Are you aged 19 or over? You might be eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan to support some of your course fees! ✨
These loans are available to students who are 19 or over at the start of their full- or part-time Level 3 or above course. They can be used to cover either the entire total of your tuition fees, or to pay for part of them.
Most learners aged 19 or over who are studying at Level 3 to 6 are eligible to apply for these loans from the UK government. Your household income does not influence your ability to apply, and there’s no credit check required.
You also won’t have to pay anything back until you reach the repayment threshold. You can find out more about repayments via Student Finance England.
Key things to know about the Advanced Learner Loan 👇
- An Advanced Learner Loan can be taken out to pay the full or partial amount of a course’s tuition fees
- The minimum amount you can borrow is £300
- Your household income does not limit the amount you can borrow
- There’s no credit check involved in the application
- Interest on the loan is linked to inflation
- After 40 years, any loan amount that has yet to be repaid will be written off
How the Advanced Learner Loan is paid
Student Finance England (SFE) pay your tuition fees to the college once your course has started and we’ve confirmed your attendance on it. Your loan will then start to accrue from this date.
You’ll only start repaying the loan in the April after you’ve finished your course, once you reach the repayment threshold. You can find out more about this on the Government’s Student Loan page.
Additional bursary available for Advanced Learner Loan applicants at NHC
The Advanced Learner Loan Discretionary Bursary entitles eligible applicants to support with the cost of travelling to college, essential kit/equipment, and childcare.
To be eligible for the Advanced Learner Loan Discretionary Bursary, you will be:
- An approved Advanced Learner Loan applicant from Student Finance England
- Able to evidence a gross household income of £35,000 per annum or below.
To find out more about how bursaries at NHC works, please visit our Financial Support & Bursaries page.
Applying for an Access to Higher Education course?
If you apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to study an Access to Higher Education course at NHC, and you successfully complete an undergraduate degree after your course, your Advanced Learner Loan will be written off.
This means that you’ll not only have a Bachelor’s degree under your belt – you’ll also no longer need to make repayments on your Advanced Learner Loan.
Applying for a degree-level course?
If you’re starting a Higher Education degree-level course at North Hertfordshire College, you can apply to Student Finance England for a full tuition loan to help pay for your studies.
If you’re starting a full-time degree-level course with us, you can also apply for additional funding (like maintenance loans) to help you with living costs while you are studying.
You can find out more about these loan options by visiting www.gov.uk/student-finance.
Frequently asked questions
To be eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan, you need to meet the following criteria:
- Be aged 19 or over at the start of your course
- Be enrolling on an eligible Level 3, 4, 5, or 6 qualification
- This includes our BTECs and Access to Higher Education diplomas
- For more information about qualification levels, please visit our online guide to qualification levels.
Typically, you must also:
- Be living in the UK on the first day of your course
- Have been a resident of the UK, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man for 3 years.
Before starting your course, you must also:
- Be a UK national or have ‘settled status’, meaning there’s no restrictions on how long you can stay in the country.
Applications for an Advanced Learner Loan are made through the UK Government’s website, rather than directly through North Hertfordshire College.
Before you start your application, you need to have received a Learning and Funding Information Letter from our team. You’ll receive this once you’ve been accepted onto one of our courses.
You can access the online application form by clicking the button below.
Start Advanced Learner Loan Application
Need further help with applying for the Advanced Learner Loan?
Our team can support you through the application process – simply contact admissions@nhc.ac.uk with details about the course you’re applying to and we’ll get in touch with you to arrange assistance.
The amount of money you can borrow through the Advanced Learner Loan depends on the course you’ve applied for and how much the course fees are.
The minimum loan you can receive is £300. The maximum amount you can receive will be explained in your Learning and Funding Letter from the College.
We recommend the following resources to help you find more information about the Advanced Learner Loan and your funding options:
Our friendly admissions team can support you in applying for the Advanced Learner Loan.
If you would like help in your application, please contact us via admissions@nhc.ac.uk with details about the course you’re applying to, and our team will get in touch to arrange assistance.