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Continuing students in 2008/2009: will you get the full grant?

The maximum grant is £2,835. The full grant is available to students who are continuing with a full-time course in 2008/2009, and who have a household income of £18,360 or under.

Working out how much you’ll get for 2008/2009

You’ll be able to get at least a partial grant if your household income is £39,305 or under.

Exactly how much is available depends on your household income - check the table below for an idea of what you’ll get.

Maintenance Grant: effect on other financial help

If you’re getting a higher level of Maintenance Grant, it’s assumed that you won’t need to borrow as much through the Student Loan for Maintenance. To reflect this, some of the Maintenance Grant is paid instead of the Student Loan for Maintenance.

If you get £1,260 or more of Maintenance Grant, the amount you can borrow through your loan will be reduced by £1,260.

This means that if you come from a lower income household, you’ll have a smaller loan to repay when you finish studying and start work.

The table below has some example figures to give you an idea of how much help you could get towards accommodation and other living costs through the Maintenance Grant and Student Loan for Maintenance.

Example figures based on a student, not in his or her final year, who is living away from home and studying outside London in 2008/2009

You’ll be able to get 75 per cent of the maximum Student Loan for Maintenance available to you no matter what your household income is. Whether you get the remaining 25 per cent depends on an ‘income assessment’.

• Full-time students: how income assessment works

Special Support Grant: effect on other financial help

Unlike the Maintenance Grant, the Special Support Grant doesn’t reduce the amount you can borrow through the Student Loan for Maintenance. If your household income is £39,780 or less, you will be eligible for the full Student Loan for Maintenance - irrespective of how much Special Support Grant you get.

Any money you get through the Special Support Grant won’t be counted as income when working out your entitlement to benefits or tax credits.

What’s available for new students in 2008/2009?

The level of grant available at a particular level of income is different for students starting their first year in 2008/2009 – though the maximum grant is the same.

Follow the link below to get an idea of what’s available if you’re a new student in 2008/2009.

• Maintenance Grant and Special Support Grant: rates for new students 2008/2009

Back to the main page on ‘Maintenance Grant: help with living costs’

• Maintenance Grant: help with living costs