Latest News

Thinking of starting a course in 09/10?

Please note: applications for courses starting from September 2009 are not yet available.  You will be able to apply from February 2009.

Student Finance Direct will no longer be available after early February 2009.  You will be able to apply for student finance online from www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance.

Interest Rate Reduction for Income Contingent Loans

The interest rate payable on income based student loans has been reduced following the latest change to the Bank of England rate to 1.5% on Thursday 8th January. The new rate for income based student loans is 2.5% effective from the 9th of January until further notice. Interest is applied to loans from the date they are paid to you until they are repaid in full.

Why has it changed?

Student loans are not like commercial loans. They are subsidised by Government and attract a low cost interest rate. This interest rate is based on the annual March retail price index (RPI) or the highest base rate of a number of major banks plus 1%; whichever is lower.

To date, the RPI has always been the lower of the two. The reduced bank base rate plus 1% is now lower than the March 2008 RPI so we have presently adjusted the student loan rate to 2.5%.

Where you can get more information:

Student Loan Repayment Website

Student Finance Direct - essential maintenance

Due to essential maintenance our online services will be unavailable from 1pm Friday 6th February until 8am Monday 9th February. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Important information if you have recently changed your bank details.

Please login to your account and enter your new bank details as soon as possible.  This will allow us to pay your next Student Finance instalment to the correct account

Support your child or partner online

If you are the parent or partner of a student, you can support their application for finance using our online service.

For information, you can download our Step-by step guide to supporting a student online or watch our online demo

Register in order to apply online

Log in now to apply online if you have already registered

Beware of bogus emails

Student Finance Direct is aware of a number of email campaigns claiming to be Student Finance Direct. These bogus emails (phishing) may ask you to provide your security details. If you receive a suspicious email please forward it immediately to security @slc.co.uk.

Protecting you and your information is paramount to Student Finance Direct. Remember we will never email you asking for login or user details. It's easy to protect yourself online - to find out more about protecting your security, please visit our security information page