Applying For A Student Loan

Feb 09, 2018

Written By Billy Sexton, Editor, AllAboutLaw.co.uk

Racing off to uni to study law is an exciting prospect for any aspiring lawyer. You’ll get yourself a degree, join your university’s law society, undertake a vacation scheme and potentially even land yourself a training contract. University is an exciting adventure, perhaps even more exciting than Frodo’s trip to Mordor.

However, going to university isn’t going to be much fun at all if you don’t have any money to fund your studies and lifestyle. Most students who attend a UK law school will apply for a student loan. But how do you go about applying?

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Deadlines to consider

First things first: you need to apply for a student loan before the end of May. The government officially say that the deadline is “nine months after the start of the academic year”. However, by using our intricate knowledge of the academic year and our precise counting skills, we’re able to say that the deadline is May, given that it’s nine months after September.

Am I eligible for a student loan?

If you live in the UK, are an EU national or related to a Swiss or Turkish worker, you are eligible for a student loan based on nationality. For more detailed info, check out this information from Student Finance England. Additionally, you can only get yourself a student loan if you’re about to start your first degree.

The student loan application process

You need to create a student finance account. You can do that here. You don’t need to wait until you’ve ripped open your A-level results and found out you have a place on to a law course to apply, but you do need to have a first choice and insurance choice.

You’ll need your passport, details of your university and course, your bank details and national insurance number, your parents’ income and national insurance number. Don’t worry if your parents get cagey about revealing how much dollar they make, as they can log in separately themselves. Your parents may not need to provide evidence straight away, but Student Finance will contact you later with a list of the evidence they need.

Also, you can update your personal details at any time. One example of when you might need to is when you open your student bank account. Given you can only usually open a student bank account when you have a confirmation letter from UCAS that outlines when you’ve been successful, you may need to change the bank details you’ve provided to student finance so that the money goes in the right account. Wonga!

When do I get my money?!

You get your first instalment after you’ve registered with your university. This usually happens in the first week of your course so make sure that you don’t polish off too many jaeger bombs the night before and miss out – it could literally cost you thousands! Once you’ve registered, folks at the university will let Student Finance know that you’re registered and boom – you’ve got moneyyyyy!

University Funding