What going to college costs and how you can pay for it

Fees, loans and, grants are a complex area, writes Liz Stuart.

Rules on student funding have already been altered in Scotland, with more changes to come. So just who is entitled to what and when - and how much will the alumni-to-be have to pay for their studies?

If you are English, Welsh or Northern Irish and starting a university course in England, Wales or Northern Ireland this September, you will have to pay £1,050 towards the cost of your course fees, regardless of whether you are going to take up church studies or astrophysics. This effectively means you pay an average of £1 in every £7.50 of the course fee.

This, however, is means tested - if your gross family income is below £17,805 you will pay nothing, and if it is between this and £33,000 you make a contribution on a sliding scale. According to the government, this means around one third of students will pay the full fee, a third pay something and a third pay nothing at all.

Although the days of highly subsidised student life are long gone, loans are available to students with no interest payable until after graduation - known as, unsurprisingly, the student loan. The maximum loan under this arrangement for the coming academic year will be £4,590, for a student living away from home and studying in London. This goes down to £3,725 for students outside London and to just £2,950 for those who opt to live with their parents during the academic year.

Loans must be applied for at least one calender month before the course starts. If you are going to study abroad, different loan levels are available. Repayment will need to start when you earn more than £10,000 a year before tax.

There are some other forms of financial support available on a non-repayable basis, however. If you are a single parent and a student you may claim additional benefit, for instance. If you have dependants - children or a spouse or, if you are over 25, a co-habiting partner - you will also be entitled to benefit. The amount is means tested on the dependant's income.

Hardship loans are also available, although these cannot be relied on as the money is granted at the discretion of the Student Loan Company and the biggest sum is just £500. This is offered to students who have applied for the maximum loan and received at least one instalment. This will also have to be repaid in the future; the same repayment scheme applies as for the standard student loan.

If you have to attend college for longer than the usual term time of 30 weeks you are entitled to an additional payment. This is £45 a week for those living at home, £86 for students living away from home and studying in London and £65 for those away from home outside the capital.

Mature students and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds may also apply for a discretionary access bursary. These are granted by individual universities and do not have to be repaid. The maximum available is £1,000. As each institution will only be able to offer a limited number of these, you should apply as quickly as possible.

Scottish students, meanwhile, are at a distinct advantage to their English and Welsh counterparts. Those who opt to study in their own country can tap into a means-tested loan of up to £3,725 as well as a non-means tested one of up to £1,745 if they are to live in halls or digs or £1,165 if they stay in the parental home. The income threshold for means testing is £17,805. They are also exempt from course fees.

Scottish students who opt to study south of the border are subject to the same loan and fee rules as their English and Welsh counterparts.

"We are delighted that the Scottish executive decided to abolish tuition fees, although we are still concerned about student hardship," says a spokesman from NUS Scotland. Although the overall financing packages for students have increased in line with inflation, the NUS calculates that there will still be a substantial shortfall between money available and the expenses students will face. For the next year the cash gap will be £3,300 for students outside London, rising to £4,000 for those at college in the capital.

According to research by Barclays, graduate debt continues to rise - by 17% last year and by more than 100% since 1994, although, according to NatWest, one in five students are still graduating with no debt at all. The average amount owed to the Stu dent Loan Company, banks, credit card providers and parents is now £4,497 for a person who has just left college. Coupled with a decline in the average graduate salary, this is worrying news for students.

The DfEE publishes a leaflet Financial Support for Higher Education Students in 2000/2001, which is available by calling 0800-731-9133 or see the website www.dfee.gov.uk For the Student Loan Company tel 0800-405010.