What you should know when returning to higher education
| This article has been written by the experts at Student Finance England (SFE), who regularly review and update the information here. |
In this article...
- If you’ve studied before
- Extra year of student finance
- How to apply
- Unable to send standard evidence
- After you apply
If you've studied before and are returning to higher education or you're repeating a year, this can affect your student finance.
If you've studied before
You’ll normally only get student finance for your first degree or higher-education qualification, even if you studied a long time ago or if the course was abroad.
The number of years that you can get a Tuition Fee Loan for is normally calculated as:
Length of current course + 1 year - years of previous study
Even if you only attended your course for a short time, it will still count as a year of previous study.
Extra year of student finance
If you were unable to progress to the next year of your course or had to leave your course due to personal reasons, you could get an extra year of student finance.
Common reasons for applying for an extra year include:
- mental health
- illness
- bereavement
- pregnancy
- a caring responsibility
This list does not include all acceptable reasons. Student Finance England will review each application on an individual basis. However, applications cannot be based on:
- financial hardship
- not liking your course
- reasons within your control
How to apply
As soon as you’ve applied for student finance you should send evidence of your personal reasons for repeating a year or leaving your course.
It's vital you send a cover letter which contains your Customer Reference Number (CRN) and explains the situation and how it affected your studies.
Examples of evidence you can send to prove these personal reasons include:
- a letter on headed paper from a professional person, such as a doctor or a social worker, who can confirm the situation
- a letter on headed paper from someone at your university or college who can confirm your situation and when you left the course
- copies of birth or death certificates
You can upload your cover letter and supporting evidence to your online account.
If you’re unable to send standard evidence
If you do not have any of the evidence listed, you should send a cover letter explaining your situation in as much detail as possible along with any evidence you feel supports your application.
After you apply
It can take between 6 and 8 weeks for your evidence to be reviewed. Once Student Finance England has made a decision they'll contact you to let you know the outcome of your application.
