2013 tuition fees - FAQs

Leeds will charge £9,000 for full time UK/EU undergraduate students in 2013. However, you do not need to find the money to pay this up front. You will be able to apply for a non-means-tested loan to cover tuition fees and more information about this is in Government support

There will be a substantially reduced fee for years when you are studying or working abroad or doing a UK work placement, and for part-time courses. See Fees for details. In addition, students eligible for our financial support package and opting to receive this as a fee waiver could see their fees reduced by up to £6,000 in year 1.

The increase in fees offsets cuts to direct government funding to universities. It will be used to cover the costs of teaching and be invested in improving the student experience at Leeds.

It's important to remember that tuition fees for 2013 will not have to be paid up front. Support is available from both the government and the University of Leeds.

Government support:

• loans to cover tuition fees (not means-tested)
• loans to cover living (maintenance) costs (means-tested)
• non-repayable grants (means-tested)

See Government support for details

All the University of Leeds support is non-repayable, it is designed to ensure anyone with the talent and potential to benefit - regardless of background - can take advantage of a Leeds education. Support is:

• Leeds Financial Support (LFS) including the National Scholarship Programme (means tested).
• Leeds Scholarships (both means-tested and non-means-tested, depending upon the Scholarship).

See University support for details.

There are two types of funding available at Leeds:

1. Automatic funding - Leeds Financial Support (LFS) and National Scholarship Programme (NSP)

No separate application is needed for this means-tested funding; all you need to do is apply for means-tested government support (ie grant, loans). Student Finance England will work out how much loan and grant you can have based on your household income and they will inform us (provided you agree to share this information). Based on the information they send to us we will then make an automatic non-repayable award to you if you are eligible. You will be contacted to confirm the award and asked to make a choice about how you would like the award to be paid. If you are taking a cash award you will be asked to provide your bank details via an online form.

2. Non-automatic funding - scholarships

Even if you think you may not qualify for the automatically assessed support above, you may be eligible for other sources of funding from us. Have a look at our scholarships for awards which do not take into account your household income to see if you might qualify to apply for one. You will need to complete a separate application form to apply for a scholarship (this is available for download from our scholarships page) and you must meet the relevant deadline to be considered.

You will be automatically assessed for eligibility and providing you undertake a household income assessment through Student Finance England, you do not need to apply for NSP funding directly. You will be contacted to confirm the award and asked to make a choice about how you would like the award to be paid. If you are taking a cash award you will be asked to provide your bank details via an online form.

The new system is designed to take the 'risk' out of a university education: if you don't benefit from higher earnings you either won't pay back what you owe or will pay back only a small and manageable amount on a monthly basis. You will only start to repay your tuition and maintenance loans after you have left higher education and are earning at least £21,000.

Remember that repayments are based on what you earn not the amount you owe.

Key points:

• As the income threshold has been increased, monthly repayments will actually be less under the new system (though graduates will make repayments for longer)
• Monthly repayments are based on your earnings not the amount you owe

You will only start to repay your tuition and maintenance loans after you have left higher education and are earning at least £21,000. This £21,000 threshold is planned to increase in line with earnings from 2016 onwards. If for any reason your income falls below £21,000 your repayments will automatically be suspended, for example if you take maternity leave or a career break.

The amount repaid each month will depend on your earnings - repayments will be 9% of your income above £21,000. This means that the first £21,000 per year (£1,750 per month) will never be subject to any student loan repayments.

Example
A graduate starting as a newly qualified teacher may earn £21,500, so they would make repayments of 9% of £500 (the amount above £21,000), which is £45 over the year or just under £4 per month. The monthly repayment would increase to £30 on a salary of £25,000; and £68 on £30,000.

Making repayments
The repayments will normally be deducted automatically from your pay packet through the tax system provided you are earning enough.

Interest rates
Interest on your loan will be charged at inflation (based on the RPI) plus 3% while you are studying, and up until the April after you leave university.

From the April after you leave university, if you are earning below £21,000, interest will be applied at the rate of inflation.

Graduates earning between £21,000 and £41,000 will be charged interest on a sliding scale up to a maximum of inflation plus 3%.

Graduates earning above £41,000 will be charged interest at the full rate of inflation plus 3%.

This should not be a 'lifetime' debt for many people: if you don't manage to repay the full amount, any remaining balance will be written off after 30 years.

More information
For further information go to www.gov.uk/browse/education/student-finance

Independent advice on student finance is available from the money expert Martin Lewis. You can also download a guide from his site which is packed with useful information and is essential reading for anyone considering going to university in 2013.

No, students who have started their course before 2012 will not be affected by these changes provided that they remain a registered student of the University of Leeds.

The fees and financial support arrangements are changing for part-time students.

The two most significant changes are that:

• Students on most programmes will no longer have to pay their tuition fees up front.
• Loans for tuition will be extended to eligible part-time first-degree students who complete a minimum of 25% of the full-time course load per year (30 credits or more).

Please note that part-time students are not eligible for maintenance loans or grants.

For further information, see our Lifelong Learning Centre website,  email part-time@leeds.ac.uk  or telephone 0113 343 3212.

No, these changes only affect students from the UK and European Union. Fees and financial support arrangements for international students are decided by universities. See the International students section of this website for further details of fees and finance for international students.

Try Leeds University Union's Student Advice Centre

If you are a current student you don't need to do anything. If you are planning to apply for 2013 entry, please check the details on our finance pages. Further advice is available from our undergraduate scholarships office on 0113 343 3378 or email ugscholarships@leeds.ac.uk