Students who choose not to receive student loans

Information on household income assessments for students who choose not to take out a Maintenance Loan. 

The information on this webpage pertains to full-time students only. Part-time students should see this webpage for information on the Part-Time Leeds Bursary. 

In order for the University to be able to determine your Leeds Bursary eligibility and entitlement, you will need to have your household income assessed by your Award Body. Depending upon your residency, your Award Body may be either Student Finance England (SFE), Student Finance Wales (SFW), Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI) or the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).

Some students may choose not to take out either a Maintenance Loan or Tuition Fee Loan. This might be for religious or other reasons. 

If you DO wish to apply for a Maintenance Loan, none of the subsequent information on this webpage applies to you.

It is still possible to be financially assessed by your award body if you do not wish to take out either a Maintenance Loan or Tuition Fee Loan.

For example, during the online application process Student Finance England should reply "No" to the question "Do you want to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan?"

And answer "Yes" to both "Do you want to apply for a Maintenance Loan?" and "Do you want to apply for the higher amount of Maintenance Loan?", but then specify zero in response to the question "How much Maintenance Loan do you want to borrow?"

If you answer "No" to both questions "Do you want to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan?" and "Do you want to apply for a Maintenance Loan?" the online application you will receive the message below informing you that your application will be deleted. 

For this reason, you should answer "Yes" to the question "Do you want to apply for a Maintenance Loan?" but then specify that the amount of Maintenance Loan you want to receive is zero. When you reach the page in the online application form asking you "How much Maintenance Loan do you want to borrow?" you will see the following two options: "I want to borrow the maximum Maintenance Loan" or "I want to borrow a specific amount". You should select the option "I want to borrow a specific amount" and write 0 (zero) in the "Amount" box. 

You should also answer "Yes" to the question "Do you want to apply for the higher amount of Maintenance Loan?" so that the online application form directs you to provide further information in relation to your household income. A typical student would also need information to be provided by their parents. The application process should let you know if this is the case, and let you know how your parents can provide this information.   

This should enable your online application form to be created, without needing to apply for either a Maintenance Loan or Tuition Fee Loan, and enable Student Finance England to make an assessment of your household income. 

Income assessments must be undertaken by your Award Body. The University does not undertake household income assessments for full-time students. This ensures that all students are assessed according to the same criteria and ensures fairness. Award Bodies are provided with guidance from HM Government on how to conduct income assessments. Please note that you must still meet the residency eligibility criteria for the loans, meaning that you could take out a Maintenance Loan if you wished. The residency criteria for Student Finance England students can be found here.