Home undergraduate full-time students

University students have two main costs to meet - tuition fees and living expenses. Fees and funding arrangements mentioned on this page are for new students starting their studies in 2012. Different arrangements for existing students can be found in MyLSBU, our student portal.

As a result of Government reform, fees and funding arrangements for new Home/EU students are changing from September 2012 onwards.

All eligible, non Equal or Lower Qualification (ELQ), Home undergraduate students are entitled to apply for affordable Student Loans towards their tuition fees and living costs. Tuition fees cover the cost of your university education and your living costs cover items such as accommodation, travel, food, books and entertainment. You may also be entitled to apply for a Maintenance Grant (or Special Support Grant) towards living costs. For students joining us in 2012/13 we have introduced a generous package of scholarships, bursaries and fee waivers which can also provide significant financial benefits through our National Scholarship Programme.

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Full details of our Tuition Fees and student loans

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Get help with your living costs while at university

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LSBU has a range of scholarships and fee waivers

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The simple way to repay your student loan

Tuition fees in 2012

We have set our Tuition Fees for new students in 2012/13 at £8,450 per year. This is for all our new full-time Home/EU undergraduate students excluding our NHS-funded nursing students who receive bursaries and whose fees are covered by the NHS. However, via our extensive National Scholarship Programme we're bringing down the average fees to £7,450, far below the national average of £8,161 quoted in The Guardian newspaper.

No upfront fees

Students pay Tuition Fees for each year but you do not have to pay these fees upfront at the beginning of each year. Apply directly to Student Finance England for a loan for all or part of your Tuition Fees and they'll be paid directly to the University. We strongly advise you take advantage of this support as you will not have to repay the loan until you leave Higher Education and are earning over a certain threshold (for UK employed students this is currently £21,000). The loan will be deducted from your salary as an affordable tax. Read below about repaying your Tuition Fee loan.

Useful resources

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Additional fees

Some course modules include field trips that you will be asked to pay for separately. These extra costs cannot be covered by the Student Loans Company either by Tuition Fee Grant or Loan.

Your course may require you to attend other teaching sessions outside the University for which you may be required to pay an additional fee. Some courses require registration with an external body for which a fee is also payable.

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Help towards living costs

There are two main sources of funding to cover living costs. These are a Student Loan for Maintenance and a Maintenance Grant (or Special Support Grant).

Student Loan for Maintenance

Student Loans are the main source of funding to cover living costs. The Student Loan for Maintenance is based on an academic year of 30 weeks. Since LSBU's undergraduate courses are of 35 weeks duration per year, you will be eligible for additional funding.

The maximum loan that you could get to cover living costs in 2012-2013 for the full LSBU academic year (35 weeks) is:

  • £7,675 - for students studying in London and living away from their parents' home
  • £4,375 - for students living at their parents' home.

You can get a proportion of the loan regardless of your household income. Another proportion is available depending on your household income.

Your loan will be paid into your bank account at the beginning of each term, provided you have supplied your bank details and National Insurance number.

Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant

If you are a student from a lower-income household starting your course in 2012-2013 you may be able to get a Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant of up to £3,250 a year. The amount you can receive depends on your household income. You don’t have to repay this help.

If you receive the Maintenance Grant your entitlement to the Student Loan for Maintenance will be reduced by 50p for every £1.00 of Maintenance Grant you are entitled to. This is because the Maintenance Grant (which you do not have to pay back) is paid instead of part of your loan, so the amount you have to pay back is smaller.

A Special Support Grant is available for students starting their course in 2012-2013 who may be eligible to receive income-related benefits while they are studying. The amount of Special Support Grant you receive will not affect your entitlement to Department of Work and Pensions benefits. If you receive the Special Support Grant you will not be able to receive the Maintenance Grant, but it will not reduce the amount of your Student Loan for Maintenance.

The Maintenance Grant and the Special Support Grant are paid to you by Student Finance Direct at the start of each term. You will get the grant at the same time as any Student Loan for Maintenance.

The amount of Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant) you receive will depend on your household income. For a student starting their course in 2012-2013 if your household income is:

  • £25,000 or less you will receive the full grant of £3,250
  • between £25,001 and £42,600 you will receive a partial grant
  • over £42,600 you will not be entitled to a grant.

Different thresholds apply to existing students. See Student Finance England

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How to apply for tuition fee loans and other student finance

Once you have applied for a place on a course it is important that you apply for your student loans, grants and other financial support .

You can apply online at Student Finance England. You'll find the online application process is fast and easy. You'll need to supply your bank details and National Insurance number before your tuition fee loan can be paid to the University.

Forms for 2012/13 new EU full-time undergraduates will be available in early 2012.

Continuing EU students who started their studies between 2006 and 2009 will be sent form EU2 when they have submitted a EUPR1a form in order to obtain the University bursary.

You can check the progress of your application online by logging on to the Student Finance England customer portal. The portal allows you to update your details, view letters which have been sent to you and the details of scheduled payments.

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Repaying your student loans

Loans for tuition fees and living costs will be combined when you leave your course. You will not have to make any repayments on your loan until the April after you have completed your studies, and only then once your annual earnings exceed £21,000 per year (for UK students). Your monthly repayments will be linked to your earnings.

Repayments are collected via your salary as another tax and are calculated at 9% only on any amount you earn above £21,000. For example, if your income is £25,000:

  • the 9% would only apply to £4,000 meaning you would repay just £30 a month
  • repayments stop if your salary drops below £21,000
  • any outstanding balance is written off after 30 years.

For more details on repayments go to www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk