Students in England should still apply for student finance

The deadline for new full-time undergraduate students in England to apply for student finance passed last Friday. As anticipated, we have seen an incredibly strong demand for our service with application levels reaching record highs. Our team are now hard at work processing applications to ensure that students who applied before the deadline have their funding in place when their studies begin.

There will be some applicants who may have missed the deadline and our advice is not to worry. They should still apply online now and if they are eligible, they will receive a basic funding package at the start of term. A top up payment will be made as soon as their full application is processed.

The significant rise in the number of applications received this year does present us with some challenges, particularly as we continue to prioritise the health and safety of colleagues by enabling them to work remotely.

We are currently experiencing a very high volume of calls and some callers are having to wait longer than we would like to speak to us. We know how frustrating this can be and are therefore asking students to follow the advice below:

• Try and find an answer to your question online first. – Please only call us if you really need to as this will help free up our advisers to assist those applicants who need extra support. There is also an option to message us directly via SFE’s Twitter and Facebook channels although this service is also very busy right now.
• Remember it can take 6 to 8 weeks to process an application – There is no need to contact us during this time as we will be in touch if we need anything further. Applicants can also check their application status online and view a ‘to do list’ of any outstanding actions they need to take.
• Submit any evidence we ask for – We have published guidance and a short video which explains how to do this. However, we would ask that to avoid delays, only the evidence we specifically request is submitted.
• Take advantage of the information and resources provided online – These resources are continually updated to respond to the needs of students and their parents and partners as they progress through the application cycle. Students should visit our FAQs and follow SFE on social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to stay up to date with the very latest information.

In the coming months we look forward to delivering improvements that will make it easier for students and their parents and partners to self-serve without having to contact us. I would like to thank all those who use our services for their continued patience as we work towards providing student finance to more students than ever before in the 2021/22 academic year.

Returning students should apply now for student finance at https://studentfinance.campaign.gov.uk. The deadline for returning students is 25 June.