Financial Support for students starting their courses in 2012-2013
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The following questions and answers have been prepared to help explain the changes to tuition fees and living cost support for UK undergraduate students from 2012 onwards. At Warwick we intend that, wherever possible, financial circumstances should not be a barrier to taking up a course of study and we will offer a substantial package of additional financial support to our students at the point of entry and throughout their academic careers. For an initial assessment of your funding entitlement, please visit the Student Finance England Online Calculator. Information on tuition fees and tuition fee loans
Information on Living Cost Grants and Living Cost Loans from the Government
Information on financial support available from the UniversityInformation on tuition fees and tuition fee loansWhat will the University of Warwick charge for tuition fees in the 2012-2013 academic year?The University of Warwick will charge £9,000 a year for all undergraduate degree courses starting in 2012, with the exception of 2+2 degrees where the fees will be £6,000 a year. This will enable the University to continue and expand its investment in the highest quality teaching and learning opportunities for our students and the best possible facilities. In 2012, will I have to pay the tuition fee at the start of the course?If you are a UK or EU undergraduate student you will not have to pay your tuition fees upfront. The Government will provide students with a tuition fee loan to cover the full cost of the fee and you will only start to repay after you have left your course and once you are earning over £21,000 a year. If I normally live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, will I have to take out a loan for tuition fees to study at Warwick?UK students who live outside of England may receive financial support for fees from the Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland Executive, as appropriate. For more information, students should refer to the websites of their devolved administration:
What if I applied to the University for entry in 2011, but deferred to 2012?Students who defer entry from 2011 to 2012 will be required to pay the 2012 tuition fee and will be eligible for the 2012 student support package. If I take a tuition fee loan, how much will I have to pay back and when?Students will be expected to contribute once they are earning over £21,000. The repayment structure will mean that students will be required to pay nine per cent of their income above the £21,000 threshold. So if you are earning a salary of £25,000 you would repay around £30 per month. The process for repayment is simple and payments will be deducted automatically from your salary through the tax system. Repayments do not begin until the April after you graduate. If you leave your course early and you would normally have been due to make repayments before April 2016, for administrative reasons your repayments will not start until April 2016. What rate of interest will I pay on my tuition fee loan?In order to make the system financially sustainable, a real rate of interest will be charged on loans. The Government has proposed that loans will incur interest at the rate of inflation (as measured by the Retail Prices Index) plus 3% whilst you are studying. Once you have graduated and are repaying your loans, a progressive taper will be applied:
For students who leave their course early, the Student Loans Company will apply interest at RPI only from the April after you finish your course until April 2016. From April 2016, the interest applied to your loan balance will depend on your income. How long will it take to repay my tuition fee loan?It will depend on the size of your loan and your income. As your income rises you will start to repay your loan at a quicker rate. Any outstanding repayments will be written off after 30 years. Will current undergraduate students have to pay more?No. Students who are already at University and continuing their course will be eligible for the same package of funding on offer when they entered the course and will continue to get this for the full length of their course. How will this affect international and EU students?The proposed Government changes to UK and EU undergraduate tuition fees will not apply to international student fees. Details of tuition fees for International students in 2012-13 can be found on the Academic Fee page. EU students will be charged £9,000 for Undergraduate courses commencing in 2012 and can apply for a non means-tested tuition fee loan to help with this cost. Further information can be found at www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance-eu. Unfortunately, EU students are not eligible for maintenance loans or grants. What will be the funding arrangements for part-time students from 2012?For the first time, it is proposed that part-time students will be entitled to a loan for their tuition fees on the same basis as full-time students. This support will be available to those who complete a minimum of one, 30 CAT module (25% of a full-time commitment) per year, unlike the present tuition fee support package which requires students to be studying for over a minimum of 50% of a full-time load. Part-time students will not be eligible for maintenance support. For more information, please see the Part-time Funding page. Information on Living Cost Grants and Living Cost Loans from the GovernmentWhat living cost grants and loans are available from the Government?Students will be able to access loans for their tuition fees, and grants (for those from lower income families) and loans for living cost support. Students from England with family incomes of up to £25,000 a year will be entitled to a student maintenance (living cost) grant of up to £3,250 which does not have to be paid back. Students from families with incomes up to £42,600 a year will be entitled to a partial grant. Maintenance loans of up to £5,500 a year, depending on income, will be available for all eligible English full-time students. More information on the student loan rates and maintenance grants is available at www.direct.gov.uk/yourfuture. Students from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should also refer to the websites of their regional Government, Assembly or Executive. EU students are normally eligible for a tuition fee loan only. What is the total living and course cost support available by household income?The following table shows the support on offer to students living away from home and studying outside London. The support available is in addition to the automatic fee waiver, the Warwick National Scholarship, outlined above.
The amount of maintenance loan you are entitled to will depend on your income and also whether you receive a maintenance grant. Your maximum maintenance loan will be reduced by 50 pence for every £1 of maintenance grant you are awarded. For example, if you are awarded to a maintenance grant of £2,000 your entitlement to a maintenance loan will be reduced by £1,000 from the maximum of £5,500 to £4,500. The maximum maintenance loan of £5,500 will be paid to students with family incomes of £42,601 a year, as at this level of income students cease to be eligible for any maintenance grant. The amount of loan entitlement then gradually decreases as family income rises above £42,601, until at incomes of £62,500 and more, just the non means-tested element of loan (£3,575) remains. If I take a living cost loan, how much will I have to pay back and when?Students will be expected to contribute once they are earning over £21,000. The repayment structure will mean that students will be required to pay nine per cent of their income above the £21,000 threshold. So if you are earning a salary of £25,000 you would repay around £30 per month. The process for repayment is simple and payments will be deducted automatically from your salary through the tax system. Repayments do not begin until the April after you graduate. If you leave your course early and you would normally have been due to make repayments before April 2016, for administrative reasons your repayments will not start until April 2016. What rate of interest will I pay on my living cost loan?In order to make the system financially sustainable, a real rate of interest will be charged on loans. The Government has proposed that loans will incur interest at the rate of inflation (as measured by the Retail Prices Index) plus 3% whilst you are studying. Once you have graduated and are repaying your loans, a progressive taper will be applied:
For students who leave their course early, the Student Loans Company will apply interest at RPI only from the April after you finish your course until April 2016. From April 2016, the interest applied to your loan balance will depend on your income. How long will it take to repay my living cost loan?It will depend on the size of your loan and your income. As your income rises you will start to repay your loan at a quicker rate. Any outstanding repayments will be written off after 30 years. I have a disability- can I get any extra financial support?Disabled Students' Allowances (DSA's) are available to help if you are at university and will incur extra costs because of a disability (including a long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia). DSA's are paid in addition to the standard student finance package and are available if you are studying on a full-time or part-time course. They are not dependant on income and do not have to be repaid. I have children- will I get extra funding?A Childcare Grant is available for full-time higher education students who have dependent children in registered or approved childcare. The grant pays 85% of actual childcare costs in term times and holidays up to a maximum amount per week. If you are a parent studying on a full-time course you may also be entitled to the Parents' Learning Allowance to help with course-related costs. The Childcare Grant and Parents' Learning Allowance are both income assessed and do not have to be repaid. Information on financial support available from the UniversityWhat financial support will be available from the University?The University has developed a generous package of fee waivers and bursaries up to a value of £4,500 a year to ensure we remain accessible to all students with the potential to succeed regardless of their financial circumstances. This table will give you a guide to the scholarship and bursary support that is available to you if you start a full time undergraduate course at Warwick in 2012. The financial help is non-repayable and is available for each year of your course.
We will expand on the new National Scholarships Programme to help to fund students from less well off backgrounds. All new students with family incomes of £25,000 a year or less, who are studying full-time for their first degree and who have undertaken their sixth form education within a state school or college in England, will receive an automatic fee waiver, a Warwick National Scholarship, of £2,000 a year. Warwick National Scholarships will also be awarded to students who meet the criteria outlined above, but have studied at an independent school in England on a full means-tested bursary or a partial bursary which is clearly indicative of a family income of £25,000 or less. In addition, Warwick Bursaries of between £500 and £2,500 a year, to help with the costs of studying, will be available to students educated in the state sector in England and with family incomes of up to £42,600 a year. For further details, please see the Warwick USB page. If you have any queries, please contact the Student Funding office on 024 7615 0096 or email studentfunding@warwick.ac.uk. |
