24+ Advanced Learning Loans

You can apply for a loan to pay your course fees.

Repayments don’t start until April 2016 and you won’t have to pay anything back until you’re earning over £21,000.

To qualify you'll need to be:

aged 24 and over on the first day of the course
a resident in the UK for 3 years prior to the start of the course
enrolling on a course at level 3 and above, such as: A levels, Access to HE Diplomas, other Diplomas and Certificates, Advanced Apprenticeships or Higher Apprenticeships

The loans are not means tested or credit checked - and any individual who meets the criteria will be able to apply for a loan whether they're employed or unemployed - the loan will then be paid directly to the college on your behalf. More about eligibility here.

Repayments

you do not pay any course fees up front
repayments do not start until April 2016
you pay back your loan (plus interest) when you’ve finished your course and start earning more than £21,000 a year
if your income drops below £21000 - loan repayments stop
each month you pay back 9% of any income over £21,000. For example, if you earn £25,000 a year your monthly repayments would be £30

More about repayments here.

If your loan is for an Access to Higher Education diploma and you progress to complete a Higher Education programme, you will not have to pay back your FE loan - it is written off!

How to apply

you’ll be able to apply online or by post from April 2013 for courses starting between 1 August 2013 and 31 July 2014
you’ll be able to apply even if your course has already started
you have to apply before it finishes
it can take up to five days to process an application (or 2 to 4 weeks if you apply by post)
you need a National Insurance number before any money can be paid.
you can still apply for a loan before you’ve got a National Insurance number
you need your passport details or another form of identity to apply - eg your birth certificate. Don’t send your passport

For more details about applying, contact student services - advice@warkscol.ac.uk

For apprenticeships the student and employer are expected to share the costs of the course, so the loan you would take out would only be for half the course cost.

View more 24+ Advanced Learning Loans Factsheet

View more 24+ Advanced Learning Loans FAQs

24+ Advanced Learning Loan Bursary Fund

View our full-time guide

View our part-time course guide

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