You will need to check whether or not you are eligible for a loan, as the rules differ slightly for English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish and EU students. In general you must be:
- a UK or EU student;
- registered for a course within a higher education institution;
- new to higher education, (you are not eligible if you have completed an undergraduate higher education course at another institution, ie you are classified as a ‘second degree’ student).
Both UK and EU students can take out a loan, available from the Student Loan Company, to cover these fees. Any such loan is repayable at the end of the whole course, according to circumstances and conditions, even if you do not complete the course.
According to current guidelines from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, all graduates are required to start repaying student loans from the April after they complete their courses but only once they are earning more than £15,000 per year. For more detailed information see the section on repaying student loans at: www.direct.gov.uk