Student Finance
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Higher Education support
All part-time and full-time students entering onto a Higher Education course with us may be eligible for a student loan to cover the cost of tuition fees if they are studying one of the following;
- Foundation Degree
- Higher National Certificate (HNC)
- Higher National Diploma (HND)
Full time students may also be eligible for a maintenance loan to help with living costs.
How to apply for a tuition fee loan
The quickest and easiest way to apply is online at www.gov.uk/studentfinance as soon as the application service opens.
You should apply as soon as possible so you can be fully assessed for financial support, as applications usually take between 4 and 6 weeks to process.
Before you start your application, make sure you have:
- The course details
- Your passport or birth certificate
- National Insurance Number
- Your bank details.
You will be sent a student finance entitlement letter which will set out exactly what support you can receive. You should sign and return the declaration form.
Here is a simple step-by-step guide to making your application:
Additional financial support
If you are studying full-time, you may also be able to apply for a maintenance loan to help with your living costs. This option will form part of the application process through Student Finance England.
Students with a disability, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty are eligible to apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).
This is an award to help pay for extra costs you may have to pay as a direct result of your disability or specific learning difficulty. We would encourage you to submit your application for this as early possible as it can take some time for it to be processed.
Please refer to Student Finance England website for further information. www.gov.uk/student-finance
This helps with the extra cost of being a student parent. You can receive up to £1,821 a year which does not have to be paid back. Please refer to Student Finance England website for further information. www.gov.uk/student-finance
If you pay for childcare during the academic year you may be able to get a childcare grant. It can pay up to 85% of your childcare costs and does not need to be paid back.
To get a childcare grant you have to use childcare providers who are registered or approved by Ofsted.
Please refer to Student Finance England website for further information. www.gov.uk/student-finance
If you are aged 19 or above and want to improve your career prospects, you can get a loan for some courses at levels 3-6 so you don’t have to pay fees up front (excluding HNC, HND and degree courses).
You don’t repay the loan until you have completed the course and are earning over £27,295 per year – and then you repay a small percentage – for example if you earn £22,000 per year you only pay back £7 per month.
If you never earn £27,295, you never pay it back. The loan isn’t means tested, there are no credit checks, and there is no upper age limit.
FAQs
When you apply online, you will be asked to upload evidence of yours or your parents’ income, or email it to financialsupport@telfordcollege.ac.uk. Your application may take up to 15 working days to process. We will email or write to you with a decision.
Please ensure, where possible, that you submit your application in plenty of time before you start your course.
If you are refused funds, we will send you a letter giving details of how you can appeal.
Yes. Your loan must have been approved by the Student Loans Company before you can apply.
We will assess your application to identify an actual financial need. We cannot pay you any money up front, and will wherever possible, pay awards ‘in kind’ – give you a bus pass for instance, so you don’t need to find the money to pay for it.
You could be entitled to travel expenses, providing you live more than 1.5 miles walking distance from college, including:
- A reimbursement of your bus tickets if you attend college for less than 3 days.
- A reimbursement of train tickets if you live outside the Telford & Wrekin area. However, we may not be able to fund all of your travel expenses due to the increased cost of travel.
- Assisted travel from Telford & Wrekin Council (only for 16-18-year-old students who cannot use public transport because of disabilities/difficulties)
- A reimbursement of some of your fuel costs if you travel by car/motorbike
- If you are aged over 18, in exceptional circumstances, we will consider reimbursing taxi fares, providing you cannot travel to college on public transport.
Course Expenses: If your course requires you to purchase items that are essential and unique to your course, you will be able to apply for help towards the cost. We may be able to award you ‘in kind’ (provide your kit and uniform for instance so you do not have to find the money up front).
If we cannot provide the items, you will be asked to purchase them yourself and give us the receipt to reimburse you into your bank account, up to an agreed amount. You may not receive 100% of your costs.
All payments/awards are dependent on good attendance and behaviour. The College expects all learners to aim for 100% attendance. If you have less than 100% without a valid reason, your payment/award may be withdrawn.
You are eligible for free meals if you are under 19 at time of application and you (if living independently) or your parents are in receipt of one of the following:
- Income Support
- Universal Credit with net earnings not exceeding the equivalent of £7,400 per year (after tax and not including any benefits received)
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment Support Allowance
- Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of less than £16,190 as assessed by HMRC. If you/your parents receive Working Tax Credits, you are NOT entitled to free meals, regardless of income amount.
- Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after someone stops qualifying for Working Tax Credit
If you are aged between 19-24 and are subject to an EHCP or are studying the second year of your course that you started before you turned 19, you will also be entitled to free meals providing you/your parents meet the above criteria. If you are accepted for free meals, you will receive a meal allowance per day, uploaded on to your ID badge.
If you are aged under 20 at the start of your course, you can apply to the government-run Care To Learn scheme for help with your childcare fees. For details, see https://gov.uk/care-to-learn.
