|
► HELP ON SUSSEX SU
Advertise
University of Sussex Students Union has various student marketing and student advertising tools that can promote your services direct to our students.
For all our student
marketing & advertising opportunities click the media pack button.
► New students starting at Sussex in 2009/10 (2009 cohort students)
This page contains information about funding for new full-time undergraduate home students who start their course in October 2009.
Students starting at Sussex in October 2009 come under the new-system of funding and are known as 'current system' (2009 cohort) students.
Page contents:
How much will it cost me to study at Sussex?
What statutory financial help is available to help me with these costs?
→ Am I eligible for any of this help?
→ How do I apply for this funding?
→ How will I be assessed?
→ How will SFE (SFNI) assess my household income?
→ How will I find out what I've been awarded?
→ How will I be paid?
When will I have to repay my loans?
Can I get any additional help from the University of Sussex?
What other financial help can I get?
How much will it cost me to study at Sussex?
When you start at Sussex you will have two main costs to consider:
- Fees
Full-time new-system undergraduate students starting at Sussex in October 2009 will be charged tuition fees of £3,225 a year but you may not have to pay these fees (unless you want to) until after you have finished your course & are earning above £15,000 pa.
Have a look at the information below for details of what help is available if you do not wish to pay your fees upfront. - Living costs
How much you need to cover your living costs will depend on your individual circumstances. Have a look at our living costs and budgeting tips webpages for advice.
You may be able to apply for statutory financial help towards your living costs and should look at the information below for details of what help is available.
What statutory financial help is available to help me with these costs?
Fee loan
If you do not want to pay your fees upfront, you may be eligible to take out a low-interest non means-tested fee loan of up to £3,225 for 2009/10 to cover the entire cost of your fees. The interest on the loan is linked to inflation, which ensures that the value of the loan that is repaid remains the same in real terms as the amount borrowed. Any fee loan that remains unpaid (except for arrears) after 25 years will be written off.
Loans for living costs (Maintenance Loans)
You may be eligible to take out a low-interest loan to help with your everyday living costs such as rent, food, travel & course books/equipment. Like the fee loans, you will not have to repay any loan you take out for living costs until you have finished your course & are earning above £15,000 pa and any amount of loan that remains unpaid (except for arrears) after 25 years will be written off.
The maximum amount of loan for that you can be awarded differs depending on your circumstances. 72% of the loan is a mandatory element, available to all eligible students (see section below for information about who’s eligible). The remaining 28% is a means-tested element and whether or not you are eligible to receive any of this will depend on your household income (see section below on how your income is assessed).
The maximum amount of Maintenance Loan available to new-system students starting at Sussex in October 2009 is shown in the table below:
| Maximum available | 72% non means-tested element | 28% means-tested element | |
| Students living away from their parents' home | £4,950 | £3,564 | £1,386 |
| Students living with their parents | £3,838 | £2,763 | £1,075 |
NB: Different rates of Maintenance Loan apply to final-year students and students on a year abroad as part of their course.
If you have a household income of below £50,778, you should be eligible to receive support equal to at least your individual maximum entitlement to the loan*. The amount you get will be reduced however by £1 for every £5 of household income over £50,778 until only 72% non means-tested element of the loan remains. If your household income is £57,708 or over (£56,153 for students living with their parents), you will only receive 72% of your individual maximum entitlement to the loan (i.e. you will only recieve the appropriate 72% non means-tested element of the loan.
* Please note that if you are eligible to receive any Maintenance Grant (see below), the amount of Maintenance Loan that you are paid will be reduced by £0.50 for every £1 of Maintenance Grant awarded. For example if you receive the full Maintenance Grant of £2,906 your Maintenance Loan will be reduced by £1,453. Whilst you will still receive at least the same amount of money, it means that more of it will be in the form of a non-repayable grant rather than as a repayable loan.
Maintenance Grant
You may also be eligible for a means-tested non-repayable Maintenance Grant of up to £2,906 (£3,406 for students from Nothern Ireland) for the year, depending on your household income.
If you have a household income of £25,000 or less (£18,820 or less for students from Northen Ireland), you should be eligible to receive the full £2,906 grant. If your household income is between £25,001 and £50,020 (£18,821 and £40,238 for students from Northern Ireland) you should still receive some grant but the higher your household income the more your grant will be reduced. Up to £1,453 of any grant you receive will be paid in substitution for an equivalent amount of the Maintenance Loan (ie. your loan entitlement will be reduced by £0.50 for every £1 of grant up to a maximum of £1,453). Whilst you will still receive at least the same amount of money, it means that more of it will be in the form of a non-repayable grant rather than as a repayable loan.
For students who have an underlying entitlement to means-tested benefits such as Income Support, you may be eligible for a Special Support Grant of up to £2,906 (£3,406 for students from Northern Ireland) for the year instead of the Maintenance Grant. This grant will be means-tested and paid in exactly the same way as the Maintenance Grant, the only difference is that there is no substitution for the Maintenance Loan if you receive the full Special Support Grant as it is paid to cover course-related costs rather than just general living costs. This means that the maximum rate of Maintenance Loan that you are eligible to receive will NOT be reduced by any amount of Special Support Grant that you receive.
Supplementary grants
There are a range of other grants available to help some students meet additional costs but whether or not you will be eligible for any of these grants will depend on your circumstances and also, in most but not all cases, your income. Additional grants available to students starting in 2009 are:
Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs): If you have a disability (including learning disabilities such as dyslexia), and you are likely to incur additional costs as a result of undertaking your course and as a direct result of your disability, you may be eligible for a DSA. There are three categories of DSA:
- A specialist equipment allowance of up to £5,161 for the whole course
- A non-medical helpers allowance of up to £20,520 for the year
- A general allowance of up to £1,724 for the year
These allowances could be used, for example, to buy specialist support software, to pay for a note taker, or to cover the cost of additional printing/photocopying. How much you will receive is based on your individual needs and does NOT depend on your income.
You may also be able to get some help with any extra travel costs you have to pay to attend your course as a result of your disability.
Adult Dependant's Grant: If you have an adult living with you (such as a partner or relative) who is financially dependant on you, you may be eligible for a grant of up to £2,642 for the year. How much you receive will depend on your income and the income of your adult dependant(s).
Parents' Learning Allowance: If you have dependant children, you may be eligible for a grant of up to £1,508 for the year to help with course-related costs. How much you receive will depend on your income and the income of your dependants.
Childcare Grant: If you have dependant children in certain types of 'prescribed' childcare, you may be eligible for a grant to help meet the costs of this childcare.
'Prescribed' childcare imcludes any of the following:
- Where the childcare provider is registered by Ofsted (can include registered childminders, nurseries, playgroups, children's centres and holiday play schemes).
- Childcare provided on school premises by a school's governing body (subject to certain rules).
- Childcare provided by a care worker or nurse from an agency registered by the Commission for Social Care Inspection
- Childcare provided by an approved foster carer (subject to certain rules).
The amount you receive will be based on your actual costs but the maximum amount is capped:
- For one child: up to £148.75 per week (85% of actual costs of up to £175)
- For two or more children: up to £255 per week (85% of actual costs of up to £300 per week)
How much you receive will also depend on your income and the income of your dependants.
NB You cannot get the Childcare Grant if you already receive the childcare element of Working Tax Credit (WTC). You will have to decide to continue with a claim for either the Childcare Grant or WTC childcare element.
Travel Grant: If you have to travel as part of your course (for example to clinical training for medical students or to another country if your course includes a year abroad), you may be eligible for help with your travel costs. The Travel Grant is based on your household income and can cover any 'reasonable' travel costs above the first £303. You may also be able to get help with the costs of medical insurance, visas and vaccinations.
For more information about any of the supplementary grants listed above and how they are assessed, contact Student Finance England on 0845 300 50 90 or speak to an advisor during one of our drop-in sessions.
Am I eligible for any of this help?
Whether or not you are eligible to take out a Fee Loan or any of the statutory help available for living costs will depend on a number of things. When assessing you for eligibility, Student Finance England (SFE) or Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI) if you are a student from Northern Ireland, will consider the following:
1. Where you live
You must be ‘ordinarily resident’ in England AND have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, the channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three years immediately prior to 1st September in the year that your course begins (i.e. from 1st September 2006 to 1st September 2009). You must ALSO have ‘settled status’. The definition of settled status essentially means that you must not have any restrictions upon your leave to enter and remain in the UK. You may still be eligible if you were overseas for travel purposes or because your family was temporarily employed abroad but if you normally lived elsewhere, or if you are only in the UK for the purposes of full-time education, you will not normally be regarded as ‘ordinarily resident’.
There are special rules for some students who do meet the basic requirements above. These include the following groups:
- EU students who have lived in the UK and Islands for the 3-years immediately prior to the 1st September in the year their course begins.
- Students who (or who have relevant family members who) are EEA or Swiss Migrant Workers, frontier workers or self-employed people who have been living in the EEA and Switzerland for the three years immediately prior to the 1st September in the year their course begins.
- Students who have settled status in the UK who do not meet the 3-year residence requirement because they (or a relevant family member) exercised their right to free movement within the EEA and Switzerland before returning to the UK.
- Students who are the child of a Swiss National and who have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and Switzerland for the 3-year period immediately prior to the 1st September in the year their course begins.
- Students who are the child of a Turkish worker in the UK and who have been ordinarily resident in the EEA and Switzerland for the 3 year period immediately prior to the 1st September in the year their course begins.
- Students who (or who have relevant family members who) are recognised by the British Government as a refugee and who have lived in the UK since this status was awarded.
- Students who (or who have relevant family members who) have been granted humanitarian protection, discretionary leave or exceptional leave to enter or stay in the UK by the Home Office as a result of a failed asylum application and who have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the 3-years immediately prior to the 1st September in the year their course begins.
If you think you fall into one of these categories, speak to one of our advisers about your eligibility for support.
2. Whether you have studied towards a higher education course in the UK before
Students are eligible for statutory financial help for the number of years that would be ordinarily required to complete their course plus one extra year if it is needed.
If you have studied towards a higher education course before, the number of years support available will be reduced by the number of years of previously supported higher education that you have already received although you will continue to be eligible to take out the Maintenance Loan and any of the supplementary grants for each year of your new course (subject to the satisfying the usual eligibility rules).
If you already have an honours degree qualification from a UK institution, you will not generally be eligible for any support for another course except for the supplementary grants. However, if your new course leads to a professional qualification (such as a medical doctor or a social worker) you will also still be eligible to take out the Maintenance Loan.
Students studying to be teachers are exempt from the previous study rules and will remain entitled to the full package of support for their new course.
3. Your age
How old you are will NOT affect your eligibility for the Fee Loan or any of the supplementary grants. In order to be eligible for the Maintenance Loan however you must be under 60 at the start of your course. Students who are 60 or above at the start of their course will not be able to take out a Maintenance Loan.
4. Your university and course
You must intend to study a ‘designated’ course at an ‘eligible’ university. All full-time courses at the University of Sussex comply with these requirements.
How do I apply for this funding?
You should go to Student Finance England (or Student Finance Northern Ireland if you are from Northern Ireland) and complete an online application form. Alternatively, you can download the application form (PN1) to complete and return by post. Application forms are usually available from February prior to the year for which you are applying for support.
If you are applying for means-tested support (the 28% means-tested element of the Maintenance Loan, the Maintenance Grant and any supplementary grants), you will need to provide financial information on your form, in which case the deadline for returning your completed form is 26 June 2009. If you choose not to provide financial information on your form, and are therefore only applying for the Fee Loan and the non means-tested 72% element of the Maintenance Loan, the deadline for returning your completed form is 24 April 2009. If you miss these deadlines, there is no guarantee that you will receive your money at the beginning of term.
If you decide now not to apply for funding for 2009/10 but change your mind later, you can still apply up until 31 May 2010. This is the final deadline however and applications will only be considered after this date in exceptional circumstances.
Once you have applied you can track and manage your own student finance account online.
How will I be assessed?
SFE (or SFNI) will first decide whether you are an ‘independent’ or a ‘dependant’ student.
If you meet one of the following conditions you will be classified as an independent student:
- You are over 25 before the start of the academic year for which you are applying; or
- You can show that you have been financially independent for at least 3 years before the start of your course; or
- You are permanently estranged from your parents; or
- You have not communicated with your parents for one year before the beginning of the year in which you are applying for support; or
- You have no living parents; or
- Your parents cannot be traced or it is not practical or possible to contact them; or
- Your parents live outside of the EC and an income assessment would put them in jeopardy, or it is not reasonably practicable for them to send funds to the UK if a contribution were assessed (this may apply if you are a refugee); or
- You are responsible for a child on the first day of the academic year for which you are applying; or
- You have been married or entered into a civil partnership before the start of the academic year for which you are applying; or
- Subject to certain exceptions, you were looked after by a local authority throughout any 3-month period ending on or after your 16th birthday and before the first day of the first academic year of your course.
If you are assessed as an independent student, SFE or SFNI will look at your income and the income of any partner (including a same-sex partner) that you live with.
If you do not meet any of the conditions listed above you will usually be classified as a dependant student. If you are assessed as a dependant student, SFE or SFNI will look at your income and the income of the parent or parents that you normally live with. If your parents are separated and the parent that you normally live with lives with a new partner (including a same-sex partner), SFE or SFNI will also look at the partner’s income.
How will my SFE (or SFNI) assess my household income?
For most students, household income is based on the following:
- Your gross taxable income (excluding any earnings from part-time or holiday work) for the forthcoming academic year (ie. for the 2009/10 academic year); and either
- the gross taxable income for the 2007/08 tax year (ie. April 2007-April 2008) of the parent(s) you normally live with and, where your parents have separated, any new partner the parent you normally live with now has; or
- the gross taxable income for the 2007/08 tax year (ie. April 2007-April 2008) of any partner that you live with.
Deductions from household income will be made for any payments made into a personal pension scheme or an employer’s pension scheme that qualifies for tax relief, plus £1,130 for any child who is totally or mainly financially dependent on either you or your parent(s)/partner and £1,130 if your parent is also a student. Once any relevant deductions have been made from your income the amount that is left (known as your 'residual income') is the amount that will be used when assessing how much support you are entitled to.
You can use the on-line student support calculator on the Direct Gov website for an estimate of what support you might be eligible to receive based on your individual household income.
When assessing you for any of the supplementary grants available, SFE or SFNI will look at your individual circumstances plus, where appropriate, the income of your partner and/or dependants. For more information about how you are assessed for any of these grants please contact SFE/SFNI or the Student Advice Centre.
How will I find out what I've been awarded?
You will receive a letter called a ‘Student Support Notification’ from Student Finance England (or Student Finance Northern Ireland) which will tell you how much you have been assessed as being entitled to. If you apply online you will also be sent an Online Declaration form as part of the notification letter. You will also receive a payment schedule letter from the Student Loans Company telling you when your payments will arrive.
How will I be paid?
Fee Loan: Any fee loan you apply for will be paid directly to the University of Sussex. All you need to do is provide Student Accounts in Sussex House with a copy of your Student Support Notification.
If you are paying your fees upfront (ie. if you do not take out the fee loan), you will need to negotiate with Student Accounts about how you intend to pay. Details of payment arrangements are given in your pre-course information packs or you can contact Student Accounts on 0800 0194979. If you are worried about how you are going to pay your fees, please speak to one of our advisers.
Maintenance Loan, Maintenance Grant and any supplementary grants: These will be paid by termly instalment directly into your bank account. In order to avoid any delay in receiving these payments, it is important that you make sure you have opened a bank account before starting your course and that you have given the Student Loans Company your account details and National Insurance number. You can contact the Student Loans Company on 0845 607 7577.
When will I have to repay my loans?
You will not have to start repaying your student loan until the April after you have finished your course or left your course and only once you are earning over £15,000. Once you are earning over £15,000, the amount you repay each month is linked to how much you earn but will always be 9% of the amount you are earning above £15,000. Examples of the amount you would be repaying depending on your income are given in the table below (rounded down to the nearest pound):
| Gross yearly income | Monthly repayments |
| Up to £15,000 | £0 |
| £18,000 | £22 |
| £20,000 | £37 |
| £25,000 | £75 |
If you have kept up your repayments, any loan you still owe will be cancelled after 25 years. It will also be cancelled if you become permanently disabled and unfit for work or if you die.
New students who would not be liable to start repaying their loans until April 2012 or after may have the option of taking a Repayment Holiday (a break from making repayments towards your loans) for up to 2 years. Any Repayment Holiday that you take however will extend the usual 25 year repayment period by the length of the break taken.
Can I get any additional help from the University of Sussex?
The University of Sussex offers the following scholarships and bursaries to new-system students starting at Sussex in 2009:
Sussex Bursary: A bursary of £1,000 for each year of your course is available to all new students whose verified household income is £25,000 pa or less. This means that, if you are eligible for the full Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant you will also be automatically entitled to receive a Sussex Bursary.
Chancellor’s Scholarship: If your family’s income is less than £30,000 pa you may also be eligible for a Chancellor’s Scholarship of £1,000 for each year of your course. There are 200 Chancellor’s Scholarships available to new students in 2009 and the selection criteria will favour applicants with no family background of higher education; who have other circumstances of disadvantage; or who have made a positive impact in their community.
Other Sussex Scholarships and awards: There are a number of other scholarships available at Sussex for undergraduates. For further information about these, have a look at additional help available to University of Sussex students or at the Funding section of the University's website.
What other financial help can I get?
Have a look at our additional sources of income and additional help available to University of Sussex students webpages for information about other possible sources of financial help including the Access to Learning Fund, earnings from part-time work and awards from trusts, charities or educational foundations.
For information about possible entitlement to welfare benefits or tax credits, click here.
You can also get advice about budgeting and money management (including tips on ways to save money) and download useful publications such as ‘Money Matters’ from the relevant sections of our webpages.
Bookmark with:
Delicious
Digg
Facebook
reddit
StumbleUpon
|