Financial Support

Student Loans

Student

Loans

Government student loans are the main source of funding for Home undergraduate students. This means you don’t have to pay for your course upfront – you can get a Government loan to help cover the costs.

The two main loans are:

a Tuition Fee Loan to cover the cost of your course
a Maintenance Loan to help pay for living costs

Eligibility information and a step-by-guide to accessing government student loans can be found via the Student Finance website.

Applying for a Student Loan

Apply for a loan via the Student Loans Company: https://www.gov.uk/apply-online-for-student-finance

Student finance opens for applications in early spring each year, but the dates and deadlines differ depending on which country you live in, please refer to Student Finance England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland, as appropriate, to check the application deadline dates relevant to you. It is important to apply for your student loan as soon as you can – you should not wait until you have received a confirmed place at ASU London.

You apply for your maintenance loan at the same time as your tuition fee loan and it is paid directly into your bank account in three instalments. The first instalment will be paid once your attendance at ASU London has been confirmed.

Checking your Eligibility

There is a handy calculator on the Student Finance website which you can use to check eligibility for student loans.

If you’re a student from the EU, you can find a useful guide to applying for student finance on the Student Room.

If you already have a higher education qualification, see our ELQ information below.

If you have any queries about your eligibility for student finance, you should check this with the relevant funding body as appropriate. We do not make decisions about eligibility for loans; the decision lies with the funding body directly.

Repaying your Loan

You’ll not be required to start repaying the loan amount until you are earning over a certain amount: Repaying your student loan – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Funding for Students with Equivalent or Lower Qualifications (ELQ)

If you are a ‘home’ student and already have a higher education qualification, you may not be eligible for funding for your tuition fees or living costs for ASU London’s programmes.

This is because the Office for Students does not provide funding for students taking a second qualification if it is equivalent to or lower than a qualification they have already achieved. Students in this situation are categorised as equivalent or lower qualifications (ELQ) students.

Please note that if you are in receipt of the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) you are normally still eligible for funding.

Universities can ask ELQ students to pay the full cost of their tuition, at an amount determined by each individual university. Please note that ASU London will not charge additional fees for ELQ students joining in 2026.