Studying in Great Britain is an opportunity to gain high-quality knowledge, valuable experience, or fluency in the use of English. All this will help you increase your chances on the labor market not only after returning to Poland but also when you decide to work abroad or decide to develop your own business. However, you have to pay for this advantage, because education at the best universities in the UK is paid, and the amount of tuition fees can initially make you dizzy.
However, you do not have to give up a solid, international education for economic reasons. You just need to take advantage of Tuition Fee Loan, or an attractive loan ✅ for tuition fees. Thanks to it, you do not run up tuition costs during your studies, and you pay back the loan itself relatively quickly in small installments until you find a well-paying job. In addition, it happens that you do not have to pay back the entire loan amount for tuition fees. Simply thanks to the Tuition Fee Loan, undergraduate studies in England are actually much cheaper than you think.
Tuition Fee Loan, or what is a tuition fees loan in the UK?
Great Britain strongly focuses on the education of future generations and therefore generously subsidizes studentsalso foreign. Universities have a wide scholarship offer, and additionally, students can apply for a maintenance loan or Tuition Fee Loan.. What exactly is it about?
Tuition Fee Loan is a loan for undergraduate studies and graduate students in the UK can apply for. This type of higher education funding is provided by the British Government and it covers 100% of the fees that a given university charges for tuition. In addition, the rules for obtaining and repaying a tuition loan are the same no matter which UK university you choose. When using a tuition loan, you don’t have to note any fees. Money under the Tuition Fee Loan is transferred in installments directly to the university’s account, and you can fully focus on your studies and academic life in England.
Credit for tuition fees is granted for a given academic year, but in order to obtain funding also for subsequent years of study, it is enough to fill out an application for “continuing students” in the second and third year, in which you confirm that you are continuing your education at a given university.
Who is eligible for a tuition fee loan?
Tuition Fee Loan is available to anyone who:
- applied, received, and confirmed the “offer” of a place at a university in the UK,
- is a citizen of the European Union,
- is not a university graduate (does not have a bachelor’s or master’s degree)
- not over 60. years of age on the date of application.
- have lived in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the last three years before starting the studies.
This means that if you are Polish and dream of studying in England, and you have never studied before, a tuition fee loan is at your fingertips.
How to repay the tuition fee loan and how much does it cost?
The biggest advantage of a Tuition Fee Loan is its cost and repayment method. First of all, you only start paying off the tuition fee loan one year after graduation and that’s provided to start a job, and yours earnings will exceed threshold ✅, or a fixed income threshold for the country where you work. In England, it is £25,000, and in Poland, it is just over £15,000 per year.
So, if your income is less, you won’t repay the loan until your earnings increase. If you suddenly lose your job? Until you find another one, your tuition loan repayment will be suspended. What’s more, after 30 years the loan is officially forgiven. This means that after this period you do not have to pay it back, no matter what part of the loan you have returned so far. What’s more, if during this time you have not earned any income that would allow you to exceed the threshold, then for your studies in the UK you will eventually you’re not paying a penny! In other words, don’t earn – don’t pay back.
However, we assume that appropriate studies in England will allow you to find a well-paid job, thus the threshold will be exceeded. Does this mean that a large part of your paycheck will go to pay off the tuition loan, leaving you with only a few pounds to live on? None of these things! Tuition Fee Loan repayment is exceptional preferential terms.
If you exceed the income threshold, the tuition loan installment will be 9% of the sum of money, by which you crossed this threshold. Let’s emphasize it again: 9% on the surplus above the income threshold, not on the total income! See how it looks in practice:
| |
Income Threshold |
Your Sample Earnings |
Excess |
Installment to be paid |
| Work in England |
£25000 |
£2500/m-c |
£400/m-c |
400*9% = £36 |
| Work in Poland |
£15000 (73000 zł) |
7000 zł/m-c |
1000 zł/m-c |
1000 * 9% = 90zł |
As you can see, paying off the tuition loan will not be a big burden on your budget. If you take a job in England, where you earn around £2,500 per month, the loan installment will be only £36. On the other hand, if you get a job in Poland with earnings of 7,000 PLN, you will pay back about 90 PLN each month as part of the Tuition Fee Loan repayment.
Importantly, repayment of your UK tuition fee loan is stopped whenever you take a break from work, including going on maternity or paternity leave.
Is the tuition loan interest-bearing?
Tuition Fee Loan is subject to interest like any other loan. However, its amount is extremely beneficial. In the case of income at the Lower Income Threshold level, it is only 3.3%, and with the Upper Income Threshold, it increases by an additional 3%. However, we can assure you that if you exceed the latter income threshold, paying off the tuition loan will not be a major problem for you.
How to repay the tuition loan?
Tuition Fee Loan repayment is automatic. Simply, your UK employer will deduct the installment each month from your salary (before tax deductions) before it even hits your account.
However, if you go to work outside the UK after completing your studies in the UK, you will need to notify the Student Loans Company of this situation and complete the Overseas Income Assessment form.
Credit for tuition fees and discontinuation of studies or change of university
Let’s assume you got a tuition credit, but for some reason, you had to stop studying after the first year. In this case, you pay back only the part of the loan that you have already used, or the tuition fee for the first year of study. Of course, on the terms described above. However, remember to notify the university and Student Finance of your decision as soon as possible to avoid additional fees!
Meanwhile, if you decide to change the university and the tuition fees at the new university are higher, you can apply for an increase in the loan amount.
As you can see, the terms of the tuition loan are very preferential, which is why at Edu4u we believe that you should not think of it as a loan, but rather treat it as a “study tax”.
