The First Fee Increase in Nine Years
The tuition fee cap for full-time undergraduate students in England rose from £9,250 to £9,790 for the 2026–27 academic year — the first increase since 2017. Every eligible home student can borrow the full £9,790 through a Tuition Fee Loan, paid directly to the university. The loan is not means-tested: your household income does not affect how much you can borrow for fees. Every eligible student gets the full amount.
The £540 annual increase adds approximately £1,620 to the total balance of a standard three-year degree. Because student loan repayments are income-based under Plan 5 — not fixed monthly payments tied to the balance — the additional borrowing has less practical day-to-day impact than the headline figure suggests. Whether and how much that extra £1,620 actually costs depends on your future income, and for many graduates earning below the repayment threshold for extended periods, the incremental balance is written off alongside the rest of the loan after 40 years.
Tuition Fee Loan: The Full Picture
Amount: Up to £9,790 per year for full-time courses in 2026–27. Part-time students can borrow up to 75% of the full-time fee, depending on course intensity.
Who pays it: Student Finance England pays the fee directly to your university or college. The money never comes to you as a student — you do not handle it and cannot spend it on anything other than your course fees.
Means-testing: None. Every eligible home student receives the full tuition fee loan regardless of household income.
Eligibility: UK nationals and those with settled or pre-settled status who are studying their first undergraduate degree and have been ordinarily resident in England for the three years before the course starts.
Maintenance Loan: How Much You Can Get in 2026–27
Unlike the tuition fee loan, the maintenance loan is means-tested based on household income. The figures below are the confirmed maximum awards for 2026–27 for full-time undergraduates:
Living away from home, outside London: Up to £10,544 per year maximum (for the lowest household income). Minimum: £4,767.
Living away from home, in London: Up to £15,285 per year maximum. London weighting is substantial — the gap between London and non-London rates reflects the genuine difference in living costs.
Living at home with parents: Up to £8,877 per year maximum. The reduced rate reflects that housing costs are not the student's own responsibility.
Studying abroad for a full year as part of a UK course: Up to £12,074 per year maximum.
These are maximums. The actual amount you receive depends on your household income. The higher the household income, the lower the maintenance loan. Students from households with income below approximately £25,000 receive the maximum. The loan reduces progressively as income rises, reaching the minimum (£4,767 for non-London living away from home) for household incomes above approximately £58,000.
Parental contribution assumption: The maintenance loan structure assumes that parents contribute to cover the gap between the minimum and maximum loan. This contribution is not legally required, but the system is designed around it. If your parents cannot or do not contribute despite a household income that reduces your loan, you should speak to your university's student support services — hardship funds and emergency grants exist specifically for this situation.
Plan 5 Repayment: What You Actually Pay Back
Students who started their undergraduate course from August 2023 onward repay under Plan 5. This is the current default for all new English undergraduates in 2026–27. The key terms:
Repayment threshold: £25,000 per year (gross income). You repay nothing while earning below £25,000.
Repayment rate: 9% of everything you earn above £25,000. If you earn £30,000, you repay 9% of £5,000 = £450 per year = £37.50 per month.
Interest rate: RPI only (Retail Price Index inflation). Unlike Plan 2, which charged up to RPI + 3% during the degree and early repayment years, Plan 5 charges only RPI throughout. This means in real terms, your outstanding balance stays roughly flat rather than compounding significantly above inflation.
Write-off period: 40 years from when you first become liable to repay (typically the April after you finish your course). If the balance is not fully repaid by 40 years, it is cancelled.
What this means practically: Many graduates will not fully repay their loans. For graduates who spend extended periods earning below £25,000 — common in the early career years of many sectors — large portions of the loan balance never result in repayments. The 40-year write-off provides a long-term cap on the obligation.
Under Plan 2 (students who started September 2012 to July 2023), the interest rate was RPI + up to 3%, creating faster balance growth. Plan 5's RPI-only rate is materially better for borrowers, particularly those expecting middle-income rather than high-income careers.
How to Apply for Student Finance England
Applications for 2026–27 entry opened 23 March 2026. If you have not yet applied and you are starting university in September 2026, apply immediately — processing can take six to eight weeks, and late applications risk your first payment arriving after your course starts.
The application process:
- Go to gov.uk/student-finance and sign in or create a Government Gateway account.
- Complete the online application form. You will need your National Insurance number, your university and course details (if confirmed), your household income information (your parents' or partner's income), and bank account details.
- If your university place is not yet confirmed — including if you are still waiting for results day — you can apply with a predicted university and update it later when you have a confirmed place. Do not wait for confirmation before applying.
- Submit supporting evidence if requested: UCAS application details, proof of identity, evidence of household income for means-testing.
- Receive a Student Finance notification letter confirming your loan entitlement. Review it carefully — check that the tuition fee loan amount matches your course fee and that the maintenance loan figure reflects your household income correctly.
If anything on the notification looks wrong, contact Student Finance England at gov.uk/student-finance or by phone to request a reassessment before your course starts.
The Priority Application Deadline
Applications submitted by the priority deadline (15 May 2026 for September 2026 entry) were guaranteed to have funding in place from the first day of term. That deadline has passed for this cycle. Late applications are still processed, but processing time extends to eight to twelve weeks and you risk missing your first tuition payment or maintenance instalment.
If you are applying now in August — possibly because your university place just changed through Clearing — apply immediately. The worst outcome is a gap between your course starting and your first maintenance payment arriving. Most universities understand this happens and some have emergency short-term support available through their hardship funds. Ask your university's student finance team specifically.
Updating Your Finance After Clearing
If you originally applied to Student Finance for one university and course and you end up at a different institution through Clearing, you must update your application. Failure to update means your tuition fee loan is paid to the wrong university.
Log into your Student Finance account and select "Change your details." Update the university name and course code. Student Finance will recalculate your loan if the course fee differs. The tuition fee may also differ — some courses (eg. sandwich year with work placement) have different fee structures.
If your living situation changes because of a Clearing university — you planned to live at home but your Clearing university requires living away, or vice versa — update this in your maintenance loan section as well. The living arrangement affects how much maintenance you receive.
Plan 2 vs Plan 5: Which Are You On?
Plan 2: Students who started their undergraduate course between September 2012 and July 2023. Repayment threshold: £27,295 (2025–26 figure, indexed annually). Interest: up to RPI + 3%. Write-off: 30 years.
Plan 5: Students starting August 2023 onward, including all students starting in 2026–27. Repayment threshold: £25,000. Interest: RPI only. Write-off: 40 years.
If you are starting in September 2026, you are Plan 5. Note that while the Plan 5 repayment threshold (£25,000) is lower than Plan 2's current threshold (£27,295), the lower interest rate and longer write-off period make Plan 5 substantially better for most borrowers over the full loan lifetime.
The Lifelong Learning Entitlement: Coming From January 2027
A new student finance system called the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) launches in January 2027. It provides a portable funding pot of approximately £37,000 — equivalent to four years of tuition — that individuals can draw down flexibly over their lifetime for modular or full-degree study. LLE applications open September 2026.
Students starting a full undergraduate degree in September 2026 through the standard route remain on the existing student finance system (Plan 5). The LLE is specifically for new course types starting from January 2027 onward. If you are starting a traditional three or four-year undergraduate degree this September, you are applying under the existing student finance rules, not LLE.