Student Finance during Placement Year

What's available to me during my placement year?

This depends on your home location. There are various branches of Student Finance across the UK that set their own rules, so not all entitlements are the same. Below, we have given the 2024/2025 yearly maintenance loan available for students during their placement year.

If you’re doing your placement year abroad, you should check with student finance directly.

Read below to find out more:

Student Finance England

Student Placement - £3,098

Students living at home - £2,324

Student placement in London - £4,350

Student Finance Scotland

You’ll qualify for the same level of student maintenance loan as normal, regardless of whether your placement is full or part-time.

Maintenance loans are means-tested (household income) and are up to £6,000 for young students and up to £8,000 for independent students.

You can use this very handy loan calculator to confirm how much you’ll receive.

Student Finance Wales

Student Placement - £5,575

Students living at home - £4,655

Student placement in London - £7,085

Scholarships

If you normally receive scholarship or bursary money through your university, you’ll keep receiving this. It’s worth confirming, too.

Some scholarships can be used as a tuition fee waiver for your placement year. If you receive any special support, it’s worth confirming this directly with the provider.

Type B Placements

Some of you might be doing unpaid placements, also known as type B placements. In that case – the amount of loan you’ll receive might be a lot higher. Type B placements are usually unpaid services in the following:

• Hospital or public service laboratory

• Local authority as relates to child health or welfare

• Prison, probation and aftercare services

• Public health functions

• Special Health Authority, NHS Committee Board

• UK Parliament.

It might also be worth speaking to your university financial services to see if they also offer any help for students on placement.

Do I still need to pay tuition fees?

You do indeed. Even though you won’t attend university or classes, a placement year is still very much considered part of your studies. However, the fees you pay will be a lot less.

For the academic year 2024/2025, tuition fees during placement can go up to £1,850 for home and EU students. If you’re an international student, the tuition fee can be around £3,828. This may change depending on your university and course.

Attending university for more than 10 weeks? You might need to pay the full tuition fee.

How do I apply for student finance for my placement year?

The great thing is, you don’t need to do anything out of the usual when applying for placement year student finance.

All you need to do is apply as normal. You’ll have the option to let Student Finance know that you’ll be on a placement year in the early stages of your application. And the clever people at Student Finance will work everything out.

If you’re doing a Type B placement, you’ll need to give Student Finance proof of this.

Make sure to start your application before your placement begins.

Budgeting during your placement year

So now you know what support you can get, but how do you actually budget it?

Well, first you will need to take into account how much you will be paid. Usually (and with every placement found on our website) you will be paid. However, in some circumstances, you won’t be.

If you are being paid, say £25k/per year, you will be paid around £1,770/per month after tax. This is really important to pay attention to as yes, you will be taxed on your new salary so make sure to take into account how much you will take home.

If you’re living away from home, most of this, or your maintenance loan, will likely go to rent and bills. Especially if you aren’t living in student housing and living alone.

You should be able to afford everything on your salary alone though, like most people do, so hopefully your maintenance loan will be more ‘fun’ money. But, it’s really important to keep on top of things as your placement year can be a great way to make your final year a little more comfy.