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• Paying for your tuition
• Money to live on
• How much to live on
• Help with living costs table
• Applying for student support

Paying for your tuition

If you live in Scotland and are studying at a Scottish university starting in 2011, you will not be charged tuition fees, so long as you are eligible for student support and have not done a degree course before. The position from 2012 has yet to be confirmed.

If you live in Scotland and are studying elsewhere in the UK − England, Northern Ireland or Wales − you will be charged tuition fees. But you do not have to pay them up-front, so long as you are eligible for student support, because you can apply for a Student Loan to cover your actual tuition fees - up to a maximum of £3375 pa in 2011, £9000 pa in 2012. This loan is not means-tested; the money is paid direct to your university (so you can’t spend it on anything else); and you repay the loan later (you begin when you are earning at least £15k pa).

But you have to apply: you will not get your fees paid (in Scotland) or the Student Loan for fees (elsewhere in the UK) unless you do. And, if you don’t apply, you may be charged the full cost of the course, which may be much more.

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Money to live on

You are expected to live on money from a variety of sources, depending on your personal circumstances. (If you are already a graduate, you should check carefully; you may not be eligible for any of this help and your fees may be higher too.)

• Student Loan & your family. Almost all UK undergraduates are entitled to take out a Student Loan to provide money to live on, which you pay back after graduation. Some of this is available to everyone but if your family income is above a certain threshold, your family (parents, spouse/civil partner) will be expected to make a contribution.
• SAAS bursary. If you come from a low-income family, you may also qualify for a bursary from the SAAS (Student Awards Agency for Scotland). These bursaries are means-tested but you will not have to repay them. There are different schemes, depending on whether you are under 25 and studying in Scotland or outside it.
• Supplementary grants. In addition, there is Special help for certain categories of students, eg lone parents, those with a disability or those leaving care.
• University bursaries. If you have qualified for a SAAS bursary and are studying outside Scotland, you should be eligible for bursary help from your university as well – particularly if they are charging the maximum UK fee.

For more information, check out the SAAS website – www.saas.gov.uk.

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How much to live on

How much this all amounts to will depend on your family income and on where you live while you are at university. No information is available for Scottish residents for a 2011 start (never mind 2012) but this is the position for 2010.

The maximum Student Loan is £5067 pa, except in your final year when the amount is reduced to £4457. Some of this (15%−18%) is available to everyone so, even if your family is rolling in money, you will still get £915 pa and your family expected to contribute £4152 pa. The remaining 80+% is means-tested so if your family doesn’t have much money, you will receive the whole amount. The maximum Student Loan is reduced to £4107 pa if you are living with your parents, increased to £6152 pa if you are studying in London.

SAAS Bursaries are payable to students whose family income is below some £34.2k and they do not have to be repaid. These bursaries are paid instead of part of your loan, so you have less to pay back later. If you are studying in Scotland, the Young Students’ Bursary (YSB) applies if you are under 25 or the Independent Students’ Bursary (ISB) if you an independent student; the Students’ Outside Scotland Bursary (SOSB) applies if you study elsewhere. So if your family income is below £19.3k, you will get a YSB of £2640 pa (or an ISB of £1000 pa or SOSB of £2150). The amount of bursary gradually decreases as family income rises – down to nil when family income is £34.2k. If you qualify for an SAAS bursary, you may be eligible for an additional student loan.

University bursaries should be available if your family income is below about £25k and you are studying outside Scotland. Bursaries are not repayable. Each university has its own bursary scheme, helping different groups of students with varying amounts of cash − from at least £338 pa to maybe £5000 pa for bright students from low-income families in specified subjects. The bursaries available are outlined in our university descriptions; and on the university search lists you can compare the amount available if your family income is around £18k−£20k pa.

Horribly complicated? See if this chart helps, which shows the approximate amount of help available to a student, depending on the family income.

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Help with living costs table 2010 (if you live and study in Scotland)

If your family income is..	£20k	£30k	£40k	£60+k
Student loan is.. (Less if you live with parents, more if you study in London)	£2549	£3642	£3275	£915
Young Students’ Bursary (YSB) is... (You don’t need to pay back)	£2518	£744	Nil	Nil
Bursaries from university... (You don’t need to pay back)	Possibly	Maybe	Unlikely	None
Total help of	£5067+pa	£4386pa	£3275pa	£915pa
Assumed your parents pay at least	Nil	£681	£1792	£4152
So what you have to live on	£5067+pa	£5067pa	£5067pa	£5067pa

Some small print. There are allowances against your family’s gross income before you arrive at the figure used in the calculation – other siblings still in education etc. All these figures go up in line with inflation each year. If your parents (or spouse/civil partner) don’t want to complete the financial assessment, you will only be able to claim the non-means-tested loan, ie £915 pa.

This maintenance money is all in addition to any help for tuition fees.

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Applying for student support

Apply. Apply for student support as soon as you can – though in Scotland you can’t apply before April. Do not wait until you have received an offer of a place. Certainly try and apply before the summer rush. For courses starting in September, you need to apply by the end of the year.

You make a single application for all types of student support to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland – apply online through its website, www.saas.gov.uk. You have to apply each year of the course.

Are you eligible? The first decision on your application is whether you are eligible for student support (you may not be if you are already a graduate). This first stage is important because it ensures the SAAS will pay your fees if you are studying in Scotland, or caps the tuition fee your university can charge you (so you won’t be charged the full cost of your course); and it entitles you to take out those loans that are not means-tested – the Student Loan for fees and 15%–18% of the Student Loan for living.

If you only want to take the non-means-tested loans, you indicate this on your application. But if you want to apply for more, then you and your family must complete the financial sections, so a financial assessment can be made.

Financial assessment. If you opt for a financial assessment, you will need to declare your family’s income (yours and usually that of your parents or any partner). You will then be told how much help you are entitled to for that year – that is, how much you can take out as a Student Loan for fees and how much maintenance money (the Student Loan, whether you are eligible for an SAAS bursary and if so how much, whether you qualify for a Disabled Students Allowance etc).

Getting the money. Your money will be paid once you have started the course. Your fees (in Scotland) or Student Loan for fees (elsewhere) are paid directly to your university; your maintenance money will be paid directly into your bank/building society account (usually monthly if you are studying in Scotland, otherwise a third at the start of each term).

Bursaries. Your university will usually use your financial assessment to decide if you are eligible for a bursary too. You need to indicate on your application that you agree to your financial data being shared with the university and then you should get the bursary money automatically if you qualify. At some universities you actually need to apply for bursary help. So if you think you may qualify, make sure you know the procedure at your university.

You can find out more about student support and apply directly on the Student Awards Agency for Scotland website, www.saas.gov.uk.

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