Student finance applications close

By now, you've probably already submitted your student finance application. But if you haven’t, don’t worry. Read on to be reassured that all is not lost.

If you’re applying for student finance to support your studies, you’re approaching an important time. Although the date is different depending on whether you’re in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, the deadline is approaching or has even passed.

We gave you the lowdown on applying for student finance previously, and if you’ve already finished your application, great! Make sure you’ve signed and sent the declaration form confirming what you’ve applied for (whether electronically or through tracked post), and you’re pretty much sorted.

If you haven’t, don’t worry – it’s not the end of the world. It’s not a deadline per se, just a suggested guideline to ensure you get your money on time.

The dates for student finance application deadlines change every year, so we can’t give you an exact timeline. Instead, we’ve included the 2024 deadlines, which hopefully give you an indication of what to expect this year.

Scotland: 31 March
Northern Ireland: 17 May
England: 17 May
Wales: 31 May

If you’re reading this and the student finance deadline has already passed, don’t panic. You can still apply, but it’s likely your loan will come through late. With this in mind, get that application filled in and sent off as soon as you can to avoid any further delay.

Waiting for the loan to drop

Even if you’ve got everything in on time, your living costs won’t be paid until a few days after you enrol. This is so the uni can confirm to student finance that you’ve started – after all, they don’t want to give a student loan to someone who has decided not to be a student.

Earlier on, we shared some tips on budgeting for the period between starting uni and getting your loan. If you're expecting your loan to come through late, or just want a reminder, take another look here.

Dealing with a late loan

If your living costs are likely to be late, don’t panic. Take a look at the options we’ve shared below:

Always speak to your accommodation team first. If you’re staying in a university-owned hall of residence, they are very likely to wait until you get your money. There’s no guarantee with external landlords, but it definitely doesn’t hurt to ask.
If you don’t have a job and your family can’t help, most universities offer a short-term emergency loan. You will have to pay this back, and will be charged if you miss a payment, but it should help you out if you’re in a tight spot.
Most universities have teams of financial advisers to help you with any funding issues as well as applying for additional support – use them.

If you're applying to Solent and feel worried about finances, you can find more information here.

Don't get caught in the net

When it comes to finance, it’s important to be aware of the dangers of phishing scams.

Most of the time, scam emails are sent over the summer and generally either look like they’re from the Student Loans Company, or from your university.

Below, we’ve put together some tips for keeping safe against scammers:

If you aren’t sure if something is legitimate, avoid clicking on links or opening attachments and log onto your account via the official website instead.
Always be careful of any emails that are asking you for personal details.
Check for bad spelling or strange email addresses – this is always an indication that the message is not from an official source.
Reach out to the official organisation (for example, Student Finance England) to verify if they sent something.

Follow ActionFraud’s advice if you’re ever unsure about an email