Student funding information for UK students
Questions and answers
1. I have accepted a place via adjustment; do I need to let the Student Loans Company (SLC) know I will now be studying at the University of Bristol?
If you have previously applied for tuition support then you must ensure that the Student Loans Company (SLC) are made aware of the change and are also advised which course you are intending to study.
If you do not advise them that you will now be studying at the University of Bristol, then it may delay the payment of your financial support (maintenance loans and/or grants).
You can inform the SLC of any change of course, university or even finance details by logging in online to your student finance application. If you applied via the paper form you can still make these changes online by using the log in details the SLC have sent you. You can also make these changes if you are still waiting for your initial application to be processed. Who you contact will depend on where you normally reside when not at University.
- Student Finance England
- Student Finance Wales / Cyllid Myfyrwyr Cymru
- Student Finance Northern Ireland
- Student Awards Agency for Scotland
2. What tuition fee waivers, bursaries and scholarships are available at the University of Bristol?
University of Bristol tuition fee waivers are available to certain Home UK students. For further information, including the eligibility criteria, qualifying household income thresholds and the levels of fee waiver, please see our Student Funding Office web page.
Home UK students who are eligible for the tuition fee waiver, will have the option to have £2,000 of the fee waiver paid directly to themselves as a non-repayable bursary. The tuition fee waiver would be reduced accordingly and the bursary is not paid in addition to the amounts of tuition fee waiver.
For further information on the financial support available from the University of Bristol, including Scholarships and Hardship Funds, please visit the Student Funding Office website.
3. I have not yet applied for financial support, what should I do?
Eligible Home UK students can apply for help with tuition fees and living costs each academic year.
If you have not yet applied for financial support, you have missed the deadline to ensure you get paid at the start of term, however, you can still apply for financial support up to nine months after the start of your academic year.
If you wish to apply for financial support for tuition fees or living costs then you should do so now, so that your application can be processed and the funds released as early as possible.
An overview of the support which is available to you can be found in the 2013 prospectus.
Further information on the loans and grants available from the Government to students from England can be found at: Student Finance England.
If you are from Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland, then you will need to refer to information specific to your country as each Government has set different levels of loans, grants and qualifying household income thresholds.
4. I have changed to study a longer course at Bristol, does this affect my funding?
Funding is provided for the length of the course, plus you are entitled to an additional year of support if required. Therefore, provided you have notified the SLC of your new course, your support entitlement should be adjusted to match the length of your new course accordingly.
5. I have been accepted on a course which is funded through the NHS, what funding can I apply for?
Please visit the NHS page of the Student Funding Office website for more information.
6. Who can I contact for more detailed advice on funding?
In order to support all its students, the University of Bristol has a Student Funding Office whose staff are extremely experienced at helping students through any kind of financial difficulty. The office can provide advice and help with:
- Government Student Loans and Access to Learning Funds
- University Bursaries and Scholarships and fee waivers
- Applications for University hardship funds/emergency loans
- Advice on budgeting and money management.
- Financial advice regarding withdrawal, suspension and transfer.
For more information, including contact details and opening times, please visit the Student Funding Office website or email student-funding@bristol.ac.uk.
Warning: phishing (scam) email
The start of the academic year is often a time when phishing emails are sent to students that claim to come from Student Finance England, asking for account or security details. Do not follow the links in any email that claims to come from Student Finance England. Make sure you log into the genuine site, direct.gov.uk/studentfinance.
If you receive a suspicious email, don’t disclose your details. Report it to security@slc.co.uk.
Further advice
For further advice regarding online security for your application for student financial support please visit the Directgov website. The University also publishes advice for keeping yourself safe online.