Aged 19 or over? Find out what help you could get for further education courses
| This article has been written by the experts at Student Finance England (SFE), who regularly review and update the information here. |
In this article...
An Advanced Learner Loan helps with the cost of further education courses. If you’re aged 19 or over and studying an approved course at Level 3, 4, 5 or 6 at an approved college or training provider in England, you can apply for an Advanced Learner Loan.
Eligibility for the loan doesn’t depend on your income and there are no credit checks. Interest is charged from the date the first payment is made to the college or training provider.
The Advanced Learner Loan, plus any interest, must be paid back but not until you’ve finished or left your course, and your income is over the repayment threshold. Find out more about repayments (external link).
You may be able to get Adult Education Budget (AEB) grant funding if you're studying a level 3 qualification. Check with your college or training provider if your course is eligible for AEB grant funding. You should do this before you apply for an Advanced Learner Loan as you can’t get both types of support.
What's available
The amount available depends on:
- your course
- the fees charged by your college or training provider
You can choose the amount you want to borrow up to the maximum available. This is then put towards the fees charged by your college or training provider. The minimum you can borrow is £300.
College and training providers may charge more than the maximum loan available. You’ll need to cover any difference between your loan and your course fee.
How many loans you can get
You can normally apply for up to 4 loans and you can get more than one at the same time.
You can apply for another loan to take the same level of a course, for example, the same level qualification in history if you’ve already had a loan for the same level in maths.
You can only apply once for an Access to Higher Education course.
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A-levels You can apply for a loan to fund each course you take towards your A levels - up to a maximum of 4 A-levels. This means you can have up to 8 loans if you’re taking each A-level as 2 separate courses. The courses must be in the same subject to qualify as a full A-level. You can get 3 more loans for non A-level courses either before or after your course of A-levels. |
Advanced Learner Loan Bursary fund
You can also apply to get money from the Loan Bursary Fund.
The money can help pay for things such as:
- accommodation and travel
- course materials and equipment
- childcare
- classroom assistance for a disability or learning difficulty
You should speak to your college or training provider to find out more information and apply for the bursary.
Eligibility for Advanced Learner Loan
Whether you qualify for an Advanced Learner Loan depends on your:
- age
- course
- previous study
- nationality or residency status
Your age
You must be 19 or older on the first day of your course.
Your course
The course must be:
-
a Level 3, 4, 5 or 6 qualification. For example, an A-level at an approved college or training provider in England
If you’re studying a level 4 or 5 course with Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) approval, you may be eligible for undergraduate funding unless you’re a direct entrant.
The course must last at least 2 weeks to be eligible for funding, but there’s no maximum time limit in which you must complete your course.
However, there are limits on how long Student Finance England (SFE) can pay a loan for. The maximum time periods of eligibility are determined by the type of further education course.
The following table shows the maximum amount of time SFE can pay a loan for, depending on the course.
| Course | Maximum time limit |
| Programme of A-levels (AS or A-levels) | 2 years (for each AS or A-level) |
| Access to Higher Education Diploma | 2 years |
| Any other eligible Level 3, 4, 5 or 6 course | 3 years |
Previous study
You can usually only get a maximum of 4 Advanced Learner Loans.
The exception to this is if you’re studying an AS or A-level, where you can apply for up to a maximum of 8 loans for the programme of A-level study, and can still get a further 3 loans for other designated further education courses that are not AS or A-levels. Previous study won’t affect your entitlement to your first loan.
You’ll be able to get up to 4 loans for the same type of vocational qualification. However, you’ll still only be entitled to one loan for a programme of A-levels or an Access to HE Diploma.
Nationality or residency status
To be eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan, you must usually:
-
be living in the UK on the first day of your course
-
have been ordinarily resident in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years before starting your course
-
be a UK national or have ‘settled status’ (have no restrictions on how long you can stay in the UK)
Student Finance England has created an eligibility tool to use if you’re considering an Advanced Learner Loan (external link).
If you have a different nationality or residency status from the above, you might still be eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan. More detailed information on eligibility rules around nationality or residency status can be found at www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan/eligibility
How to apply
To apply for an Advanced Learner Loan, follow these steps:
- Check with your learning provider that the course qualifies for an Advanced Learner Loan. Your college or training provider should then send you a ‘Learning and Funding Information’ letter. You need this to complete the application.
- You can apply online at www.gov.uk/studentfinance. If you’ve applied for student finance from Student Finance England (SFE) before, you should use the same details to sign in.
You will be asked for information about:
- your personal details, National Insurance number and contact information
- your nationality and residency
- your course
- how much you’d like to borrow
When you apply for student finance, you'll need to agree to the Student Finance England terms and conditions. For students who started a course on or after 1 August 2024, you can find the right ones by going to Terms and conditions for students who started on or after 1 August 2024 (external link) on the GOV.UK website.
SFE will write to you to confirm your loan, usually within 2 weeks if you applied online. Paper applications can take longer.
You should check the information on the letter to confirm the amounts and course details are correct. Make sure you let SFE know immediately if anything is wrong or has changed since your application.
If SFE needs more information or evidence, you should send this as soon as possible to avoid any delays with your money.
Any other forms SFE may ask for can be found at www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan.
Changes of circumstances
If your circumstances change, this can affect your eligibility. You can update your information using your online account. You can also change your loan amount using the loan request form (external link).
How it's paid
Payments are made directly to your college or training provider each month. Your attendance must be confirmed before any payments will be made.
Your uni or college will need to confirm your attendance 2 weeks after you’ve started your course and every 3 months after that.
If you stop attending at any point, your uni or college should let Student Finance England (SFE) know as soon as possible so it can stop any further payments.
You can find further information about the Advanced Learner Loan on Gov.uk (external link).
