A three-year degree in England starting in 2026 costs £29,370 in tuition fees at the £9,790 cap, all of which the tuition fee loan covers, plus living costs that typically run to £12,000 a year or more, £36,000 over the course. The maintenance loan meets between £5,048 and £10,830 of each year’s living costs depending on household income and where the student lives, so a family with £45,000 of income sends a student away from home with a shortfall of about £4,300 a year, £355 a month, to find from parents, savings or work. The total debt at graduation, before interest, is the fee loan plus whatever maintenance loan was taken: around £52,600 for that student.
The cost of three years
| Per year | Three-year course | |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition fees at the cap | £9,790 | £29,370 |
| Living costs: rent, food, bills, travel, books, going out | £12,000 illustrative | £36,000 |
| Total cost | £21,790 | £65,370 |
Rent is the largest living cost and the most variable: university halls and shared houses range from around £500 a month in northern cities to over £1,000 in London, and a contract usually runs for 40 to 52 weeks whether or not the student is there. Food, bills, travel, course materials and a social life add roughly £400 to £600 a month on top. The university cost calculator totals fees and living costs for any course length and shows the funding gap for your household income, and the student budget calculator breaks a term’s spending into categories.
What the loans cover and what is left
| Household income and location | Tuition fee loan | Maintenance loan a year | Funded over three years | Gap over three years | Gap a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000, away from home outside London, living costs £12,000 | £29,370 | £10,830 | £61,860 | £3,510 | £98 |
| £45,000, away from home outside London, living costs £12,000 | £29,370 | £7,739 | £52,587 | £12,783 | £355 |
| £62,500 or more, London, living costs £15,000 | £29,370 | £5,048 | £44,514 | £29,856 | £829 |
| £45,000, four-year course, living costs £12,000 | £39,160 | £7,739 | £70,116 | £17,044 | £355 |
The maintenance loan tapers from the maximum at £25,000 of household income down to a minimum of £4,013 at home, £5,048 away from home and £7,039 in London for incomes above roughly £58,000 to £70,000. The figures are the loan the student can take, not what they need, and the gap is the amount the family or the student’s own earnings must supply; our maintenance loan guide sets out the taper in detail. Because the loan is assessed on household income, a higher-earning family is expected to contribute more, and the gap for the London student on the minimum loan comes to nearly £30,000 across the course.
Ways to close the gap
| Source | What it typically provides |
|---|---|
| Part-time work | 10 to 15 hours a week in term time at the National Living Wage of £12.71 earns £550 to £825 a month before tax, and holiday work more |
| University bursaries and scholarships | Means-tested bursaries of £500 to £3,000 a year at many universities for household incomes under £25,000 to £42,875; merit and subject scholarships on top |
| Parental contribution | The gap itself, paid termly or monthly, often set up as a standing order matching the loan instalments |
| Savings built before university | A Junior ISA funded from birth: £100 a month at 5% growth produces about £34,500 by 18 |
| Living at home | Saves most of the rent, at the cost of a lower maintenance loan and travel |
Saving in advance is the cheapest route because it earns rather than costs interest. The savings for a child calculator shows what a monthly amount grows to by 18, and the Junior ISA calculator applies the £9,000 annual limit; a parent who pays the full £9,000 every year from birth at 5% growth has around £260,000 by the child’s eighteenth birthday, enough for the whole course and a deposit.
What the debt means
A student who borrows the full fee loan and £7,739 of maintenance a year graduates owing about £52,600 before interest, or £61,900 with the maximum maintenance loan. On Plan 5 the repayment is 9% of income above £25,000 whatever the balance, so a graduate on £32,000 repays £630 a year, and the loan is written off after 40 years. Most graduates on middling salaries do not repay the whole balance, which is why the size of the debt matters less than the repayment rate; our student loan overpayment guide explains who clears the loan and who does not.
Common questions
How much does a degree cost in total? About £65,000 for three years: £29,370 in tuition fees plus living costs of around £12,000 a year, more in London. Four-year courses add another £21,000 or so.
Does the student loan cover everything? The tuition fee loan covers fees in full. The maintenance loan covers between £5,048 and £10,830 a year of living costs outside London, depending on household income, leaving a gap of a few hundred pounds a month for most families.
How much should parents contribute? The gap between the maintenance loan and living costs: about £355 a month for a household earning £45,000 with a student away from home outside London, and more in London or at higher incomes.
How much debt will my child have? Roughly £52,000 to £62,000 after a three-year course with fees and maintenance loans, before interest. Repayments depend on salary, not the balance.
Are there grants? Not from the government in England for most students, but universities offer means-tested bursaries and scholarships, and there are specific grants for disabled students, parents and carers.
Is it cheaper to live at home? Usually by several thousand pounds a year in rent, although the maintenance loan is lower for students living at home and travel costs rise.
Information, not financial advice. Fee and loan figures are the published 2026/27 rates on gov.uk: student finance; living costs are illustrative and vary by city and lifestyle, and worked figures are from the site’s calculators. Check university bursaries and the Student Finance England assessment for your own household.