Advanced Learner Loan

Money worries don’t have to get in the way of achieving your goals and ambitions. Depending on the course you want to study, you may be eligible to fund your studies with a 19+ Advanced Learner Loan.

If you are aged 19 years and over and are looking to study a Level 3 or above Further Education course, you may be able to apply for a low-interest Advanced Learner Loan to cover the cost of tuition fee.

Advanced Learner Loans don’t depend on your income. There are no credit checks and you don’t need to repay anything until you are earning over £25,725 a year.

Eligibility criteria

In order to apply, you will need to be:

• Aged 19 or over on the first day of your course (there’s no upper age limit)
• Living in the UK on the first day of your course and have lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for three years immediately before this
• Be a UK National or have ‘settled status’ (this means there are no restrictions on how long you can stay)
• Studying at an approved College or training organisation in England
• Enrolling onto an eligible course at Level 3 and above which includes: full Level 3 and above qualifications which are approved for public funding. These include A-Levels, Access to HE Diplomas and other Diplomas and Certificates

If you study an Access to HE course and progress on to university, you won’t have to pay back your Advanced Learner Loan.

Repayments Explained

You do not pay any course fees upfront.

You will only have to start making repayments the April after you have completed your course and when you are earning over £25,000 a year. Until then you don’t need to pay back anything.

If your income drops below £25,725, your loan repayments stop.

Each month you pay back 9% of any income over £25,725. For example, you would make a repayment of £15 a month if you earned £27,000 a year and repayment of £37 a month if you earned £30,000 a year.

You can make voluntary repayments at any time.

For more information about 19+ Advanced Learner Loans and how to apply, visit the .Gov website. 

For free independent advice on financial help, visit the Money Advice Service website.