How government-funded courses actually work
Demystifying the difference between bursaries, grants and tuition fee loans.
The three terms get used interchangeably and they mean quite different things.
A tuition fee loan covers your course fees, is paid straight to the provider, and is repaid only once you are earning above the repayment threshold. You never handle the money.
A maintenance loan helps with living costs, is means-tested against household income, and is also repayable. A grant or bursary, by contrast, does not have to be repaid — the Childcare Grant and Parents' Learning Allowance are the two most commonly missed.
Repayments are a percentage of what you earn above the threshold, not a fixed monthly bill. If your income falls below it, repayments stop.
Eligibility depends on your residency status, your course, and whether you have studied at this level before. We check all three before you apply.
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