Are student loans enough to live on?

Hello, I will be going to university this year in September and was wondering if the student loans I will be given will be enough to live on? My accommodation is £125 a week and I'm unsure on where to find information on how much money I will receive for maintenance at Uni. Any information will be very helpful as this is one thing that is worrying me about university.

Reply 1

potassiumnitrate

Your maintenance loan depends on your income and where you plan to study

https://www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/finance-and-support/undergraduate-tuition-fees-and-student-loans

Pretty sure they calculate it so everyone will be able to live on their loan

https://www.gov.uk/student-finance/new-fulltime-students

Pretty sure there will be a which university guide for finance too, money shouldnt worry you too much about uni

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 2

doodle_333

It really depends. I think everyone who studies in London struggles. Further than that your student loan depends on your family income so if your family are fairly poor then you should get enough money to live on okay, if your parents are better off then Student finance assumes they will contribute and gives you less - so if they don't contribute you often don't have enough to live on. Calculate your predicted SF using the calculator someone posted already then deduct your accommodation costs. You want a MINIMUM of £60 a week after that (since you'll have other expenses too £60 a week will leave you more like 40).

Reply 3

Klix88

Original post by potassiumnitrate

Pretty sure they calculate it so everyone will be able to live on their loan

Unfortunately not. It will be calculated based on your household income (if under 25) and your parents will be expected to make up any shortfall. The Student Finance Maintenance Loan is intended to be a contribution towards your living costs as a uni student, but for many/most students, it won't cover all of them.

The online calculator will give an estinate of what you will get:

https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator

money shouldnt worry you too much about uni

Money is a serious concern for students who don't have wealthy parents. Even some who look well-off on paper have large outgoings and cannot afford to continue supporting their student children.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 4

Jackieox

Original post by potassiumnitrate

Pretty sure they calculate it so everyone will be able to live on their loan

https://www.gov.uk/student-finance/new-fulltime-students

Not the case at ALL! My loan barely covers my rent let alone give me anything else..

Reply 5

Yaboi

Lol no, why do you think most people work at uni.

Reply 6

PhilipG1

It really depends on what Uni you plan to go to, I go to Kingston so of course it's quite expensive (Surrey life). But it's a great place to live and I manage to live off what I get

Reply 7

Kravence

Original post by Jackieox

Not the case at ALL! My loan barely covers my rent let alone give me anything else..

If you don't mind me asking, how much is your rent?

I'm curious because a lot of people say their loan doesn't cover their rent or they can only just afford it meanwhile the rent at most the unis I've looked at is pretty affordable with the loan alone.

Reply 8

Jackieox

Original post by Kravence

My rent is £110 (Bills included) a week which I think is pretty reasonable considering i'm in a really nice 2 bed flat with my boyfriend and theres not many 1-2 beds in my uni town..That works out about £4,400 in total (40 week contract) ..
My loan however I get £4500 which really isn't alot considering I need food and stuff in there as well. My parents give me a bit to support me but I work to make up the excess

Reply 9

Kravence

Original post by Jackieox

Ah, I see. Yeah that makes sense. I was assuming most people got the highest loan lol

Reply 10

AHJ

Original post by Kravence

Ah, I see. Yeah that makes sense. I was assuming most people got the highest loan lol

What is the highest loan you would get? And what's needed to qualify for it? I'd assume that I would receive the highest loan but I'm not too sure.

Reply 11

Kravence

Original post by AHJ

What is the highest loan you would get? And what's needed to qualify for it? I'd assume that I would receive the highest loan but I'm not too sure.

The highest possible depends on where your uni is located.

If your uni is in London then the highest you can get for maintenance is £11,002 and if its outside £8,430

You can use the calculator here to see what you can get- https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator

And you can see here to check if you're eligible - https://www.gov.uk/student-finance/who-qualifies

I would likely get the highest for outside London since I live with my mother and my firm is a Uni outside of London.

You can also check at the uni you're applying to to see if you can apply for bursuries and scholarships they offer

Reply 12

Hollyht

So I got £5000 for my loan. It my accommodations £6000 a year

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Reply 13

RVCStudent98

I calculated my loan as £6,900 ish and the accommodation range for the Royal Veterinary College in London (where I intend to study) is £8,300-£8,900 per year. I'm pretty certain my mum/step-dad/dad will not give me any loans to help pay for this and will expect me to pay rent when I come back for the holidays, I have no idea what to do and I'm really stressing :-( I've looked at lots of bursaries and grants and I don't think I qualify for most :/