New online calculator makes financial support for 2012 study add up at Imperial

Imperial's new online calculator will give prospective students better access to tailored information on financial support available

Imperial College London News Release

For Immediate Release
Monday 14 November 2011

A new online calculator launched today by Imperial College London will give prospective students better access to tailored information on the financial support available to help fund their studies. 

The calculator has been developed to help prospective Home undergraduates considering joining the College in September 2012, when increased tuition fees of £9,000 per year are introduced alongside new financial support arrangements. Prospective students and parents can input details about their financial circumstances and receive information on the support they may be entitled to, from both Imperial and government sources.

Sir Keith O’Nions, Rector of Imperial College London, said: “Over the last year, we’ve been working closely with our Students’ Union to develop a financial support package that is attractive and reassuring to prospective students. The new web tool helps us to communicate that package alongside the other types of financial assistance available to students from government sources. It gives anyone considering undergraduate study at Imperial clear advice on what support they may be eligible for and reinforces our message that if you have the ability to manage our courses, we will help you manage our costs.”

Scott Heath, President of the Imperial College Union, said: “As a student from a single-parent family I am greatly aware of the financial considerations around university application.  Tools such as the finance calculator are invaluable, as they make clear how much support prospective students could get if they come to Imperial. To anyone who is considering applying, or is just curious about the result, I recommend that they try the calculator today.”

Imperial’s financial support package for 2012 will provide the maximum amount of £6,000 in support to eligible Home undergraduate students from households with an annual residual household income of up to £25,000. £3,500 of this goes directly into a student’s bank account (or can be used towards College accommodation costs) to help with living costs and allow them to participate fully in university life.  £2,500 of the £6,000 package will act as a tuition fee waiver, to reduce the amount that graduates need to pay back for their degree.

The College’s financial support will reach a wide range of students – while current non-repayable government support extends only to household incomes up to £42,875, Imperial will offer levels of support to students from households with an annual residual household income of up to £60,000. The amount varies depending on circumstance, and may include a tuition fee waiver alongside a cash bursary or an accommodation fee waiver

The launch of the new calculator coincides with Student Finance Day on 14 November, designed to explain the 2012 changes to student finance and improve understanding of how the new system works.

Visit the student finance website to learn more about Imperial’s support package and to try the calculator: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/studentfinance

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For further information please contact:

 John-Paul Jones
Imperial College London Press Office
Tel: 020 7594 6704
Email: john-paul.jones@imperial.ac.uk
Out of hours duty press officer: +44(0)7803 886 248

Simon Watts
Imperial College London Press Office
Tel: 020 7594 6701
Email: s.watts@imperial.ac.uk

 Notes to Editors

Imperial’s financial support package

• In line with government policy for UK Higher Education, the increase in tuition fees will only affect those UK and EU students joining the College from 2012-13. Current students are unaffected.
• Imperial offers a flexible financial support package including fee waivers and cash bursaries or reduced accommodation expenses (eligible students in their first year will have the option of receiving their living cost support in the form of a cash bursary or discounted accommodation fees where applicable). Financial assistance will be focused towards helping with those costs that are not covered by government maintenance loans and grants.
• Financial support will be offered on a sliding scale to Home students from households with incomes of up to £60,000, and the College will not distinguish between students living at home and students living away from home.
• Students from households with residual household incomes of £25,000 or less will receive financial support from the College totalling £6,000 per year. This consists of a bursary of £3,500 and a fee waiver of £2,500. The National Scholarship Programme is incorporated within this provision.
• The level of support will be scaled downwards so that those from household incomes in the £55,001-£60,000 bracket will receive £900 in bursary provision and no fee waiver at this level.
  

  Support

  Household income	Bursary	Fee waiver	Total support
  £25,000 or less	£3,500	£2,500	£6,000
  £25,001 - £30,000	£3,500	£1,800	£5,300
  £30,001 - £35,000	£3,500	£1,100	£4,600
  £35,001 - £40,000	£3,500	£300	£3,800
  £40,001 - £45,000	£3,100	£0	£3,100
  £45,001 - £50,000	£2,400	£0	£2,400
  £50,001 - £55,000	£1,600	£0	£1,600
  £55,001 - £60,000	£900	£0	£900
  £60,001 or more	£0	£0	£0

• Students in their first year will have the opportunity to receive direct financial aid in the form a partial accommodation fee waiver where appropriate in place of a cash bursary.
• As a result of both government and Imperial support, a student from a household with an income of less than £25,000 will benefit from £9,250 of non-repayable support per year, consisting of:
  • A government living cost grant of £3,250
  • A £3,500 Imperial bursary
  • An Imperial fee waiver of £2,500
• No student will need to pay anything towards their tuition fees upfront, and the government will provide a lo an for any eligible student in England who secures a plac e in higher education. Students take out a tuition fee loan which they start to repay when they are working and earning more than £21,000 a year. Universities UK-commissioned research by Martin Lewis suggests that under the new system, graduates will pay £540 a year less than they do under the current system where repayments begin when graduates are earning £15,000.

About Imperial College London

 Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 14,000 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and business, delivering practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

 Since its foundation in 1907, Imperial's contributions to society have included the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of research for the benefit of all continues today, with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to improve global health, tackle climate change, develop sustainable sources of energy and address security challenges.

 In 2007, Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust formed the UK's first Academic Health Science Centre. This unique partnership aims to improve the quality of life of patients and populations by taking new discoveries and translating them into new therapies as quickly as possible.

 Website: www.imperial.ac.uk