Student Grants: a complete guide

If you are a student, there are a variety of grants that you may be eligible for. Indeed, you could apply for things like Maintenance Grants, Special Support Grants, and more. This article will tell you everything that you need to know.

What are Student Grants?

If you’re a student, there are a number of grants you could receive. Grants are payments that you do not have to pay back. You may often receive a grant because of your circumstances or achievements.

There are also different types of student grants. However, the general idea and way that they function is generally the same. You receive an amount of cash that you can use and do not have to pay back.

What are the different types of student grants?

First, there are student grants. They are available to anyone who goes to university and qualifies. Some of them are means-tested, which means that the amount you receive is dependent on your household income. 

Then there are student bursaries. They typically have more specific criteria to be eligible. For example, you might have to take a specific course, be from a lower-income background, or be a care leaver. Additionally, the payments you receive could be tied to specific expenses. Often times, the number of people that can earn bursaries is limited. As such, make sure that you apply to them quickly.

Next are scholarships. These student grants are awarded either for achievements, or for having certain characteristics. You may receive a student scholarship based on your course, country, gender…

Finally, there are student sponsorships and apprenticeships. These are awarded through a company, and can get you both a salary and pay for your school fees. Because you are working, however, you will often take longer to earn your degree.

What counts as household income?

Household income includes money you receive from your property, investments and saving. This can include, for example, this includes rent or dividends. Additionally, it can also include a partner or parent’s income. Whether this is the case or not depends on specific circumstances.

More specifically, you may be younger than 25 and financially dependent on one or more of your parents. In this case, the following will be included in your household income:

• your parents’ income
  • this is if you either live with them or financially depend on them
• the income of both of your parent and their partner
  • this is if you either live with them or financially depend on them

However, you maybe younger than 25 years old but not depend on your parents financially. If this is the case, you will not include your parents’ income in your household income if one of the following is true:

• you and your parents did not have any contact for more than a year
  • if this is true, you could qualify as an ‘estranged student’
• for at least 13 weeks and before you turned 16 years old, you were in the care of your local authority
  • then, you could apply as a care leaver
• by the time that your course began, you were in a civil partnership or married
• you have been able to financially support yourself for a period of 3 years or more

If you are over 25, your parents’ income will not be included. Indeed, you will be qualified as an ‘independent student’. However, if you live with a partner, their income will be included.

How can I get student grants?

You are able to get student grants by applying for student finance. You can do so online on the Gov.UK website. You can apply for multiple grants and benefits simultaneously through this process.

You could be unsure that you qualify for many benefits. Not to worry. At the very least, you are likely to qualify for some through residence and nationality criteria. Additionally, you may use the free Your Benefits simulator to see all of the aid that you are entitled to. Simply enter information about your situation, and we will calculate how you could be getting with benefits. Additionally, if you are struggling with bills, our advisers are available to help you reduce them. From electricity to your phone bill, they are at your service to help you save money.

What is a Maintenance Grant?

A Maintenance Grant is intended for students in Northern Ireland and Wales to help cover living costs. In Wales, however, it is also known as the Welsh Government Learning Grant. Note that this is not the Maintenance Loan. As such, it does not need to be paid back.

While you do not need to pay it back, the more grants you receive, the less loans you can take out (the exception to this rule is if you are entitled to a Special Support Grant).

You may be eligible for this grant. First, you need to be living in Wales or Northern Ireland. Then, all of the following need to apply to you:

• you live in the United Kingdom
• your household income qualifies you for the benefit
• you are both in a recognized course and a full-time student

If your household income is high, you will be eligible for less Maintenance Grant. However, this is not necessarily the case for students in Wales. Indeed, the main factor that will impact your eligibility in Wales is where you are living while studying.

What is a Special Support Grant (SSG)?

You may have a disability, be a single parent, or earn income or housing support. In this case, you could receive a Special Support Grant instead of a Maintenance Grant. The reason to do this is while you will receive the same amount, it will not reduce the total amount of loans you could take out. Additionally, your Special Support Grant (SSG) will also not impact your benefits. 

You may be eligible for this student grant. For this to be the case, you must be a full-time student from Wales or Ireland, or be a continuing student in England in a course that began before 1 August 2016. Additionally, you must have special circumstances. For example, this can be one of the following, like if you:

• receive or qualify for certain benefits
  • for example, this could be the housing element of Universal Credit, or Income Support
• are impacted by a disability
• both are a parent and have your partner studying in university as well
• are a single parent

You can receive as much through a Special Support Grant (SSG) as you would through a Maintenance Grant.

What are travel grants?

If you are studying abroad, or were assigned a clinical placement in the UK, you could receive help covering travel costs. You may be eligible if you:

• are currently studying in full-time university education
• meet all the residence rules for the United Kingdom
• must travel for a clinical placement inside the UK 
  • this does not apply if you already receive an NHS bursary
• you are travelling abroad for the course that you study

There are requirements on what you can and can’t receive help for. For example, if you live in Wales or England, the first £303 you spend are not eligible to receive help. If you live in Northern Ireland, that number becomes £309. Furthermore, in all three of these countries, the grants are means-tested.

In order to receive help covering travel costs, you must be studying abroad for at least one half of each academic year for which you receive help.

Also, if you use this aid, you’ll be expected to get the cheapest tickets and types of transportation you can find. Indeed, do not think you will be able to cover the costs of expensive tickets. 

What is the Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA)?

You may have a disability. Then, you may be eligible for the Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA). It could help you cover some additional costs that arise from going to university. You may be eligible for having a physical or mental disability.

You do not have to repay this benefit. Indeed, this is like most other aid. Additionally, it is not means-tested either. However, you may receive payments for the same condition or disability that you are claiming DSA for. If this is the case, you could be ineligible.

You can receive this aid on top of benefits to cover travel costs. However, excluding travel aid, you could receive the following:

• If you live in England
  • Single allowance: £25,000 yearly
• If you live in Wales
  • Single Allowance: £31,831 yearly
• If you live in Scotland:
  • Basic Allowance: £1,725 yearly
  • Large items allowance: £5,160 for your educational course
  • Non-medical personal help allowance: £20,520 yearly
• If you live in Northern Ireland
  • General allowance: £1,759 yearly
  • Specialist equipment allowance: £25,000 for your educational course
  • Non-medical helper allowance: £20,938 yearly