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Is your child thinking about university?

By going into higher education, your child will be making a long-term investment in their future.

Not only could it open up a wider choice of careers: they may earn more. Based on the value of money today, over their working life the average graduate will earn around £100,000 more, after tax, than someone with A levels who hasn’t been to university.

There are costs your child will need to cover during their three or four years of study - but there’s also financial support available to help them.

What financial help is available to full-time students?

There are three main sources of financial support available to new full-time students - Student Loans, grants and bursaries.

Remember that grants and bursaries never have to be repaid, regardless of how much your child receives.

Student Loans

Student Loans from the government are the cheapest way your child can borrow money over the long term.

There are two different types of Student Loan. One covers tuition fees (maximum £3,225 for 2009/2010 or £3,145 for 2008/2009). The other is for help towards day-to-day living costs such as rent and travel. All eligible students can get the full Student Loan for Tuition Fees, and at least a partial Student Loan for Maintenance - whatever their household income.

Your child won’t have to start repaying Student Loans until they have left their course and are earning more than £15,000.

Also, students due to start paying back their Student Loans from April 2012 will have the option of taking a repayment break of one or two years - useful if they’re thinking of buying a home or starting their own family.

Maintenance Grants

Around two-thirds of new, full-time students are likely to qualify for a Maintenance Grant to help with their living costs while at college or uni. It's worth up to £2,906 for 2009/2010 or £2,835 for 2008/2009.

Bursaries

On top of Student Loans and Maintenance Grants, universities and colleges also offer bursaries to a wide range of students. This is additional money that doesn’t have to be paid back.

Students paying the maximum tuition fees and receiving the full Maintenance Grant are guaranteed to get at least £319 for 2009/2010 or £310 for 2008/2009, but they’ll often get significantly more.

Finding out more about student finance

Helping your child prepare their finances: parents' stories

You can read about parents’ experiences of helping their child apply for student finance in ‘Parents' stories: helping your child sort out money for university’. You’ll also find links to lots more information about student finance on Directgov.

• Parents' stories: helping your child sort out money for university

Talking money with Martin Lewis

Money-saving expert Martin Lewis explains the difference between sensible borrowing and bad debt in ‘Talking money’, a useful guide for parents of students.

It explains what you and your child need to know about the student support package for 2008/2009, student bank accounts, credit cards and part-time jobs. You’ll also find financial tips on preparing for university and budgeting, so you can talk money with your child.

• Download Talking Money: a parent’s guide to student finance in England 2008/2009 (PDF, 1095K)

Applying for student finance

Your son or daughter should make their application for financial support as soon as possible after they’ve applied for a course - they don’t need to wait until they have received an offer from a university or college.

The online application process is quick and easy.

• Applying for student finance (education and learning section)

Your role as a parent

If your child is classed as being dependent on you and they apply for types of financial help which are 'income assessed', you’ll be asked to provide information about your own income in support of their application.

• Student finance: what parents and partners need to do (education and learning section)

Questions about what uni is like?

You may want to find out more about what higher education will be like for your child - especially if you didn’t go to university or college yourself. Follow the link below for answers to some common questions from parents.

• University and higher education: your child's options