Studying Medicine: A Guide To Medical Student Finance

As a medical student in the UK, you will need to cover your living expenses and likely also tuition fees for your specific university. Both fees can vary in amount based on a number of factors, and there are many options available to relieve some of the financial responsibility through grants and bursaries, as well as loans.

 

Loans for students in the UK and how to apply for student finance

The medical school tuition fees differ depending on which UK nation you study in, whether you are a ‘home’ student (domiciled in one of the UK nations), an EU/EEA student or an international student, and whether medicine is your first degree or not.

In England, the tuition fees for home students are normally £9,250 a year. For EU/EEA students that have started their degree in the UK before August 1, 2021, the tuition fee will be the same as for home students, but for EU/EEA students starting their degree in the UK after this date, the tuition fees will be similar to those set for international students. International students’ tuition fees vary between different universities, and they can vary anywhere between £10,000-£50,000 a year.

Medical degrees are usually around £30,000-£40,000 a year. International students do not have the option to take out an official tuition or maintenance loan, and neither do EU/EEA students starting university after 1, Aug 2021.

 

England

There are three main organisations that offer funding to medical students in England: Student Loan Company (SLC), the university you attend, and the NHS. The SLC offers tuition fee loans, means-tested (based on household income and other individual factors) maintenance loan, and other funds for example for disabled students. Each university offers several grants, hardship funds, learning funds, and scholarships available for students to apply for/request.

Additionally, the NHS offers tuition fee bursaries to undergraduate students in NHS funded courses (medicine and dentistry) from their 5th year of study (including intercalated year), and postgraduate students in NHS funded courses from the 2nd year of their programme. The NHS also offers non-means tested grants, hardship grants and other help with funding. NHS funding depends on the UK nation you are in.

To get a tuition and/or a maintenance fee loan in England if you are eligible, you must apply through Student Finance England.

 

Wales

In Wales, tuition funding is provided mainly by Student Finance Wales, alongside several other grants and bursaries, including: a Welsh Government Learning Grant; a Special Support Grant intended to help with textbook and equipment costs; a means-tested Maintenance Loan offered by Student Finance Wales; and NHS funding subject to the same eligibility criteria as the NHS bursaries in England.

 

Scotland

Scottish students apply to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) regardless of where in the UK they study. Scottish students studying in Scotland do not have to pay for tuition during their first degree, the fees being covered by SAAS. To have your tuition fully funded by SAAS, you must apply for a tuition loan through the SAAS website every year, prior to the start of the academic year. The payments are sent directly to the university. Scottish students studying in the UK but outside of Scotland may be required to pay tuition fees but SAAS will usually provide a loan to cover these expenses. 

There are several bursary schemes available for students in Scotland, including: young students’ bursary; independent students’ bursary; Scottish graduate entry return of service bursary; and more.

 

Northern Ireland

Northern Irish students receive financial support throughout their studies primarily from Student Finance NI, but as usual there are other organisations that may provide funding subject to eligibility. Each university will offer several of their own grants, bursaries, and scholarships and students studying medical or dental courses will be able to apply for funding from the Department of Health NI from their 5th year of studies onwards. A Student Support Fund is available to those who struggle financially during their studies. Graduate entry medical and dental students are not eligible for Department of Health NI tuition funds, but they can still apply for support with living costs.

 

International students

Tuition and maintenance loans from UK organisations (SLC, SAAS, Student Finance NI, Student Finance Wales) are not available to international students and will no longer be available for EU/EEA students starting their degree in the UK after Aug 2021.

As an international or EU/EEA student, you may still be eligible to receive some grants, bursaries or other funds offered by your university or other institutions, and it is advised to check with your university’s student union welfare office to find out what financial help you may be eligible for.

If you are not eligible for any funds from your university, the British Council offers guidance to scholarship and financial support for international students to which you may apply through the British Council office in your respective country. If your country does not have a British Council office, you are not eligible for their fund but you can enquire at the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) about any other means of financial support you may be entitled to.

 

How long does a student loan last and what it will cover?

A tuition loan usually covers the entire cost of tuition for your degree, and the money will be sent directly to your university. Maintenance loans, on the other hand, are means-tested, meaning that the amount you receive depends not only on the country you study in, but also on your living situation and your household income.

For example, students from a lower income household (~£20,000-£30,000 per annum) living away from home and living in London (extra funding is given to students situated in London due to higher living expenses) will receive a bigger maintenance loan than those from higher-income households living at home, or even living away from home but not in London.

England only offers maintenance loans that must be paid back eventually, while NI, Wales, and Scotland all offer maintenance loans in combination with maintenance grants, which do not need to be paid off. These are applied for and received together.

Students in worse financial situations will likely receive a higher proportion of maintenance funding as a grant, while students in better financial conditions usually receive more funding in the form of loans and only a smaller proportion, if any, as a grant.

Students apply for the loans they are eligible for and want to take every year before the start of the academic session. Any change in a students’ financial situation that is reported to the university/the organisation offering funding will prompt immediate reassessment of entitlements for funding to ensure all students are adequately supported.

The minimum and maximum maintenance funding in each UK nation is summarised in the table below:

Country	Maximum Maintenance funding	Minimum Maintenance funding
England	£12,328	£3,516
Northern Ireland (loan + grant)	£8,368	£3,750
Scotland (loan + grant)	£7,750	£4,750
Wales (loan + grant)	£12,930	£8,790

Repaying your loan - how does student finance work

When and how you repay your loan depends on what repayment plan you are on. You do not choose your repayment plan, instead there are 4 repayment plans with set criteria specifying whether you qualify for that plan or not. The plans are as follows:

Plan 1:

• English and Welsh students who started an undergraduate course in the UK before September 2012

• NI students who started undergraduate curse in the UK on or after September 1998

• EU students who started an undergraduate course in England or Wales on or after 1 Sept 1998 but before 1 Sept 2012

• EU students who started an undergraduate or postgraduate course in NI on or after 1 Sept 1998

• On this plan you only repay the loan when your gross income (before tax and deductions) is over £382 a week, £1,657 a month, or £19,895 per annum

Plan 2:

• English or Welsh students who started an undergraduate course in the UK on or after 1 Sept 2012

• EU students who started an undergraduate course in England or Wales on or after 1 September 2012

• Someone who took an Advanced Learner Loan on or after 1 Aug 2013

• On this plan you only repay the loan when your gross income is over £524 a week, £2,274 a month, or £27,295 a year

Plan 3 - Postgraduate loan repayment plan

• English or Welsh students who took out a Postgraduate Master’s Loan on or after 1 Aug 2016

• English or Welsh students who took out a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan on or after 1 Aug 2018

• EU students who started a postgraduate course on or after 1 Aug 2016

• You only repay when your gross income is over £404 a week, £1,750 a month or £21,000 a year. 

Plan 4

• Scottish students who started an undergrad or postgrad course anywhere in the UK on or after 1 Sept 1998

• EU students who started an undergraduate or postgraduate course in Scotland on or after 1 September 1998

• You only repay the loan when your gross income is over £480 a week, £2,083 a month or £25,000 a year

On plans 1, 2, and 4 you repay 9% of the amount you earn over the income threshold. On a Postgraduate Loan plan, you repay 6% of the amount you earn over the income threshold. Interest starts being added to your loan after your first repayment.

 

How to estimate the amount of your loan

To estimate the amount of maintenance loan and other extra funds you may receive, such as funds for student parents, or disabled students, you can use online calculators available for each UK nation on the respective websites of their finance organisations: saas.gov.uk for Scotland, gov.uk for England, studentfinancewales.co.uk for Wales, and studentfinanceni.co.uk for Northern Ireland.