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Student finance after finishing first year of uni

Hey guys, basically just looking for some advice about finance.I'm finishing uni after my exams are done this year but I am confused about student finance as some are saying that with grants I will have to pay back immediately but if I'm doing a whole year of uni, why is this? As surely I will have stuck at the institution for a year so the money received has been spent?*
Others are saying that I won't have to pay back money until I start earning over 21k?
Also does anyone have any experience of transferring from a brick uni to the open university?
*Thanks*

Reply 1

Mark Lee - SFE Official Adviser

Official Rep

Hi Soph,

The academic year runs from 1 September until the 31st August the following year so although you stop studying in May/June the funding from your final instalment is for the period April-August.

In reality what this means is that you might have a small amount of maintenance grant to pay back. If this is the case we'll contact your to let you know how much you owe back and ask you to set up a payment plan to repay the amount. Please note this is only applicable to the grant as they loan will be taken from your salary only when you start earning over 21k.

You can apply for an Open University tuition fee loan when applications open later this year using the same customer reference number and login details.

Hope this helps,
Mark-Lee