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Debt can feel like a negative thing, but it’s important to remember that not all debt is bad. For many people, it’s a part of everyday life. It’s only a problem when it becomes hard to manage.

Here are some possible lending options to help you as a student.

Student finance at a glance

Student loans

Postgraduate loans

Student overdrafts

Student credit card

Frequently asked questions

During your time at university or college, you’ll need to cover your tuition fees and living expenses. A UK student loan may be available to help with both.

A Tuition Fee Loan helps pay the course tuition fees charged by your university or college. Tuition fees are usually paid straight to your course provider. These can often be much less if you’re on a placement year, or if you're studying abroad.

A maintenance loan can help with costs, such as rent, food, books and other living costs. If you’ve opened a student bank account, you can have your student maintenance loan paid into this. The amount you get depends on your household income and where you’re studying.

Depending on your situation, you might be eligible to apply for grants or allowances to help with some of the costs.

For more information, including eligibility criteria, visit GOV.UK:

There are different ways you can fund postgraduate study, including:

If you’re starting a master’s degree, you could get a Postgraduate Master’s Loan to help with course fees and living costs. How much you can get will depend on when your course starts. 

For more information, including eligibility criteria, visit GOV.UK:

If you’re starting a doctoral degree, you could get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan to help with course fees and living costs. Again, how much you can get depends on your course start date. It isn’t based on your income or your family’s income, and the funds are paid directly to you. 

For more information, including eligibility criteria, visit GOV.UK:

Studentships are postgraduate opportunities that come with funding to cover tuition fees, living expenses, or both. They’re often supported by Studentships typically don’t need to be repaid unless there has been an overpayment.

You could qualify for bursaries for certain courses, like the . Charities and trusts may also provide grants, often for students from low-income backgrounds or those with outstanding academic results. Bursaries and grants typically don’t need to be repaid unless there has been an overpayment.

Your employer may sponsor you if the course is relevant for your job role. You may need to repay funding from your employer, depending on your contract.

Managing your cash flow is an important part of student life. Many student bank accounts may offer an interest-free arranged overdraft. This means you can spend more money than you have available in your account, up to a limit.

A student arranged overdraft limit will typically be between £1,000 and £3,000. This can vary depending on the bank and what year of study you’re in. If you’re unsure of your overdraft limit, contact your bank.

It’s important to check for any fees you might be charged if you go over your arranged overdraft limit. This is known as an unarranged overdraft.

You'll have to pay back the money in your student overdraft when you leave university. You may be given a fixed period of time to do this after graduating. Your bank should be able to discuss this with you.

Explore: Understanding your student overdraft

As a student, it’s unlikely you’ll have a long history of borrowing money, so you may have a low credit score. This is what lenders use to help them decide whether to give you credit.

Using a student credit card responsibly could help you build up your credit rating, which could stand you in good stead for any future borrowing.

If you choose to take out a student credit card and spend money on it, it’s important you never miss a repayment as it may harm your credit score.

Student credit cards typically have a low credit limit to help people avoid having too much debt.

You should aim to pay off your balance in full each month if you can. If you can’t pay off the full balance, try to make overpayments to reduce the amount of interest you may need to pay.

Explore: How do credit cards work?

You’ll usually repay your student loan after you graduate and earn over a set amount. Keep in mind:

When you start repaying and how much you pay can depend on which you’re on.

Interest is charged from the day you start receiving the loan until it’s repaid in full or cancelled.

While you’re studying, the interest rate is based on the UK retail price index (RPI) plus up to 3% depending on your income.

The interest rate may change depending on when you started your course. For more information, visit GOV.UK:

You can make extra repayments or pay off your loan early if you want to and can afford to. There’s no penalty for doing this, but it’s worth checking when your loan could be written off first.

Extra repayments are optional. If you choose to make extra repayments or settle your loan in full, you’ll usually need to contact the Student Loans Company (SLC) to arrange it.

Before making extra payments towards your student loan, consider any other debts you may have. If they charge a higher interest rate, it could make sense to clear those first.

Even if you left your course early, you’ll still need to repay anything you borrowed from the Student Loans Company (SLC).

If you think you’ve overpaid, you may be able to The SLC may contact you directly to let you know how to get a refund, or you may need to contact them.

The UK student loans system is built to be flexible and is based on what you earn, not what you owe. So, if your earnings drop below the repayment threshold for any reason, your loan payments will stop immediately.

If you work for yourself, your repayments are calculated when you do your tax return. If your profits fall below the threshold, you will simply not pay anything toward your loan for that year.

This article was last updated: 11/08/2026, 06:02