Arranging your funding
Before you arrive at NTU it’s important that you make sure your funding is in place and that the university knows how your tuition fees are being paid. Here, we explain how to arrange your student finance, and all the steps you need to take for your student finance payments to be released.
Funding arrangements for international students
If you are an international student, you can find more information about your tuition fees here, plus advice on how to make your payments on our international student webpages.
When you arrive, we recommend that you open a UK bank account. You can use this account to pay your rent and bills, transfer money from overseas and, if you decide to work part-time, your employer will be able to pay your wages into this account. You can get advice on student bank accounts from our International Student Support team and will need a letter from your Academic School confirming you are a student.
If you have set up an instalment arrangement prior to enrolment and your card details have changed, email the Finance Office or call us on +44 (0)115 848 6500 to let us know. The Finance team will be available at enrolment to update your card details.
It is essential to plan your finances before you start your studies, to make sure you have enough money to cover both your tuition fees and living costs.
Funding arrangements for home postgraduate students
Paying your tuition fees
You can pay your fees in one go, or use our online payment system to pay in instalments. You can do this before you arrive.
If you haven't made payment arrangements before your course starts, your enrolment will remain ‘in progress’ until you make a payment arrangement for tuition fees. For further advice on paying your tuition fees please contact the Finance Office.
If you are a home student and have applied for a UK postgraduate loan, it will not be released until you have made a payment arrangement for your tuition fees and your enrolment is showing as complete.
The loan is paid in three termly instalments. If the course lasts two or more years, the loan is spread over its duration.
The postgraduate loan offers a contribution towards these costs, but will not cover everything, so you will need to look at what additional income you may need and how you can raise it.
Advisers working in the Student Money Team can offer financial planning appointments and look with you at your income and costs, month by month for the duration of your studies.
Funding arrangements for home undergraduate students
The following information applies to home undergraduate students who have made a funding application to a UK national Student Finance service. If you are an international student, visit the funding arrangements for international students section.
Step 1: Apply for your Student Finance
If you haven't yet applied for your student finance, please do it as soon as possible.
You can find a guide on applying for Student Finance on the UK Government's service website.
If you submit your application for student finance after the advertised deadline, your funds may not be paid to you by the start of term. In the event of this scenario, you should bring enough money with you to cover your expenses until it arrives.
The following steps refer to applying to Student Finance England, but links to other national Student Finance services can be found below:
When you apply, you’ll get a customer reference number and will need to choose a password and secret answer. Keep these safe, as you'll need them if you enquire about your funding, and to access services online.
The University and Student Finance will never email you to confirm your login or bank details. If you receive an email asking you to confirm your details, do not respond or follow the links.
If you think the security of your account has been compromised, change your password immediately and forward the email to the security team at phishing@slc.co.uk to ensure your details are not at risk.
Step 2: After your Student Finance application is assessed and approved
It can take up to six weeks for your application to be assessed. You can track the progress of your application by logging on to your online Student Finance account. This will show if there is anything else you need to do.
If you haven't heard anything and cannot see any updates after six weeks, chase your Student Finance service to make sure that your application is progressing as it should.
You may be asked for evidence to support your application. Copies of information requests should be available to view when you log in to your Student Finance account. Respond to requests as quickly as possible to avoid delays in payment.
Remember to include your customer reference number on each piece of evidence. You can submit most types of evidence electronically by logging on to your online account and following the instructions provided. Parents and partners can also do this on their online accounts. For evidence that can’t be uploaded, we recommend that you send evidence via the “Signed For” mail service.
When you receive your financial notification from your Student Finance service, look carefully at page 2 (University or College Payment Advice) to check the following details are correct:
- Does it state 2024/25 in the top right corner?
- Does it state ‘Nottingham Trent University’ under current course details and is it the right course?
- Is the total tuition fee loan showing as £9250?
You do not need to apply for these bursaries. If you are eligible, you should be notified of your entitlement once your Student Finance has been approved.
Once approved, a digital letter confirming the NTU Bursary payments will be available to view on your Student Finance portal. Most students receive notification of their bursary entitlement by the end of November. If you think you are eligible but have not had this confirmed by then, contact the Student Money Team. Find out if you are eligible for any other bursaries.
If Nottingham Trent University is not listed on your student finance notification letter, we will not get confirmation of your tuition fee loan and this will impact on your enrolment and delay the payment of your maintenance loan. Find out how to change your student finance application.
If your tuition fee loan is showing as zero, this could be because you’ve simply forgotten to apply for the fee loan, or it could be to do with your entitlement to the loan and you may need advice from the Student Money Team.
Step 3: Your tuition fee loan is confirmed to the University
Once your Student Finance application has been approved, the University should receive direct electronic confirmation from the Student Loans Company of any tuition fee loan you have applied for and are eligible to receive. This confirmation will happen 30 days before the start of your course.
Be aware that we will only receive of your tuition fee loan if you declared that you would be studying at NTU when you applied – you can check this on your student finance portal and change your student finance application if necessary.
If you are receiving funding from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS), we will not receive this directly from SAAS and you will need to upload a copy of your tuition fee loan confirmation letter. Refer to our SLC document form for more information.
Step 4: Complete your enrolment
Complete the first stage of enrolment online before you arrive. Your enrolment needs to show as ‘complete’ in order for your student finance to be paid. Your enrolment will only be complete if the university has received confirmation of how your tuition fees are being paid. There are two ways this can happen:
The university will receive this confirmation from the Student Loans Company 30 days before the start of your course, provided your loan has been approved (except for SAAS students – see step 3).
Your enrolment will be complete once you have made a payment arrangement.
Once you have completed your online enrolment the confirmation screen will show your enrolment status.
If it is still showing as “in progress” by early September, but you know your tuition fee loan has been approved by student finance, you should telephone +44 (0)115 848 8707 for advice.
Make sure the name you declare when you enrol matches the name on your student finance paperwork exactly. If not, this will cause delays in the university receiving confirmation of your tuition fee loan, and will prevent the release of your maintenance loan.
Step 5: Collect your NTU student card
All new students will need to collect their student ID card in person. Once you have completed your online enrolment (see step 4), you will be directed to a photo upload page. After uploading your photo, you will be able to choose a collection point for your student card.
Step 5 on our enrolment page gives details of where you can collect your card.
Step 6: Activate your student card
Activate your card as soon as you receive it – see step 5 on our enrolment page.
Step 7: The University confirms your registration and attendance
Once your enrolment is showing as complete and you have activated your student card, the University will send confirmation of your registration to the Student Loans Company to trigger the release of your maintenance loan. In addition, they will send confirmation of your attendance and this will release the payment of the tuition fee loan to the University.
The University will not confirm to the Student Loans Company that you are registered at NTU – and you will not receive your maintenance loan – until your enrolment is showing as ‘complete’ and you have activated your student card.
Step 8: When your loan is paid
Once your Student Finance has been approved, you can expect to receive your first maintenance loan payment within three to five days of the course start date, provided you've completed all the previous steps.
Your maintenance loan will be paid into the bank account detailed on your Student Finance application, if you need to make changes to these details please contact your Student Finance Service directly.
Your loan may be delayed if you applied late, or if there any other delays in processing your application or completing your enrolment, so make sure you bring enough money to last you for a few weeks.
If in doubt, seek advice early
If you've had confirmation of your UK student finance funding, but your enrolment status is still showing as “in progress” by the start of September, call us on +44 (0)115 848 8707.
Staff will be available during Welcome to help with funding issues. To avoid problems, we advise that you contact us as soon as possible. We suggest you have your login details for your student finance account to hand so that any issues can be quickly resolved.
Visit StudentHub to find out how to resolve common issues relating to your student finance and enrolment.
Financial tips and planning for University
Even if everything goes to plan, most students do not receive their first payment until the end of the first week at university. You should bring enough funds to cover your expenses until your first payment. Everyone will have different spending habits, but we recommend you bring enough money to cover your expenses.
If you have applied for your funding late, you might experience a delay in receiving your funding. If this is the case, you will need to budget more until the first payment. You will need to consider your essential spending such as groceries and transportation as well as any additional activities you would like to attend. The amount you bring is dependent on how long the delay and your spending habits.
In most cases after receiving your first student finance instalment in September/October, you will not get another payment until January so you will need to think about managing your money. Our Student Money Team can help you plan a budget to make sure you have enough to last you all term. Here are a few suggestions:
- Divide your termly income across the number of weeks it needs to last to give yourself a weekly budget.
- Set up a second bank account and transfer yourself a weekly or monthly amount so you are not in danger of overspending.
- Create a budget plan, detailing how much you will spend on each living cost and track your spending as you go.
- Use a student discount wherever possible. Make sure you don't get sucked in by unnecessary purchases.
Join our Money Ready for NTU workshops
Starting university is exciting — but understanding your finances can feel overwhelming. That’s where we come in!
Money Ready for NTU is a free online workshop designed to help you prepare for student life with confidence. Run by NTU’s Student Money Team, this session is all about giving you the essential info (and some handy tips) to make your money go further.
Choose a session that suits you:
Contact us for help and advice
Who you need to contact will depend on your query:
- If you have any issues or queries regarding paying your tuition fees and setting up your fee payment arrangements, please contact our Finance team on +44 (0) 115 848 6500 and select option 5.
- If your student finance application has been approved, but you have any issues receiving your first maintenance loan, please call our Funding team on +44)0) 115 848 8707.
- If you have any queries relating to your application or eligibility for student finance or bursaries, please email our Student Money Team or call us on +44 (0)115 848 2494.
Staying safe online
The University and Student Finance will never email you to confirm your login or bank details. If you receive an email asking you to confirm your details, don’t respond or follow the links. If you think the security of your account has been compromised, change your password immediately and forward the email to the security team at phishing@slc.co.uk to ensure your details are not at risk.
Students are often targeted with various cyber scams so it’s good to know how you can protect yourself online.
In most cases, if you understand the basic ways to protect yourself and your information, it will mean that you can safeguard your data and not fall victim to online financial fraud and identity scams.
Whether you’re on campus, at home, or out and about, we're here to show you how to protect your personal information and keep all your devices secure.
For more information, watch our video below and take a look at our Cybersecurity page.
Top tips for staying safe online.