The Advice Centre provides confidential and independent advice on financial issues and can signpost you to other services offering specialised student finance and debt advice.
These pages provide you with information on common finance enquires and issues, as well as information about how to contact an Advisor.
Click on each category for guidance and the support available to you.
Information regarding maintenance and tuition loans
The amount of maintenance loan you are entitles to is means tested. This means that your eligibility will be dependent on your household income.
Click here for Student Finance England's contact information.
Our trained advisors can advise on:
- Student finance correspondence and the implications withdrawing from university or interrupting your studies may have on your payments
For a Quick Start Guide provided by Student Finance England, please click here
Compelling Personal Reasons
Student Finance England will fund you for the duration of your full-time degree, plus one additional year (for example if you need to fund a retake year). If you are enrolled onto a three year course, you will be entitled to four years of funding.
If you have experienced compelling personal reasons, such as ill health or bereavement, that means you will need extra funding, you can apply for extra funding to Student Finance England.
FAQ's
If you were expecting your Student Finance installment or your payment has been delayed, we would advise you to either contact Student Finance England or contact us for support. Please note you will need your customer reference number to hand. We may also signpost you to the University’s Student Funding team, located in the Student Support Centre for further support.
If you are concerned that you have not been paid the correct amount of maintenance loan please contact Student Finance England as above or contact us for more support.
Additional funds may be available to you so please get in touch with us as soon as possible so we can advise you about your options.
All students are entitled to a basic amount of financial help. However, Student Finance England normally determine your eligibility through means testing. This means that you will receive the full amount of tuition fee loan but the amount of maintenance loan you receive is dependent on your household income. You are an Independent Student if you meet one or more of the following criteria:
- You are aged 25 or over on the first day of the academic year
- You care for a person aged under 18 on the first day of the academic year
- You have been married or in a civil partnership before the start of the academic year
- You have supported yourself for at least 3 years
- You have no living parents
- You are permanently estranged from your parents and have not communicated with your parents for at least 1 year prior
- Your parents live outside the EU and an income assessment would put them in jeopardy, or they cannot practically send funds to be UK to support you
- You have been in care for any period of three months ending on or after the date of your 16th birthday and before the first day of the academic year
Please click here for information on Independent Student Status, provided by Student Finance England
Student Finance England define estrangement as
- "To be considered irreconcilably estranged from your parents, you won’t have had any written or verbal contact with either parent and this is unlikely to change. Usually, for a period of at least twelve months, but they will consider all cases."
You will need to complete an estrangement form as part of your Student Finance England application. Please click here for more information
For more help and information about applying for student finance as an estranged student go to: standalone.org.uk/guides/student-guide
If your circumstances have changed since your student finance application, you can apply for a change of circumstances. This will allow you to be means tested on your current circumstances. Click here more information on how to change your application.
This information relates to Student Finance England funding. If you are funded by an alternative body (e.g. Student Finance Wales or Scotland or NI) please get in touch with us.
Please note that these sections cover the majority of additional funding available to students, however this list is not exhaustive and if you are in financial difficulty we would recommend that you come in to speak to an Advisor about your circumstances.
Financial Assistance Fund (Single)
This is a non-repayable grant. A Financial Assistance Fund is available during term time, and a Summer Financial Assistance Fund is available for financial support over the summer break. The application is heavily evidence based and an assessment of the evidence you provide will be made.
Applications for the fund close on 31st July 2021.
To submit an application, please click here
We strongly advise you get in touch with an Advisor to talk through the application form and support you through this process.
If you are an international or EU student and are experiencing financial difficulties as a result of Covid-19, please email [email protected].
Financial Assistance Fund (With Dependents)
This is a non-repayable grant for undergraduate students with a child or adult who is financially dependent on them.
A Financial Assistance Fund is available during term time, and a Summer Financial Assistance Fund is available for financial support over the summer break. The application is heavily evidence based and an assessment of the evidence you provide will be made.
Applications for the fund close on 31st July 2021.
To submit an application, please click here
We strongly advise you get in touch to talk through the application with an Advisor and allow us to support you through this process.
For more information about how your application will be assessed please see the additional assessing notes provided by the University here.
Blackburn Bursary
The Blackburn Bursary is a bursary which is eligible for undergraduate students who have received local authority care within the last five years and are defined as ‘care leavers’, according to the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000. Application forms are available from the Student Funding Team, at [email protected]
Course Related Travel Grant
This is a grant intended as a contribution towards the costs of travelling, within the UK or abroad, that are associated with your course. For an application form, please click here
We would strongly advise to get in touch to talk through the application with an Advisor and allow us to support you through this process.
Financial Assistance Commuting Travel Grant
This is a grant intended as a contribution to travel costs for undergraduate students who attend University from their permanent home address. To be eligible for the grant, you must be:
- An undergraduate student enrolled at the University of Lincoln
- Eligible for a maintenance loan, according to your 2018/19 Student Finance England assessment
- Have to pay for travel to attend the University from your permanent home address and live in either Lincolnshire or North Lincolnshire.
For an application form, please click here
We would strongly advise to get in touch for advice and support on the application process
Disability Student Allowance
The Disability Student Allowance is a grant intended as a contribution towards the extra costs associated with a Mental Health problem, long-term illness or disability. For support with the application for Disabled Student Allowance, we would advise you contact the Student Wellbeing Centre
Short Term Loans
Repayable loans are available for full time UK home students. The student must be eligible for a maintenance loan from Student Finance England which has been delayed and have no other means of financial support. Application forms are available from the Student Funding Team, at: [email protected]
Foyer/Supported House Bursary
A bursary for students enrolled at the University of Lincoln who have come directly from living in a Foyer or other supported housing and in which they have lived between the ages of 16 to 18. Application forms are available from the Student Funding Team, at: [email protected]
Financial Assistance Fund (Postgraduate)
If you have made adequate provisions for your living costs and course fees before embarking on the course and have applied for/taken out all statutory funding/benefits, but course materials and travel for example, are not easily affordable to you, you can apply for the Postgraduate Financial Assistance Fund.
This is a non-repayable grant. A Financial Assistance Fund is available during term time, and a Summer Financial Assistance Fund is available for financial support over the summer break.
Applications for the fund close on 31st July 2021.
To submit an application, please click here.
We strongly advise you get in touch to talk through the application with an Advisor and allow us to confidentially support you through this process.
For more information about how your application will be assessed please see the additional assessing notes provided by the University here
Course Related Travel Grant
This is a grant intended as a contribution towards the costs of travelling, within the UK or abroad, that are associated with your course. For an application form, please click here
We would strongly advise to get in touch to talk through the application with an Advisor and allow us to support you through this process.
Course Related Travel Grant
This is a grant intended as a contribution towards the costs of travelling, within the UK or abroad, that are associated with your course. For an application form, please click here
We would strongly advise to get in touch to talk through the application with an Advisor and allow us to support you through this process.
Dr E Jackson EU/International Exceptional Financial Assistance Fund
EU/International students are expected to have made adequate provision for their personal and university costs before they embark on the course. If successful the amount you are awarded will depend upon the information you supply and your individual circumstances. For more information about this fund please come in and speak to an Advisor.
The university also provides the following emergency funds for international students who have experienced an unexpected event that caused financial difficulty;
Emergency Repatriation Fund
This is a non-repayable fund to provide exceptional emergency support to international students who are required to go home urgently due to an unanticipated event
Please contact the Student Funding Team at studentfundingteam.ac.uk for more information and an application form.
Financial Assistance Fund (with dependents)
Undergraduate students with a dependent are eligible for the Financial Assistance Fund. A dependent is a child or adult who is financially dependent on another.
A Financial Assistance Fund is available during term time, and a Summer Financial Assistance Fund is available for financial support over the summer break.
Applications for the fund close 31st July 2021.
To submit an application, please click here
We strongly advise you get in touch to talk through the application with an Advisor and allow us to confidentially support you through this process.
Full-Time Childcare Grant
A Childcare Grant is available from Student Finance England for students with children, which is intended to help with the costs of childcare during study. You may be eligible for a Full-Time Childcare Grant if you are a full time student and have children either under 15 or under 17 if the child has special educational needs.
Please click here for further information
Full-Time Adult Dependants’ Grant
Please click here for further information.
Full-Time Parents’ Learning Allowance
For a full list of scholarships and bursaries provided by the University, please see here.
We would advise to get in touch with our advice centre to confidentially speak to one of our Advisors about the funds eligible for you
If you received government welfare benefits before your studies or think you may be eligible please speak to the University’s Student Funding team to discuss your circumstances and eligibility.
Please see our list of on campus support services for information about how to get in touch with their service here
Part-time work
Finding part time work with flexible hours that fit around your degree can boost your income and help to make managing your finances less stressful. We would advise you to prioritise your studies, but if cutting the number of hours you work puts you in financial hardship then please see the University Financial Assistance Funds section above.
You can also access the University’s Campus Jobs, for regular or one-off vacancies on campus
If you are an international student you will need a National Insurance Number to work in the UK and there may be visa restrictions on the number of hours you are allowed to work. Please speak to the University’s International Advice Team (Student Support Centre) and Careers & Employability Centre (in the library) for more specialist information.
Student bank account
You may want to speak to the financial advisor at your bank to ensure you are making full use of all the resources available through your student bank account. For example, you may be entitled to an interest free overdraft or other benefits.
If you are applying for the University’s Financial Assistance Fund you will have been expected to explore your overdraft options as a source of additional income.
Budgeting tips
At the Advice Centre, we have created resources you can download and use to plan and manage your expenditures.
To correctly work out your weekly budget, you first add up all of your total expected income. This includes average earnings from a part-time job, all Student Finance funding, welfare/benefits and any one-off payments you are expecting.
We would advise that you budget termly and make sure to include the Christmas, Easter and Summer Vacation periods. It is a good idea to divide your total income for the term by the amount of weeks in the term/vacation period. You can then use the table below as a template for your budget. By doing this you can also see if you are spending more in one section than you can afford to.
| Outgoings (fixed) | Average cost per week | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | ||
| Bills (if not included) | ||
| Mobile Bill | ||
| Outgoing Variable | ||
| Food and Toiletries | ||
| Laundry | ||
| Clothing | ||
| Travel (don’t forget getting to parental home and back) | ||
| Child Care | ||
| Medical Costs (e.g. prescriptions) | ||
| Study Materials | ||
| Sports and Hobbies | ||
| Debt Repayments | ||
| Social and Entertainment | ||
| Other | ||
| Total/Shortfall |
Please see the University’s Financial Assistance Funds section above for information on how they can help with immediate financial hardship.
The Students' Union Advice Centre accepts and distributes food parcels for students in extreme hardship. If you're interested in finding out more, just contact a member of our team at [email protected] or 01522 837000.
We have a direct referral link to licensed debt advisors. Please come in to speak to us so we can refer you for specialist advice and support. We can offer you support if your financial situation is having an impact on your wellbeing and academic studies.
You can also contact the Student Funding Team or Citizens’ Advice for more help and advice about managing your debt.
If you’re not sure whether your issue falls under these categories, please feel free to drop-in to speak to one of our trained Advisors. We really want to hear from you and support you through this journey.
