricity, water etc.)
Whether or not your student loan will cover the whole of your student accommodation costs depends on how much you were able to borrow, how much your accommodation is, and what your outgoings are. You’ll need to consider all the things you might need to pay for while at university, such as textbooks and travel to and from campus, as well as general living expenses, to figure out how much money you’ll have left over from the loan once your accommodation has been paid for. It could be a good idea to create a budgeting plan to help you estimate what you’ll have left over each term.
It’s good to note that you could use your student loan to cover the costs of your accommodation, but you might still have to pay for your utilities bills if these aren’t included in your rent.
Unfortunately, there are the odd cases where you’ll receive the minimum amount of maintenance loan and it’s not enough to cover most of your living expenses, including your rent. When this happens, you’ll be expected to make up the difference by one or several of the following:
👉🏻Support from parents or partner (if they can, of course!)
👉🏻Part-time job
👉🏻Your savings
👉🏻University bursaries and scholarships (if applicable)
If you find that you’re struggling with your living expenses while at uni, there are other avenues that may offer extra help and support. You can find more information on this by visiting the government website.
If you want to get better at managing your bills, then maybe using a bill splitting service would be a good option to choose! This way, you’ll know exactly how much you’re paying every month, and you’ll be able to create a better budget for yourself and your expenses.
Plus, it’s super easy! Tell us which bills you want to be included in the package to get a quote, and then you and your housemates sign up for our services and we’ll add you all to the account. After this, we’ll contact suppliers for you and do all the hard work so you don’t have to! All you need to do is pay your share of the bill each month – so there’s no more arguing about missed bills.
If this sounds like something you’re interested in, contact us with any questions you may have or get a quote from ustoday!
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