Leicester College Blog

Adult courses – want to do a course but can’t afford it?

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There are many funding options available and the cost of studying can vary. You can find courses that are completely free, and others that can cost thousands of pounds. When you add the cost of tuition fees, exam fees, travel and course material it can seem out of reach to even consider going back to college to study. Fortunately, help is available and some courses are even free!

Free Adult Courses (pre-entry, entry, level 1 and level 2)

From 1 August 2019 adults who earn up to £16,009 each year will be able to benefit from free adult courses.

You can choose to study a wide range of full and part-time courses without having to pay any tuition fees. This means you could potentially save thousands of pounds.

It doesn’t matter what qualifications you already have, to be eligible for free adult courses you must:

  • be in full or part-time employment and earn less than £16,009 a year (you will need to provide wage slips or your last self-assessment form to evidence this)
  • want to study a pre-entry, entry, level 1 or level 2 course.

You can choose to study more than one part-time course a year if you want to.

Courses are available in a wide range of subjects you can see the full list here: https://leicestercollege.ac.uk/study/free-adult-courses/

Advanced Learner Loans (level 3, 4, 5 and 6)

If you’re 19 or older you can apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to help with the fee costs of a course. You’ll have to pay your loan back when you’ve finished your course and once you earn more than £25,000 a year.

Find out more here: https://leicestercollege.ac.uk/college-life/course-fees-financial-support/

Loan (HE)

There is a wide range of support offered to adult students undertaking higher education courses, covering both tuition fees and other course-related costs. The support available varies depending on whether the course is full or part-time and personal circumstances. You can apply for help with your fees from the government by visiting gov.uk/student-finance. This could be tuition fee loan, maintenance loan or maintenance grant. Find out more here: https://leicestercollege.ac.uk/higher-education/he-tuition-fees/

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