Thinking of entering full-time higher education in

2009/10

What’s in this presentation?

• Investing in your future with Student Finance Wales

• Tuition fees, fee loans and fee grants• Other Financial help:

– Maintenance/ Living cost loans– Assembly Learning Grant– Special Support Grant– Bursaries

• Examples• The application process• Useful contacts

Investing in your futureIt’s worth spending some time finding out what support you are entitled too and applying for it:

To start, some key facts to keep in mind:

Student Loans (Fee loans and maintenance loans): These are provided by the Welsh Assembly Government at an interest rate linked toinflation so what you repay is equivalent to the amount you borrowed. You need to repay loans when you start earning £15,000 a year or more after graduation.

Grants:These are provided by the Welsh Assembly Government, and do NOT need to be paid back (unless you leave your course early). Grants are available for students from low income households or students with special circumstances.

Bursaries:These are provided by your ‘college’ and do NOT need to be paid back.

Student Finance Wales

Student finance services available to you now

depend upon where you live

If you normally live in Wales, you are entitled to

Student Finance Wales services, regardless of

where you choose to study in the UK

How much are mytuition fees?

If you choose to study in Wales in 2009/10 colleges can charge a tuition fee of up to £3,225 a year (but if you normally live in Wales part of these fees can be paid through your tuition fee grant).

If you choose to study elsewhere in the UK, colleges in England and Northern Ireland can charge fees up to the same level (but you will not be entitled to the tuition fee grant).

Can I get a loan to pay my fees?

Wherever you study in the UK you can apply for atuition fee loan so that:

• Your fees are paid directly to your place of study

• Your fee payment is ‘deferred’

You will need to repay your fee loan after you have left your course and are earning more than £15,000 a year

Tuition Fee Grant (if studying in Wales only)

• A Tuition Fee Grant of £1,940 a year is available for those who choose to study in Wales. This does not have to be repaid, unless you leave your course early

• The fee grant is available to all students who normally live in Wales and choose to study in Wales

• You can still apply for a Tuition Fee Loan in order to pay for the difference between the grant and the actual fee

When you are studying a full-time

higher education course, you will

also need money to live on and to

pay for your books and equipment

There is financial help available to

MOST full-time students

What other financial help is available to me?

How do Student Loans work?

• Student Loans are available for living expenses (maintenance loans), and to cover what you have to pay towards tuition fees (tuition fee loans)

• Payable in instalments – one at the start of each term

• Not commercial loans

• Provided by the Government. Interest rate linked to inflation – so the money you repay is the same in real terms as the money you borrowed

In addition to any tuition fee loan that you take out, you can also apply for a student loan to assist with your living costs (maintenance loan)

How much you can borrow depends on your household income, on your entitlement to the Assembly Learning Grant, and on where you are living

Student loans are repayable

The three rates of loan available are:

– Living at home rate– Living elsewhere rate– Living in London rate

How much can I borrow?

Maintenance Loans – Living Costs

* Where a student is entitled to an Assembly Learning Grant of £1,288 or above, equating to a household income figure of up to £27,852 , the student is only entitled to apply for the minimum amount of the relevant loan rate payable.

Rate of Loan

Living at Home rate £3,673

Living Elsewhere rate £4,745

Living in London rate £6,648

Maintenance Loans – Living Costs

Applicable rate of student loan

Household income figure

Non-Means Tested loan available

Living at Home rate £48,303 £2,755

Living Elsewhere rate

£50,788 £3,559

Living in London rate

£55,200 £4,986

Where the household income is above the levels shown, an application should be made for Non Means-Tested Support Only. In these cases, it is only the student who has to complete the application form.

The rate of Non Means-Tested Support depends on where the applicant will be studying. For example, you will receive a higher rate of student loan if you are lodging in London than you would if you were living at home. The table above shows the relevant figures.

Repayment of Student Loans

• Your maintenance loan and your fee loan will be combined together as one amount

• You don’t start paying anything back until you have left your course and are earning more than £15,000 a year

• Repayments are recovered at a rate of 9% of any income you receive above the £15,000 a year threshold

• Repayments are made automatically through the tax system

• How much you repay is determined by how much you earn

An Assembly Learning Grant of up to£2,906 a year is available to studentsfrom households with a lower income

The amount of grant that you receive depends on your household income. If this is lower than £18,370 you willqualify for the maximum amount

The Assembly Learning Grant doesnot have to be repaid

GrantsAssembly Learning Grant

Household Income Assembly Learning Grant

Below £18,370 £2,906

£18,371 to

£27,852

Between £2,906 and £1,285

£27,852 £1,285

£27,853 to £39,329 Between £1,285 and nil

£39,330 or above Nil

The table above shows examples of the amount of Assembly Learning Grant that you will receive

Grants

In certain circumstances you may be eligible to claim the Special Support Grant instead of an Assembly Learning Grant e.g. if you are a lone parent, in receipt of incapacity benefit or a registered deaf or blind student.

This Special Support Grant will be for the same amount as the Assembly Learning Grant , but which will be disregarded as income by Jobcentre Plus

There is also no reduction in Maintenance Loan when the student is entitled to the Special Support Grant

Special Support Grant

Bursaries

If you are studying in Wales and eligible for the maximum Assembly Learning Grant, you will be eligible for a new Welsh National Bursary of a minimum of £319 a year

This core Welsh National Bursary is in addition to scholarship or bursary programmes run by individual universities or colleges

Ask you college for details

For example – Derek• Derek is 19 years old. He lives in Wales and wants to attend a college in Wales. He plans to live in

lodgings whilst studying. Derek’s parents have a combined income of £16,000. Derek himself has no income

• As the household income is lower than £18,370 no deductions will be made from the amount of support available and Derek will receive the full entitlement

• Derek can expect to receive the following support:Assembly Learning Grant £2, 906

Student Loan £3,457*

* As Derek is in receipt of more than £1,288 Assembly Learning Grant, this amount is deducted from the maximum Student Loan entitlement of £4,745

• The fees for the course Derek has chosen are £3,225 a year. Because he normally lives in Wales and is studying in Wales, Derek is entitled to a tuition fee grant of £1,940. Derek can also apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, to pay the remaining £1,285 fees

• As he will be entitled to the full Assembly Learning Grant, Derek is also entitled to receive a Welsh National Bursary of £319 from his college

If Derek had decided to attend an English college his entitlement to support for living costs would be the same (including an equivalent national bursary). However, he would not receive the £1,940 tuition fee grant and could take out a tuition fee loan for up to £3,225 instead

For example - CerysCerys is 19 years old and lives in Wales. She has chosen a course at a college in England. Her parents have a combined income of £20,000. Cerys herself has no income

As the household income is more than £18,370, deductions will be made from the amount of support available to Cerys

Cerys can expect to receive the following support:

Assembly Learning Grant £2,628Student Loan £3,457*

* As Cerys is given more than £1,288 Assembly Learning Grant, this amount is deducted from

the maximum Student Loan entitlement of £4,745

Cerys has to pay £3,225 per year for her chosen course. She can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan of up to this amount each year

If Cerys had decided to attend a Welsh college her entitlement to support for living costs would

be the same. However, she would receive a £1,940 tuition fee grant and her fee loan would reduce to £1,285 per year

For example - MaldwynMaldwyn is 19 years old. He lives in Wales and is hoping to attend a college in Wales. He plans to live in student accommodation whilst attending college. His parents have a combined income of £30,000. Maldwyn himself has no income

As the household income is higher than £18,370, deductions will be made from the amount of support available to Maldwyn

Maldwyn can expect to receive the following support: Assembly Learning Grant £1,057

Student Loan £3,688

He has to pay fees of £3,225 a year. He will receive a Tuition Fee Grant of £1,940 a year and has chosen to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan of £1,285 so that he doesn’t have to find the money for fees before he starts his studies

If Maldwyn had decided to attend an English college his entitlement to support for living costs would be the same. However, he would not receive the £1,940 tuition fee grant and could take out a tuition fee loan for up to £3,225 instead

Specific Grants

There is extra help available for you if you have special circumstances such as:

• Disability – This is a grant to help provide non-medical equipment that you may need to enable you to study your course. This could be a special computer program for example.

• Children• Adult Dependants

Contact your Local Authority for further details.

How do I apply for student support?

Complete an application form

• You need to get a form PN1 from your school, college or LA. You can also apply online.

• Fill this in with your parent(s) leaving no question unanswered.

• Send this form to your Local Authority, together with the documents that are required

• Your financial entitlement will be assessed by the Local Education Authority

• You will receive a ‘Financial Support Notification’, which lets you know the amount of support to which you are entitled

Or apply on-line

• You can also apply on-line at the Student Finance Wales website:

www.studentfinancewales.co.uk

At this website you can:

• Track the progress of their application• Calculate the amount of student finance that may be available• Calculate any household contribution that has to be made

The website also gives valuable advice on all aspects of student finance

What information will you need to provide on your application?

The PN1 form (and on-line application) includes questions about:• Your current and previous residences• Your college and course details, including the UCAS codes• Confirmation of your likely unearned income for the period 1st

September 2008 to 31st August 2009• Confirmation of your parents’ or step parent’s earned income for the

previous tax year, i.e: Financial year ending 5th April 2008

On the form you will also need to:

• Complete the maintenance and tuition fee loan request forms to inform the Student Loans Company of the amounts you wish to borrow

• You can apply for some, all or none of the loan at this stage and you can change your mind later

What information will you need to provide on your application?

If you want to take out a loan complete the loan request form. If you miss out your bank account details or National Insurance Number no payments can be made

You also need to submit either your original Birth Certificate, current valid Passport or other endorsed paperwork. Photocopies are not

acceptable

Important: You must ensure that you have completed the form, in full, leaving no question unanswered and supplied the relevant certification as requested. If you have to be contacted for further information, this will delay the application process

This may mean that the first instalment of the student finance will not be paid on time, and that the tuition fees are not paid to the college

What happens next?

The fully completed PN1 form should then be sent, along with the relevant certification, to the Local Authority – NOT theWelsh Assembly Government

The closing date for receipt of the form is 24 April 2009 for non-income assessed support, and 26 June 2009 for income assessed support

However, as applications are dealt with on a date order basis, the forms should be submitted as soon as possible

ENSURE YOU PUT THE CORRECT POSTAGE ON THE ENVELOPE

The assessment procedure

Once the Local Authority has received the form, they will then enter and submit the details online to the Student Finance Wales website

The details entered are used to calculate if are any deductions from the maximum maintenance loan and ALG

All paperwork regarding the application will then be sent out directly by Student Finance Wales, including the Financial Support Notification

The assessment procedure

The Financial Support Notification informs the student of their entitlement to student finance. It confirms the student’s entitlement to Assembly Learning Grant and Student Loan

The notification will also show whether or not the student has applied for the Tuition Fee Loan and, if so, how much

Shortly before you are due to start college, Student Finance Wales will send a payment schedule letter detailing the date and method of payments

It is vitally important to contact the Student Finance Wales Contact Centre on 0845 602 8845 if any details change after submission of the PN1 form, such as change of course/college after ‘A’ level results etc

Useful Contacts

Website: www.studentfinancewales.co.uk

Telephone: 0845 602 8845(Mon–Fri 8am–8pm; Saturday 9am–1pm)

Or contact your Local Authority – their address is in the phone book or on the Student Finance Wales website