Not getting your student loan on time can be one of the most stressful things about starting university. After all, no one wants to be stuck in during Fresher’s Week because they can’t afford to go out.
The best way to ensure you get your money at the start of term is to apply for student finance as early as possible – don’t leave it until the last minute!
Even if you don’t know which university you’re going to it’s still worth applying for your student finance. You can use the details for your first choice university and then amend your options once you know which university you’re going to.
Here are some other situations you might find yourself in during Clearing:
If you think you’re going to be entered into Clearing don’t put off applying for finance until you know which university you’re going to. Amending your details for your course or university is really easy – just follow the “Make changes to your application” link on the “My Account” screen.
If you’ve got a university place through Clearing then the application deadline for student finance will have closed, but don’t panic.
You can still apply for student finance but it’s unlikely you’ll get it at the start of your course. The student finance bodies will do their best to get your money to you as close to the start of your course as possible but you need to apply ASAP.
Once your loan has been confirmed it’s really important that you sign and return the declaration form as quickly as possible, otherwise you won’t get any money.
When your declaration form has been received by the funding body they will do their best to get your money into your account within three days of your course starting. Unfortunately there’s no way of getting money before your course starts – it is meant to pay for university after all!