Am I eligible for a Maintenance Loan if I already have a degree?

Sometimes yes. Mature students who already hold a degree may still be eligible for maintenance support on certain courses, especially in subjects such as Nursing, Healthcare, Teaching, STEM and other shortage-skills areas, subject to the previous study rules.

Maintenance Loan for mature students (UK) 2025/26

Mihai Flueraru

December 8, 2025

This page covers everything you need to know about Maintenance Loans for mature students in the UK.

If you are a mature student and you want to go to university, you probably have one big question:

“How much money will I get to live on?”

The good news is that Student Finance England offers a Maintenance Loan — a monthly living-cost loan for all eligible adults.
This guide explains everything in simple language, using examples and step-by-step explanations.

Start now → Student Finance Calculator

What is the maintenance loan?

The Maintenance Loan is the money Student Finance sends to YOU, not to the university.
It is meant to help with:

Rent
food
transport
bills
childcare (in some cases)
day-to-day living costs

Think of it like this:
The Tuition Fee Loan pays the university
The Maintenance Loan helps you live while you study

You do not need savings.
You do not need perfect credit.
You do not need to repay until you earn over the threshold.

Eligibility for maintenance loan as a mature student

The Maintenance Loan has three main rules:

1. Age

You must be under 60 on the first day of your academic year.
If you’re 60 or over, you can still get a smaller amount (listed in the table below).

2. Residency

You usually qualify if you are:

UK citizen
Settled Status
Pre-settled Status (with work history)
ILR
Refugee / Humanitarian protection
Irish citizen
EU with retained worker status

For pre-settled students:
You normally need to work and earn around £850 per month to maintain “right to reside.”

3. Course type

You must study:

Full-time degree
Full-time Foundation Year
Full-time HNC/HND (in most cases)

Part-time students normally receive 50% of the maintenance loan that a full-time student receives.

How is paid the maintenance loan?

It is sent directly into your bank account, not to your university.

You receive the money in 3 instalments each year, usually every 3 months.

For example, let’s assume you’re starting university in September:

The first instalment is released in September
Second one in January
The third one in April

The exact dates depend on your university.

Example:

Maria receives £12,600 in total.
Student Finance splits it like this:

September: £4,200
January: £4,200
April: £4,200

She can use this money for rent, travel, food, childcare, or anything related to living costs.

How much money will you get through the maintenance loan?

The amount depends on:

Where you study (in London, or outside London)
Your age
Your household income
Your residency status (settled vs pre-settled)
Whether you live with parents
Whether you live alone or with a partner

Below is the official table.

Living situation	2024–25	2025–26 academic year
Living with your parents	Up to £8,610	Up to £8,877
Living away from parents, outside London	Up to £10,227	Up to £10,544
Living away from parents, in London	Up to £13,348	Up to £13,762
Spending a year abroad	Up to £11,713	Up to £12,076
If you are 60 or over	Up to £4,327	Up to £4,461

These are the maximum amounts.
Your personal amount depends on household income.

What if the maintenance loan isn’t enough for a mature student?

Before we dive in, it is important to know that you can also apply for a Tuition fee loan or other grants.
Think of it like this:

If your household earns less money, Student Finance gives you more.
If your household earns more money, Student Finance gives you less.

What is “household income”?

It depends on your situation:

If you are a British citizen or you have settled status:

You live alone → only YOUR income does not count, and you’ll get the maximum amount
You live with a partner → your partner’s income counts
You’re under 25, and you live with your parents → your parents’ income counts

If you have pre-settled status:

You must work regularly
You must earn around £850/month
Your partner’s income will count if you live together

The exact amount depends on your personal circumstances, and to make your life easie,r we’ve created a calculator. Find out how much you could get in under 3 minutes with our Student Finance Calculator.

Maintenance loan for 2025/26

The amounts for 2025/26 increased in line with inflation (see table above).
This helps mature students manage higher living costs.

Maintenance loan in the future

For students starting in 2026/27, the Maintenance Loan will increase again based on inflation and government adjustments.

What if the maintenance loan isn’t enough for a mature student?

Many mature students worry that the Maintenance Loan won’t cover everything — especially in London or for parents.

Here are other sources of support:

1. Tuition fee loan

Covers 100% of your tuition fees, separate from maintenance.

2. Grants for parents (non-repayable):

Childcare Grant
Parents’ Learning Allowance (PLA)
Adult Dependant Grant (ADG)
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) (if applicable)

3. Universal Credit (in some cases)

Some students can receive UC while studying, depending on parent status, disability, or being a carer.

What is Long course loan?

The Long Course Loan is extra money for students whose course runs for a long time each year (e.g., Nursing, Healthcare, some clinical degrees).

You receive an additional amount on top of your normal Maintenance Loan.

How to apply for student maintenance loan as a mature student

Account → details → evidence → submit → track → enrolment

The application is simple once your documents are ready. However, if you have pre-settled status, Student Finance could ask you to apply through post, which means that you’ll need to download the PN1 form, fill it up, and send this together with your evidence by Special Delivery to Student Finance.

Step 1 — Create your Student Finance account

Go to gov.uk/student-finance and register.

Step 2 — Add your personal details

Address, residency, partner/parent details if needed.

Step 3 — Upload evidence

This usually includes: