Does government still pay for university student tuition fees for single parents?

LiveOnce

Hi all,

Does government still pay for university student tuition fees for single parents?

I had a look at the .gov website but its so confusing!

Ed-1

LiveOnce wrote: »

Hi all,

Does government still pay for university student tuition fees for single parents?

I had a look at the .gov website but its so confusing!

Tuition fees haven't been means tested since 2005. Instead you can now take out a tuition fee loan to cover the full tuition fee which is then subject to the same repayment conditions as maintenance loans (i.e. 9% of income above a repayment threshold for x amount of years and then written off).

LiveOnce

Ed-1 wrote: »

Tuition fees haven't been means tested since 2005. Instead you can now take out a tuition fee loan to cover the full tuition fee which is then subject to the same repayment conditions as maintenance loans (i.e. 9% of income above a repayment threshold for x amount of years and then written off).

So ultimately it still has to be repaid? the government won't pay for tuition fee on your behalf?

Ed-1

LiveOnce wrote: »

So ultimately it still has to be repaid? the government won't pay for tuition fee on your behalf?

They won't pay it up front. Whether it eventually gets repaid depends on whether the graduate earns enough over the repayment period for the loan as tuition fee loans and maintenance loans get added together to create an overall loan balance. Repayments are taken through the tax system at a rate of 9% of a graduate's earnings over the threshold of £21000 regardless of the loan balance. This continues for 30 years. Anything not repaid by then gets written off by government (so the government could end up paying the tuition fee but you won't know for 30 years...).

35% of the maximum maintenance loan is means tested.

gayleygoo

Where are you OP? If you live in N.Ireland, you can get your Open University fees paid if your household income is under £26k. It doesn't apply in England, and not sure about Wales or Scotland though.

immoral_angeluk

Pretty sure OU funding has stopped now for everyone after cuts. That's what I was told last year when I enquired anyway.