Student finance if you suspend or leave your course
Repaying your student finance
How much and when you have to repay depends on:
- the type of student finance you have
- when in the academic year you leave your course
- whether you鈥檙e planning to return to your course or not
Your university or college will tell your student finance provider the date you finished your studies.
Maintenance Loans
Your student finance provider will reassess your Maintenance Loan based on the number of days you attended your course.
If any of your loan covers the period after you鈥檝e left your course, this counts as an overpayment and you鈥檒l need to repay it straight away.
The Student Loans Company will write and tell you how much you must repay. If you cannot repay the full amount, you can ask them to set up a repayment plan.
The rest of your Maintenance Loan is repaid in the usual way once you start earning over the threshold amount.
Example
You get a Maintenance Loan of 拢1,200 to cover a 12 week term (拢100 a week) and you leave your course after 8 weeks.
You can keep 拢800 of the loan (8 weeks X 拢100 = 拢800), but you need to repay the remaining 拢400 straight away as this counts as an overpayment (4 weeks X 拢100 = 拢400).
You repay the rest of the loan (拢800) in the usual way.
If you鈥檙e planning to return to your studies
The amount you were overpaid will usually be taken off your student finance payments when you return, so you do not have to repay straight away.
Grants and bursaries
If any of your grant or bursary covers the period after you鈥檝e left your course, this counts as an overpayment and you鈥檒l need to repay it straight away.
There are exceptions for:
- childcare grants taken in or after the 2019 to 2020 academic year
- grants taken in or before the 2016 to 2017 academic year
You do not have to pay back overpayments on these grants until you鈥檝e finished your course.
Tuition Fee Loans
You鈥檒l need to repay at least some of your Tuition Fee loan for the year that you suspend or leave your course.
You鈥檒l need to pay back:
- 25% of the loan for the year if you suspend or leave in term 1
- 50% of the loan for the year if you suspend or leave in term 2
- all the loan for the year if you suspend or leave in term 3
This is repaid in the usual way once you start earning over the threshold amount.