New & Returning Students Advised to Apply for Student Finance Right Away

A significant increase has been noted in applications for student finance for the new academic year by more than 10 percent compared to last year, the non-profit making government-owned organization Student Loans Company (SLC) which provides loans and grants to students at higher education institutions across the United Kingdom, has revealed.

Through a statement, the Executive Director of Operations, Derek Ross, called on students to start applying online as soon as possible, saying this is the one simple step they must undertake so they can have their finance in place before the next academic year starts.

Ross added that SLC’s role in enabling access to further higher education is important more than ever, and it is SLC’s responsibility to make sure students have financial sustainability and help them achieve their academic goals.

“We are looking very carefully at how the increasing applicant numbers may impact on the delivery of our services this year. Undoubtably, the high volume of students coming through the system will put pressure on us,” Ross said.

He added that applications are open to undergraduate students in England and students in Wales who are permitted to apply from late April. If students manage to apply before the deadlines, which are May 21 for new students and June 25 for returning students, the latter might have their finance in place at the start of their studies.

“Students should apply now even if they are unsure what course they will be doing or what university they will attend. If students wait for a confirmed offer before applying for student finance, it may be too late to have student finance in place by term start,” Ross further explained.

He said that students are not obliged to contact SLC to check their status of the application, the processing of which usually takes six to eight weeks, as the company will contact them or their sponsors in case there is any additional information needed to support the applications or to inform the latter about their application status.

42.6 percent of all 18-year-olds applied for university by the January deadline, an increase from 39.5 percent last year, Universities and Colleges Service Admissions (UCAS) revealed.

Earlier, UCAS said that universities must offer positions to student applicants based on their academic performance and not predicted grades, while another UCAS study showed that 23 percent of final-year pupils planning to attend higher education in the UK prefer to pursue studies nearer home.