If you’ve applied elsewhere and want to change to a different university, you will need to update the Student Loan Company with this information.

You can do this through your Student Loan Company application portal.

You don’t need to wait until you get an offer from a university to apply for student finance – apply as soon as possible.

When you apply for student finance, you can choose the university you have applied to study at and your chosen course.

Once you have an offer, you can then update your finance application to confirm your offer-holder status.

Tuition Fee Loan

Eligible students are able to get a Tuition Fee Loan from the government, which helps to pay the course fee.  This is available to students studying an undergraduate degree or Foundation Degree.

You can request a loan which covers the whole of the fee or just part of the fee.  You will need to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan each year of your course.

The Tuition Fee Loan is paid directly from the Student Loans Company to the University.

Maintenance Loan

It is also possible to get a maintenance loan which helps with the cost of living (e.g. rent, food, course materials, etc).  How much you can get depends on your circumstances (e.g. household income) and whether you choose to live in the parental home.

Students from lower income households receive more financial support.  You can get an idea of how much support is available to you using the student finance calculator.

The maintenance loan is paid to the student in three instalments in the academic year:

• September: about a week after registering on your course
• January: when you return from the Christmas / winter holiday
• April: when you return from the Easter / spring holiday

You can find out more about student finance on our Funding and Advice page.

You can find out more about student finance on our Funding and Advice page.

• Familiarise yourself with the funding which is available to students
• Check that you are getting the maximum level of funding available to you (or email studentmoney@chi.ac.uk)
• If you need or want to supplement your income with part-time employment, our Careers & Employability Service may be able to help you find work.
• If you have children or a disability, claim benefits during your study.
• Open student bank accounts with overdrafts if you are starting a full-time undergraduate course. These can be a useful resource but it is important to remember that this is a way of borrowing money from a bank and you will need to pay it back (usually after you finish the course).
• For students who are experiencing financial difficulty, the University has a Support Fund and an emergency loan facility.  Please see the information on our Money advice: money worries help page for more information on these and how to apply.

Funding from Student Finance England is usually paid in three instalments in September (a week after registering), January and April.

If you’re eligible, the Support Package/Chichester Bursary is paid in one instalment early in the second Semester.

The licence period for most of the University Halls of Residence is 37 weeks and the payment schedule is in line with when funding from Student Finance England is scheduled to arrive.

Private rented accommodation contracts are usually for 12 calendar months but it is often better to plan to use your student funding to help with the nine months of the academic year and use earnings from summer employment to pay for three months during the summer.

You will need to plan for the essential expenditure first (such as paying for accommodation and food) and then you can calculate how much you have left for non-essentials (such as going out!)