SFE Overpayment Advice - Keep the money?

Hi there!

I’m a UK student currently studying abroad and looking to end my year abroad early, and as I am receiving my SFE in two installments (One in august and one in december) i’m not really sure what to do on the topic of overpayment. I will be continuing my studies when i come back to the UK in September, and likely won’t have my leave of absence forms sorted now before i get my next SFE. To my understanding, any overpayment will be taken out of my next maintenance loan, so is it better to try and cancel this incoming SFE payment or just accept it and put it in a savings account with decent interest until i return to Uni in september?

Hi there,

When are you looking to leave the course? When you withdraw we will require an electronic Change of Circumstance (COC) from your university to confirm the date you last attended your course. Once this is received and processed our assessors will recalculate your entitlement for the length of time you attended the course which may lead to an overpayment. If you have an overpayment you can either pay this back right away or agree a payment plan with the collections team, or when you do return this will be removed from your future entitlement.

Regarding the payment it is entirely up to you but if you contact us on 0300 100 0607 or the live chat in your account and we can block the payment for you to avoid this being paid. Thanks, Jason

I'd be receiving my SFE December 4th and withdrawing from my studies on December 10th as I am currently working things out with my Uni. I was due to get it early on December 4th due to exceptional circumstances, so it is payed to me before my second semester at my University abroad begins. I was just curious if I would have to pay back my maintenance loan immediately, especially considering I am in such exceptional circumstances