Tuition fee queries
for new students
The tuition fee loan amount that I'm being offered on my
online application doesn't cover my course cost, why is
this?
If you have manually entered your college or university details
onto your online application you may have been shown an estimated
tuition fee amount of up to £9,000. This is an estimated
amount only. Please check your Notification letter contains the
correct amount of Tuition Fee Loan for your course. You can change
the Tuition Fee Loan you want to take out by logging back into the
online account and selecting 'Make a change to your application'.
Should I still submit my application with the incorrect
amount?
Yes you should. Once your application has been submitted
our assessing team will start processing your application and your
tuition fee amount will be corrected automatically.
When will I know that I will receive the correct tuition
fee loan amount?
Once your application has been fully processed we will send you
a Notification of Entitlement letter detailing your finance
entitlement amounts and dates of payment. The correct tuition
fee loan amount will appear on this letter.
Tuition fee
queries for returning students
I'm a returning student but my online application is
showing a higher tuition fee amount than my college or university
is charging, why is this?
The tuition fee amount that you are being shown on the
Application and Offer page of your application is an estimate
only.
How can I change this to the correct tuition fee
amount?
You can do this in one of two ways:
- On the 'Your Course' page of your application you will be asked
whether the tuition fee amount shown is correct and you will be
able to amend it this page.
- Once your application has been submitted our assessing team
will start processing this for you and will automatically amend
your tuition fee amount if you haven't done this already.
When will I know that I will receive the correct tuition
fee loan amount?
Once your application has been fully processed we will send you
a Notification of Entitlement letter detailing your finance
entitlement amounts and dates of payment. The correct tuition
fee loan amount will appear on this letter.
I'm going to be undertaking a top up year in 12/13,
should I be charged the lower or higher rate of tuition
fees?
If you apply for a full time top up course having just completed
a full time lower level course then you will be considered to be in
the same mode of study and you will be eligible to pay the lower
rate of tuition fees.
Please note that even though you will receive funding as though
you are a returning student you will need to reapply as a new
student again.
Back to top
Registration
I am a student trying to start an application / a parent
or partner trying to support an application. When I try to
register the online system tells me that I am already registered,
why is this and what should I do?
When registering to support an application you may receive this
message if:
- You previously applied for student funding
- You previously registered on our website
- You previously supported a student's application either online
or by paper form
You can speak with an adviser on 0845 300 5090 who will be
confirm your Customer Reference Number over the phone and will
arrange for a new password and secret answer to be issued to
you.
Back to top
Making your application
I don't know my term time address yet, can I still
apply?
Yes, use your home address when making your application.
Once you know your term address you can update this information in
your online
account.
I haven't applied for a course/ received any offers
yet. Should I make an application?
Yes, you don't need to have applied for a course to make an
application. Use the details of the course that you are most
likely to attend and update this information in your online account
if it changes.
Making changes online
Can I update my address, contact and bank details
online, if so, how do I do this?
You can update many of your details online, such as a change of
address, bank, email, or telephone number. You can do this by
logging in to your student finance account and clicking on
'Update My Profile'.
What is my Customer Reference Number and where can I find
it?
Your 11 digit Customer Reference Number will be printed on any
letter sent to you by Student Finance England. You can also
find it out by visiting the Student Finance England website and
clicking on the 'Find
out your login details' link.
Back to top
Applying for maintenance
grant
.I have applied for student finance but I have not been
awarded a grant. I was advised that this was due to my application
not being based on the household income. Can I change
this?
Yes you can change your application to be based on household
income for a grant award. In order to make this amendment we
will require you to complete sections of the 12/13 form relevant to
your circumstances as below.
- I am a full-time dependant student
New studentsshould complete sections 7, 8 & 10 of the PN1
form as well as the student declaration on pages 21 and 22. Your
parent(s) or partner should also complete section 11 along with the
parent(s) or partner declaration or alternatively they complete a
PFF2 form instead. Please note that a separate PFF2 form is
required for each parent in your household.
Returning studentsshould complete sections 5 & 6 of
the PR1 form along with the student declaration on pages 15 and 16.
Your parent(s) or partner should also complete section 11 along
with the parent(s) or partner declaration or alternatively they can
complete a PFF2 form instead. Please note that a separate
PFF2 form is required for each parent in your household.
- I am a full-time independent student
New studentscould be considered independent if they: have
dependent children, are married, are over 25 years old or have been
financially self supporting for three years or more. For more
advice on applying as an independent student see www.direct.gov.uk.
You should complete sections 7, 8, 9 & 10 of the PN1
form. If you are married or over 25 years old and live with a
partner they should complete section 11 of the PN1 form along with
the partner declaration or alternatively they can complete a
PFF2 form instead.
Returning studentsshould complete sections 5, 6, 7 and 8
of the PR1 form as well as the student declaration on pages 15 and
16. If you are married or over 25 and live with a partner they
should complete section 9 along with the partner's declaration or
alternatively that can complete a PFF2 instead.
I am making an application for student finance.
How do I apply for the maintenance grant?
To apply for a grant we require your household income to
determine your eligibility and entitlement amount. When
making your application you will arrive at the Student Finance
Estimate page where you can indicate if you wish to be income
assessed. On this page you will be given two options:
- Apply for level of support shown
- Continue based on household income (choose this option to apply
for the grant)
If you are an independent student you will be asked to supply
your income information. If you are a dependent student you
will be asked whether your sponsor(s) will provide financial
information in the same session that you are in or in a separate
session once your application has been submitted. Your
sponsor(s) will be asked to provide their income information from
the 10/11 tax year which they can find on their P60 or Self
Assessed Tax Return for that tax year.
I'm studying an NHS course and can't apply for the
maintenance grant. Why is this?
As an NHS student you will be eligible to apply for the non
repayable NHS bursary on either an income assessed or non income
assessed basis. As this is the case you will not be eligible
to receive the income assessed grant from SFE but you can still
apply for a reduced rate maintenance loan.
Back to top
Resetting your password
I have been locked out of my account, how do I reset my
password?
If your account is locked, you can reset your password and
secret answer to unlock it. A temporary password and secret answer
will be sent to your registered email address. To do this
visit the Student Finance England website and click on '
Find out your login details'.
My Parent/Partner is supporting my application during
the same session but has forgotten their login
details.
If your Parent or Partner is trying to support your application
during the same session and has forgotten their password, please
ask them follow the steps below to reset their details:
- Log out of the student account and close the browser
- Open another browser and ask your Parent/Partner to visit
www.direct.gov.uk/student finance and click on 'reset your
password'
- Your Parent/Partner should then enter their own details and
follow the on screen instructions to request a reset e-mail.
Please note that login details can only be reset if your
Parent/Partner has an e-mail registered to their account.
- When your Parent/Partner receives the password reset email,
they will need to change the temporary password and secret answer
to something memorable and login to their account.
- Now your Parent/Partner should log out of their account and
close the browser. If you now login to your student account your
Parent/Partner will be able to support your application using the
new login details they created.
Back to top
Changing your course
I have decided to leave/change my course, who do I
notify and how do I do this?
If you have decided to leave or change your course you can let
Student Finance England know by logging into your online account
and using the Change of Circumstances function. You can find
this by clicking on the 'Change your application details' link
underneath your most recent application link on your account
page.
Back to top
Evidence and application
status
Find out about the evidence you may need to submit by watching
our Student Finance video.
Do I need to send evidence of my identity?
Yes you will need to provide your UK passport
number when completing your application. That allows SLC
to check and verify your identity with the Passport Agency.
Do not send your original passport.
My Passport is out of date/I don't have one….what
evidence do I need to provide?
If you are a UK citizen without a valid passport you will need
to send us your original Birth or Adoption Certificate along with a
countersigned Birth/Adoption
Certificate Declaration.
I submitted my application but didn't enter my Passport
details, what should I do?
You can complete a Passport Details form which is available to
download from our website.
I'm a non-UK student, what evidence should I
send?
You can submit one of the following:
- An original and valid EU national identity card.
- A valid and original non-UK passport. Don't send your passport
if you need it to travel within the following two weeks
Depending on your circumstances you may be asked to provide
further documentation evidence from the list below:
- Original Home Office documents - to prove refugee status or
'leave to enter/remain' status
- Original national identity card, original Passport or original
Birth Certificate with a Birth/Adoption certificate form - to prove
you're an EU national or have a 'child of a Swiss national'
status.
- Photocopies of your P60, contract or letter from employer,
audited accounts, tax returns or a P45 - to prove European Economic
Area (EEA) or Swiss national UK work details
I'm applying for a Childcare Grant, what evidence do I
need to send along with my CCG1 form?
Please send us a clear photocopy of either a recent Child
Benefit letter or Tax Credit Award Notice as well at the original
Birth Certificates of any children that you will be claiming grant
for.
I'm a parent/partner supporting a student's application
what evidence do I need to verify my income?
Once you have entered your financial information and National
Insurance number onto the application we will verify your income
details with HM Revenue & Customs. Evidence of your income will
only be required if there is a discrepancy between the financial
information that you gave us and the information held by HMRC. In
this circumstance we will contact you to advise exactly which
evidence items we require. Do not send original evidence of
income. Good copies are all we
need.
My account states/you have notified me that you require
further evidence, where do I find out what you need me to
send?
If Student Finance England need more evidence from you to assess
your application you will receive an email asking you to check the
evidence section of your online account.
To access the evidence summary screen, you should first
login to your account. You will be taken to the "my
account" page. From there click on the relevant academic year
link.
This will take you to the application summary, then click
the "evidence provision details" link which takes you to the page
where you chose what evidence items you wanted to
provide.
By clicking "next" you will get into the evidence summary
screen.
I sent you my application/evidence. Have you
received it and when will my account be updated?
If your application is submitted with the correct evidence, it
can be processed in four to six weeks. Please do not call
Student Finance England before this as they will not be able to
provide you with an update.
Where can I check what the most up-to-date status of my
application is?
You can find out the latest status of your application by
logging in to your online account and clicking on the academic
year you have applied for.
Back to top
Getting paid
I am a new student. I have received a Notification
of Entitlement letter and an Online Declaration in the post.
The course details on my entitlement letter might change later in
the year, should I still sign and return the
declaration?
Yes you should. When you sign the Online Declaration you
are agreeing to terms and conditions of your funding only, you are
not confirming that the course details or entitlement amounts are
correct. If your course details change you will receive an
updated Notification of Entitlement letter with your new details on
it but you will not receive a new Online
Declaration.
My finance entitlement has changed. I have
received a new Notification of Entitlement letter but there is no
Online Declaration for me to sign. What should I
do?
If you have already signed and returned an Online Declaration
letter within the same academic year you won't need to send another
one. When you sign the Online Declaration you are agreeing to
the terms and conditions of your funding only, you are not
confirming that the course details or entitlement amounts are
correct.
I have lost/not received my payment schedule letter,
where can I get a replacement?
If you
log in to your online account you will be able to view and
print off your payment schedule letter by clicking on the 'view
correspondence' link.
I have not received my first payment on the date stated
in my payment schedule letter, why is this?
If you have not been paid on the date stated in your payment
schedule letter then this is probably because your university or
college has not confirmed your attendance. You must take your
payment schedule letter with you to your university or college at
registration. Your university or college requires this letter to
confirm your attendance at your course before you can receive
payment of your loan. Only when your attendance has been confirmed,
will you receive the first instalment of your loan.
My online account says my payment is "awaiting
confirmation" or "blocked" - why is this?
Blocked - loan payments are "blocked" while Student Finance
England confirm your National Insurance number (NINO) with the
Department for Work and Pensions. The block is automatically
removed as soon as your NINO is confirmed.
Payments may also be blocked if you have not supplied Student
Finance England with your bank details. If you have not provided
bank details, do this online now and make sure payments are not
unnecessarily delayed.
Awaiting confirmation - your loan or grant payment is scheduled
but Student Finance England are waiting for confirmation that you
are attending your course. You may need to give your
university/ college the Payment Advice, sent to you with your
Student Finance Breakdown letter, before they will confirm your
attendance.
I am an existing student how can I find out when my next
payment is due?
The quickest and easiest way to find out when you will next be
paid is to log into your online account. Once logged in go to
My Account then View Payments, you will be able to view both the
status and date of all payments for the year from this screen.
I don't have a UK bank account, can I use someone else's
bank details when making my application?
No, you must provide your own bank details to receive payments
from Student Finance England. If you have a joint bank
account with someone else then you can still use these bank details
as you are an account holder.
I don't have a student bank account yet, will this prevent
me from making an application?
No, you don't need to have a student bank account to make your
application or to receive funding, you can provide your current
bank details on the application then update them later from your
online account if they change.
Back to top
Parents and Partners
I am the parent/partner of a student returning to
university. I provided my financial information for the
student I am supporting in their first year why am I being asked to
provide these details again for the new application?
If you supported a first year student in 11/12 you would have
been asked to provide your income information from the 09/10 tax
year to allow us to perform an income assessment to calculate a
grant award. In order to perform an income assessment for the
12/13 application we will require your income details from the
10/11. As income level can vary from tax year to tax year we
want to ensure that the student is being awarded the correct
funding for their circumstances.
I am supporting a student's application and have been
asked whether I have any dependents in further or higher education,
what does this mean?
- Further education is defined as study for
individuals over 16 that does not take place in a school. It
may be undertaken in a sixth-form college, a further education
college or a higher education institution and is generally up to
the standard of A-level or NVQ Level 3.
- Higher education is defined as study that is
undertaken at a higher education college or university and includes
degrees and foundation degrees or any NVQ qualification at level 4
or above.
I have a customer reference number but I don't know my
password or secret answer, what should I do?
If you have an e-mail address registered to your account then
you can use the self service function on www.direct.gov.uk to
request a new password and secret answer be issued to you be
e-mail.
When you reach the login page you will see a link 'Reset your
password'. Click on this link and follow the on screen
instructions to request new login details by e-mail. Please
note that if you have high security settings in your inbox then the
e-mail we send you may automatically be routed to your spam or junk
folder. Reset e-mails can take up an hour to
arrive.
Current Year Income
Assessment
My parent/partner is supporting my application and has
been asked to provide income information for the 10/11 tax year.
Our household income is now lower than it was in 10/11, can this be
taken into consideration when being assessed for a
grant?
Student finance applications are assessed on the last complete
tax year, so for those applying in 2012/13 we will request
financial details based on 10/11 tax year. If household income has
decreased by 15% or more since 10/11 then the current tax year's
estimate income can be used.
- The current year's income should be provided using a Current
Year Income Assessment form after the main application has been
submitted. http://bit.ly/IsGJOp
- Financial information from the 10/11 tax year must be provided
as part of the main application in order for a current year income
assessment to be carried out.
- Financial information from the 10/11 tax year must be provided
as part of the main application in order for a current year income
assessment to be carried out.
Back to top