Funding, Costs, Fees, and Support

How much you pay is determined by what course you are studying, the level (undergraduate, postgraduate) your mode of attendance (full-time or part-time) and your fee status (UK/Home, International, EU).  

• Fees and costs of studying page (www.wlv.ac.uk/fees) - fees for UK taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses
• International - fees for international and non-UK European Union students
• Research - costs for pursuing research study (PhD or MPhil)

It is important to carefully consider the financial implications of studying at university.  In additional to paying tuition fees, you will need to cover your living expenses, including accommodation, food, heating, travel, books and stationery. More information can be found at Understanding Student Living Costs (opens in new window).

No matter how you are being funded, whether through Student Finance (opens in new window) (UK/Home students) or paying for it yourself, working out how much you will need to cover basic costs is a good place to start.

• There is a handy online calculator tool from Which? that makes budgeting easy - www.which.co.uk/money/university-and-student-finance/student-budget-calculator (opens in new window)
• There is also a lot of useful advice and information for students on the Money Saving Expert web pages www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/ (opens in new window)

More information on standard student finance plus bursaries, scholarships and the WLV Wallet can be found on the Financial Support pages

Have a look at our Funding and Budgeting page for more useful tips and advice.

Discover the support you may be eligible for from Student Finance England (opens in new window) or from the University depending on your mode of study and meeting the eligibility criteria.

For information on funding for Wales go to Student Finance Wales (opens in new window), for Scotland go to Student Awards Agency Scotland (opens in new window) and for Northern Ireland go to Student Finance NI (opens in new window).

Types of support available to UK 'Home' students includes the following:

• Tuition Fees Loan – covers the cost of your course
• Maintenance Loan – basic cost of living support
• Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) (opens in new window) – help for students with a disability or learning difficulty
• Bursaries and Scholarships and
• Additional Support – like the Dennis Turner Hardship Fund 
• Master's Loan for postgraduate students

For full information on all we have to offer have a look at our Financial Support pages.

Your maintenance loan will not be paid to you until the first day of term and only once you have fully enrolled. More information can be found at www.wlv.ac.uk/apply/funding-costs-fees-and-support/financial-support/ive-not-received-my-funding-yet-what-do-i-do

All students have to pay their tuition fees, but eligible undergraduate UK students can apply for a loan to cover the cost of the fees. If you have applied for the tuition fee loan and received your notification letter from SFE saying that you are getting the tuition fee loan then you don’t need to do anything further, the fee will be paid directly to the University. The loan is repayable once you have left University and are earning more than £27,295 per year (for students who started before August 2023) or £25,000 for students starting from 1st September 2023. More information on student loans can be found at www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan (opens in new window). 

If you are a postgraduate student and have applied for the Masters Loan then this is paid directly to you and you will need to set up a direct debit to pay the fees to the University in 3 instalments. You can do this at www.wlv.ac.uk/howtopay.

You can set up a direct debit to pay in 3 instalments: November, January and April, or you pay the full amount online or by credit/debit card in person. More information on how to pay can be found www.wlv.ac.uk/howtopay.  

More information can be found at www.wlv.ac.uk/apply/funding-costs-fees-and-support/fees-and-costs/proof-of-fees-support-or-sponsorship.

More information on what you need to do can be found at www.wlv.ac.uk/apply/funding-costs-fees-and-support/how-to-pay/trouble-paying.

You need to complete a Change of Circumstance form which can be found by logging in to your SFE account. You need to do this as soon as you change your University or course. More information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-student-finance/change-an-application?step-by-step (opens in new window). Once you have enrolled then you can no longer make the change yourself and so will need to contact the University to send a Change of Circumstance Form to SFE. You can request this by logging an e:vision helpdesk query.  

You don’t. We will automatically receive this information from Student Finance England electronically so don’t need a paper copy.  

You can apply for the hardship fund once you have enrolled and are attending. It normally opens in October. This is designed to help students who find themselves in genuine financial hardship. Applications are means tested so we cannot guarantee awards. However, if you are successful you will not have to repay any of it. For further details visit: www.wlv.ac.uk/fund.

More information on the Disabled Student Allowance and the form you need to complete can be found at www.gov.uk/student-finance/extra-help (opens in new window). More information on help available to students with disabilities at the University can be found at www.wlv.ac.uk/ssw.   

If you are a full time undergraduate student and have dependent children you can apply for a Parent Learning Allowance and the Childcare Grant to help with childcare costs, but these are very tightly means-tested against income. The Childcare Grant is paid directly to the childcare provider. More information can be found at www.gov.uk/student-finance/extra-help (opens in new window). 

The childcare grant will cover up to a maximum of 85% of your childcare fees but you will still need to pay the additional 15% yourself.  You can, however, apply for additional means-tested support towards your childcare costs via an application to the Dennis Turner Hardship Fund (www.wlv.ac.uk/fund). There is no guarantee of an award however all applications will be considered.

England: www.gov.uk/studentfinance (opens in new window), phone 0300 100 0607

wlv.ac.uk/apply/funding-costs-fees-and-support/financial-support/dennis-turner-hardship-fund/sfe-guidance

Wales: www.studentfinancewales.co.uk (opens in new window)

Scotland: www.saas.gov.uk (opens in new window)

Northern Ireland: www.studentfinanceni.co.uk (opens in new window)

If you are a full time student you can request a Council Tax Exemption letter through e:vision once you have enrolled on the course.  https://smsweb.wlv.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_lgn  

There should be a series of buttons that look something like the below where you will see the Official Letters button:

You will see various choices, just choose the appropriate one and follow the instructions.

If you are a current student, ASK@WLV is now the first point of contact for all student queries.  

To contact them either log a helpcall via the ASK@WLV tab on your e:Vision, pop into one of the ASK@WLV hubs, if on campus, or ring them on 01902 518518.

Learn more: www.wlv.ac.uk/ask.

You can also contact the Students’ Union Advice and Support Centre www.wolvesunion.org/advice/.

More details on useful contacts can be found at www.wlv.ac.uk/apply/funding-costs-fees-and-support/contacts

If you are an applicant or enquirer from the UK then you can contact the Gateway team on 01902 32 1032, or email gateway@wlv.ac.uk.

We would encourage all students who are facing additional financial hardship to seek further support from such resources as the Students’ Union’s Advice and Representation Centre (ARC) to speak with a Student Money Advisor (please complete their enquiry form at https://www.wolvesunion.org/advice/enquiry/) or especially the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) who can offer additional financial advice. 

You can also contact the Student Financial Support Team by emailing money@wlv.ac.uk (www.wlv.ac.uk/fund)  

More useful information can also be found at Funding and budgeting page (www.wlv.ac.uk/budgeting).

Useful tips can also be found at:  

moneysavingexpert.com/students (opens in new window)

which.co.uk/money/university-and-student-finance (opens in new window)

ucas.com/money (opens in new window)

gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-student-finance-support (opens in new window)

You can apply online or by completing a paper application form. Both are available at www.gov.uk/studentfinance (opens in new window). Online is recommended where possible as it is much quicker.  

Students who are UK residents and have not been to University before are usually eligible for financial support. More information on regulations and eligibility criteria can be found at www.gov.uk/student-finance/who-qualifies (opens in new window). If you are unsure whether you qualify or not then you can contact the Gateway to discuss your circumstances. Contact details can be found at www.wlv.ac.uk/gateway.

For undergraduate students there are means-tested loans to help pay for living costs plus additional grants for students with dependents or a disability. A finance calculator which enables you to enter your details and receive an estimate of your entitlement can be found at www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator.  

For postgraduate students there is a single loan to use towards fees and living costs. More information on the loan for Master's courses can be found at www.gov.uk/masters-loan; for PhD and Professional Doctorate courses go to www.gov.uk/doctoral-loan. 

No, you do not have to have a place at University in order to apply for funding. You can put down the University and course you are hoping to do and then notify Student Finance England at a later date if you go to a different University or undertake a different course. If you haven’t already applied for funding then you should do so as early as possible. The application process normally opens in March for the next academic year. Go to www.gov.uk/apply-for-student-finance for more details.

You can still apply for your funding and should complete the online application as soon as possible at www.gov.uk/student-finance/apply (opens in new window). Your funding may be delayed at the start of the course but it won’t affect your eligibility.  

For undergraduate students financial support is means-tested depending on your family’s financial circumstances. A finance calculator which enables you to enter your details and receive an estimate of your entitlement can be found at www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator (opens in new window).  

Yes. Funding for your second and third years can be obtained by completing the online application at www.gov.uk/studentfinance (opens in new window). It is much quicker in subsequent years as you do not have to complete all the sections each year.  

If you are over 25, have supported yourself (i.e. worked full time) for at least 3 years, are responsible for a child of your own, or are married then you should be classed as independent of your parents. Full details on eligibility can be found at www.gov.uk/student-finance/who-qualifies (opens in new window). If you are a care leaver or estranged from your parents then more information on support available can be found at www.wlv.ac.uk/care.   

Undergraduate part time students can apply for a tuition fee loan and (for those on a degree course) a means tested maintenance loan. For more information and to apply go to www.gov.uk/student-finance/parttime-students (opens in new window). The application process normally opens in May.

Part time students on a Master's course can apply for the same Master's Loan as full time, but the payments are spread out over the 2 years of the course. More information can be found at www.gov.uk/masters-loan (opens in new window). 

To apply for the tuition fee loan and maintenance loan you need to complete the standard undergraduate application form that can be found at www.gov.uk/studentfinance (opens in new window). To apply for the new NHS Training Grant go to www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund/training-grant (opens in new window). You need to have your standard student finance in place before you can apply for the NHS funding. If you are studying a Masters course that leads to NHS professional registration then you need to apply for the undergraduate funding and not the Masters Loan.  

If you are a Care Leaver then you need to provide evidence from your Local Authority so that you can be assessed for additional support. More information on the support offered by the University can be found at www.wlv.ac.uk/care. More information on the evidence you need to send to Student Finance England can be found at https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/student-finance/student-finance-for-care-leavers. Additional information and advice can be found at: The National Network for the Education of Care Leavers https://www.nnecl.org/ 

If you are Estranged from your parents and have no meaningful contact with them then you can be assessed as independent. More information on the support offered by the University can be found at www.wlv.ac.uk/care.

You need to complete an estrangement form and sent it to SFE with appropriate evidence. More information can be found https://www.sfengland.slc.co.uk/estrangement/  

Additional information and advice can be found at: Standalone https://www.standalone.org.uk/guides/student-guide/ and https://www.ucas.com/finance/additional-funding/financial-support-students-not-supported-their-parents-estranged 

If you have lived in the UK for at least 3 years then you can apply for full support from the UK Government (Tuition Fee loan and Maintenance Loan). 

If you have not lived in the UK for 3 years prior to enrolling on the course then you can apply for the Tuition Fee loan only.  

More information can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students (opens in new window).    

If you have settled status and have lived in the UK for more than 3 years then you can apply for a loan to cover the cost of fees (Tuition Fee loan) from the UK Government and help with living costs (Maintenance Loan).  

If you have pre-settled status and have lived in the UK for more than 3 years then you can apply for the Tuition Fee loan but not the Maintenance Loan.  

If you do not have settled or pre-settled status then you are not normally eligible for support from the UK Government and are likely to be classed as an International Student. 

More information can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students (opens in new window). You can find detailed guidance on the Government rules regarding 'home' or 'international' fee status at www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information--Advice/Fees-and-Money/England-HE-fee-status. 

International students cannot apply for standard funding from the UK Government. More information for International students can be found at www.ukcisa.org.uk (opens in new window). More information on support from the University can be found at www.wlv.ac.uk/international/international-scholarships. International queries should be referred to internationaladmissions@wlv.ac.uk.   

Student Finance England aim to complete the processing of forms in 4 - 6 weeks but it may take longer in some circumstances. Please ensure that you regularly check your SFE/SFW/SFNI or SAAS account to see if they are waiting for any additional evidence from you. 

You normally are classed as being 'in repayment' from the April after you have left University. However repayments only start once you are earning above the threshold. More information can be found at www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/which-repayment-plan-you-are-on (opens in new window)