If you need to update your student finance to reflect a change made during Clearing, we're here to help.
Clearing and student finance
If you're going to fund your university studies with a UK student loan, make sure your loan application fits your Clearing choice. We’ll walk you through how to update your student finance application after Clearing.
Applying for student loans
A UK student loan will help you pay your tuition fees and living costs. The Government provides these loans and you’ll need to apply for them before the start of your course.
If you have any questions about the process our student finance team will be happy to help.
Changing student finance after Clearing
If you've already applied for student finance and then changed your course or university through Clearing, you'll need to update this in your student finance application.
Changing your student finance application is different from updating your UCAS application. To help you, we’ve listed the steps below.
How to change your student finance application
If you're from England and studying full-time, you’ll need to do the following:
- Sign in to your online account
- Click ‘Undergraduate student finance applications’
- Select the application you wish to change
- Under the heading ‘Manage your student finance’, click ‘View and manage your applications’
- Click ‘Change your application’ and then click again
- Click ‘University/college and course’
- Click ‘Submit’ once you’ve entered and confirmed your changes
Student Finance England will re-assess your application and contact you if there are any changes to the amount you'll get.
If you're from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man you’ll need to update your details through your local government or education authority:
If you're a part-time student or from the EU you'll need to complete a change of circumstance form, which you can submit online or by post.
How to update your living situation
If your living situation has also changed due to the course you've chosen through Clearing, you'll need to update this on your student finance application.
For example, if you originally applied for a university close to home and planned to live with your parents, but your Clearing choice means you'll now be living away from home (or vice versa) this will need to be updated on your application.
If you're from England, you can do this at the same time as you update your course or university via Student Finance England. If you're studying part-time or you're from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man or the EU please consult the instructions above.
Not yet applied for student finance?
If you’ve not applied for a UK student loan yet, do it as soon as you can – it only takes 30 minutes.
All you need to enter in your application is your first choice of university. If you decide to change your course or university through Clearing, you can make changes as stated above.
A student finance application can take at least six weeks to process, so you might not get all your money in time for the start of your course if you leave your student loan application until after Clearing. However, Student Finance England does its best to give you some of your loan as close to the start of your course as possible.
Supporting your child or partner through their student finance application? The Student Loans company has a great article on supporting them in three easy steps. We also have information on how to support your child through Clearing.
Need more information before applying?
If you haven't applied for a UK Student Loan yet, our guide to student loans has more advice on the difference between tuition fees and maintenance loans, how you'll repay your loans, and your eligibility.
