Money

Managing your money can seem daunting, but with a bit of preparation you can minimise financial worries and maximise your enjoyment of student life.

Follow our checklist of useful things that you can do now: 

If you have any questions, we are here to help: contact us.

Graphic with the text 'Time to enrol' and a clock

Make it official

When you enrol online you become a Brighton student and get access to My Studies, My Brighton, your welcome timetable + loads more!

Need help? Visit our online tasks page for more info, or call our onboarding helpline: 01273 644 454

Meet other new students like you with Unibuddy community and join our pre-arrival online events.

Enrol online now

Make or update your student finance application

Undergraduate

You should apply for student finance without delay, if you have not already done so and you are:

  • a UK (United Kingdom) national
  • normally a resident in England
  • living in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for three continuous years before the first day of your course.

Other UK nationals may be eligible for full support.

This list is not exhaustive as there are other categories of eligibility for full support, so please check the complete list on the Student Finance website.

EU students starting a course on or after 1 August 2021 usually must have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get student finance. We strongly advise you to use the Student Finance online calculator to check your entitlement before you apply.

Irish citizens may be eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan only if they were:

  • resident in the UK, Gibraltar, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland for three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the course and
  • remained ordinarily resident in the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA or Switzerland between the end of the transition period (31 December 2020) and the first day of the first academic year of the course.

If your choice of university has changed since you first applied

You need to advise Student Finance as soon as possible if your choice of university has changed since your original UCAS application. You should log into your Student Finance account before you start your course. It takes approximately 6 weeks to process an application.

For more information about finance and loans visit the Student Finance website.

When will I receive my student finance

Assuming your application has been assessed and approved, your Maintenance Loan can take 3-5 days from the start of term to reach your chosen bank account, so please be prepared for financial delays. We recommend that you make sure you have sufficient funds in your bank account when you arrive to cover your rent, food, study, travel and entertainment costs for 2-4 weeks at the start of term in case there are any delays in receiving your student finance.

The Tuition Fee Loan is paid direct to the university later in the term.

Postgraduate

You can apply for a postgraduate masters loan from Student Finance. This is a contribution towards your tuition fees and living costs.

Postgraduate students on eligible PGCE courses and postgraduate pre-registration healthcare courses should apply for the undergraduate student finance package, even though you are studying for a postgraduate course.

England domicile postgraduate students can borrow up to a maximum of £12,471, which will be paid in three equal instalments across the academic year.

Further details on what is available and eligibility can be found on the Student Finance website. Applications for postgraduate loans are now open.

If you are currently receiving Universal Credit or other DWP benefits, please contact us for more advice and information regarding the relationship between student finance and benefits.

Bursaries

If you are eligible for the full undergraduate Student Finance England package of tuition loan and maintenance loan you may be eligible for one of our bursaries. You will need to meet our bursary criteria based on your household income of up to £25,000 per year or if you are a care leaver or estranged student.

You do not need to apply for a bursary – your details are passed on to the university automatically by Student Finance England once you receive confirmation of your eligibility for the tuition fee and maintenance loan package. Bursaries are paid in two instalments in January and in May.

If Student Finance have assessed you as a care leaver or estranged Student, please contact the Student Advice team who will ask to see evidence of this assessment and notify our Bursaries team. Your first instalment of one of these bursaries will be awarded as soon as we can verify this assessment and the second instalment will be paid in May.

If your personal or financial circumstances change at any point in the academic year, please contact the Student Advice team who can check you eligibility for additional funding including bursaries.

Two students working at computers

Healthcare courses

If you are starting an eligible pre-registration undergraduate or postgraduate healthcare degree, you should apply for funding from the NHS Learning Support Fund.

If you’re eligible, you can get:

  • a Training Grant of £5,000 per academic year
  • Additional £1,000 per academic year for specialist subjects such as mental health or podiatry
  • parental support of £2,000, if you have at least one dependent child under 15 years, or under 17 years if registered with special educational needs
  • reimbursement of excess costs incurred on practice placement for travel and temporary accommodation costs (Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses)
  • students experiencing financial hardship (Exceptional Support Fund).

Find out more about the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Open a student bank account

Your maintenance loan or other funding will be paid into your chosen bank account, so it makes sense to have an account organised before you arrive.

  • Look for student accounts with benefits that suit you.
  • Remember to take ID and confirmation of student status – your acceptance letter

If you have applied for student finance, make sure that the company you applied to has your correct bank details. If you are an EU or international student, please be aware that it may take several weeks to open a UK bank account after you have enrolled on your course. You need to make sure you have money for this period by making arrangements similar to those you make if you are going on holiday abroad, like using travellers cheques or a credit or cash card.

Most students use two accounts such as one student account and one savings or current account as this helps with budgeting for things like rent which may be due at a later date. The university does not endorse particular banks so we recommend using reliable sites such as Save the Student to help you.

Apply for your TOTUM card, powered by NUS Extra

A TOTUM student discount card costs £14.99 per year and entitles you to 300+ top brand student discounts both online and in-store.

Visit the Totum website for full details of offers and to apply for a TOTUM card.

NUS logo

Start a budget

Try to make a budget before you start your course – calculate your income and expenses and work out what your weekly or monthly income and outgoings are.

Budgeting isn't just about seeing how much money you will need to pay for your food, travel and rent – it's a really good way of working out how much you can spend on the things you enjoy.

You can contact the Student Advice Team for helpful advice and tips and we can offer you a one to one appointment to help you work out a sustainable and manageable budget.

You can keep up to date with financial advice and news on My Brighton via Support.

Do the numbers add up?

If your income is the same as or more than your outgoings, it looks like you've got things covered – stick to the budget and you'll be fine.

If your income is less than your outgoings, your money may not last until the end of term. Are there ways to cut back on your spending or increase your income, for example through a part-time job?

If your loan assessment has been based on your parent/parents’ income and you are not getting the maximum available, it is worthwhile sitting down and talking things with them through before you start as they may be able to help.

Income (+)

  • Maintenance loan
  • Money from relatives or guardians
  • Income from a job

Outgoings (-)

  • Accommodation
  • Household bills
  • Contents insurance
  • Travel costs
  • Food, laundry
  • Household supplies and toiletries
  • Music, film and social activities
  • Clothes and shoes
  • Credit card or debt repayments
  • Books and equipment
  • Healthcare
  • Childcare

Supplement your income

If you find that you need extra income, there are a few options you can consider.

  • Look for a part-time job: our Careers Service website hosts a jobs database and guides you through securing a part-time job while you're here.  Most students work part time to help supplement their income and it’s a great way to meet different people.
  • Check which bursaries and scholarships you may be entitled to receive
  • Reclaim tax on gap year or summer jobs: if you earned less than your annual personal allowance (£12,570 for the tax year 2024–25) and paid tax, visit the HMRC website to find out how to apply for a refund

View job vacancies from our Careers Service

Available support if you have a disability

UK students 

Ensure that you apply for Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs) and let us know as soon as possible so we can meet you to discuss what financial and practical help we have available to you.

The DSAs can help to pay for things such as travel, a note-taker or reader, study skills help, specialist equipment and other course-related costs. The support you are eligible to receive depends on your disability and not on your household income.

The application process for DSAs can take four or five months so it is important that you apply as soon as possible.

See the GOV.UK website for more information on DSAs. The Student Advice Team can also help with information about DWP benefits, including Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment.

Please note that if you are currently receiving PIP and/or ESA you can only be eligible for Universal Credit as a full-time student if you have had your Limited Capability for Work assessed before you start their course. So it is very important your start the ball rolling with this before you start.

Contact the Disability and Learning Support team

International students 

If you are not from the UK you will not be eligible to receive the Disabled Students’ Allowances. However, we will do everything we can to support you and help you find funding to pay for equipment and support workers.

To help with this process, please investigate the following options before starting at university:

  • If you have a sponsor, ask if they can contribute money to cover disability-related expenses. Some scholarships offer funding to cover such costs.
  • You may be eligible for a grant from your own government, so contact your education department to ask what support they can provide. Governments that provide support include Ireland, Jersey and Guernsey, Sweden, Netherlands, and Thailand, though others may too.
  • You may be eligible for support from non-governmental organisations in your home country.

If additional funding is not available, we will work hard to meet your needs in the best way possible, so please get in touch as soon as you know you are coming so that we can begin to help you.

Find out about bursaries and scholarships

Course fees

Fee payments are handled by the university's Finance department. Contact the Finance department as soon as possible if you anticipate having any difficulties in paying your fees.

Find out more about paying fees and eligibility for discounts.

International students

Self-funded international students are required to pay a tuition fee deposit. You need to pay your deposit before we can issue you with your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number. 

Please log into your Student View account to pay your deposit and follow the steps below:

  • Log into your Student View account
  • Select ‘Your offer’ in the left-hand menu
  • Then select ‘Information on your offer’ from the drop-down list which appears
  • Click on the button ‘Pay your deposit’.

Contact the Finance department

Hardship funds

We have a range of hardship funds, updated each year, to help students in certain circumstances.

We can help you access these once you have started your course. We can talk to you over the phone, Teams, in person or using the student enquiry system.

Find out more about Hardship funds

Contact us

There are hardship funds to help students in certain circumstances and we can help you access these if you are eligible.

If you are concerned about your financial situation either before you arrive or once you are here, please contact the Student Advice Service. Our service is confidential and non-judgemental.

If you have any ongoing delays with your funding, contact the Student Advice Service.

Contact our Student Advice Service