For university students domiciled in England, government support for living costs takes the form of so-called maintenance loans. Each academic year, students are entitled to take out these maintenance loans on top of any loans for tuition fees. How much a student can borrow depends on their parents’ income, where they are studying (in London or elsewhere) and whether they live with their parents. This academic year, students from the poorest families studying outside London and not living with their parents are entitled to a maximum maintenance loan of £9,706.
Any amounts that students choose to borrow are added to their overall student loan balances and start accumulating interest. After leaving university, graduates have to make loan repayments from any earnings above a threshold (currently £27,295). Graduates stop making repayments either when they have paid off their loans, or once 30 years have elapsed since they became liable to make repayments.[1] Overall, this means there is a substantial government subsidy for student loans.
