SAAS Funding Calculator

The short answer

• Tuition at a Scottish university is free for Scottish students: SAAS pays the fee.
• Young students from households on £20,999 or less get £11,400 a year: a £2,000 bursary and a £9,400 loan.
• Above £34,000 of household income you get the minimum loan of £8,400 and no bursary.
• The loan is Plan 4: you repay 9% of income over £33,795, and it is written off after 30 years.

Free tuition in Scotland

If you live in Scotland and study a first degree at a Scottish university or college, SAAS pays your tuition fee directly: £1,820 a year for most courses. You do not borrow it and never repay it, but you must apply to SAAS every year for it to be paid. This is the main reason Scottish graduates usually leave with far smaller loans than students from England.

Young or independent student?

Care-experienced and estranged students are treated as independent and can get extra support.

Young students: bursary and loan

Notice the steps: £1 more of household income at a band edge can cost £875 or £625 of bursary, or £1,000 of loan. Pension contributions and some other deductions reduce the income SAAS counts, so it is worth giving full details.

Independent students

Independent students’ loans include a special support element at lower incomes. The total support at each income level is the same as for young students, or close to it, but more of it is loan.

How household income is assessed

SAAS looks at gross taxable income for the previous tax year: for a course starting in 2026 that is usually 2025/26. For a young student living with both parents, both parents’ incomes are added together; with a parent and step-parent or partner, both count. Some deductions are allowed, such as pension contributions and an allowance for other dependent children.

If your household income is over £34,000 you do not need to send income details: you get the minimum. If income has fallen sharply this year, ask SAAS whether it can use the current year instead.

Worked examples

Studying elsewhere in the UK

If you move to England, Wales or Northern Ireland to study, SAAS still funds you, but tuition is no longer free. You can borrow up to £9,790 a year as a Tuition Fee Loan to cover fees there, added to your Plan 4 loan. A four-year course in England could add over £39,000 of fee loans, so the cost of studying outside Scotland is much higher. The bursary and living-cost loan are the same.

Extra help

• Care Experienced Students’ Bursary: a non-repayable bursary instead of the loan, for students who have been in care.
• Disabled Students’ Allowance: for equipment, support workers and extra costs; not means-tested.
• Lone Parents’ Grant and Dependants’ Grant: for students with children or an adult who depends on them.
• Discretionary funds: your university can help in hardship.
• Travel expenses: for some placements and students on certain islands.

When and how you are paid

SAAS pays the bursary and loan monthly. You can choose to have it paid over the term months only, or spread over 12 months so that you have money over the summer. Spreading over 12 months gives smaller payments but evens out your budget. The first payment arrives once your university confirms you have enrolled.

Repaying a Plan 4 loan

• Repayments start the April after you leave your course.
• You repay 9% of income over £33,795 a year (2026/27), through your payslip.
• Interest is the lower of RPI or the Bank of England base rate plus 1%.
• Any balance left is written off 30 years after you were first due to repay.

On a salary of £35,000 you would repay £108 a year, about £9 a month. Because the threshold is the highest of any UK plan, many Scottish graduates repay little in their early careers.

If you have studied before

SAAS usually funds the length of your course plus one extra year, for a first degree. If you have already had SAAS funding for an earlier course, that time is taken off. If you already have a degree, you usually cannot get tuition fee support for a second one, though some courses such as nursing, teaching and some medicine routes have exceptions.

How and when to apply

1. From AprilApplications open

   Apply online with a SAAS account. You do not need your exam results first.

2. By 30 JuneApply for on-time funding

   So your money is ready for the start of term.

3. Over summerSend evidence

   Your parents or partner send their income details through the SAAS document uploader.

4. Every yearReapply

   Funding is not automatic for later years.

Making the money last

SAAS pays monthly, which makes budgeting easier than the termly payments in England and Wales. If you choose 12 monthly payments, a young student from a household on under £21,000 gets £950 a month; on the minimum £8,400 loan it is £700 a month. Rent in Scottish university cities often takes £500 to £800 a month, so plan around it first. The student budget calculator helps you set a weekly figure.

Should you take the full loan?

You do not have to take the full loan, and the bursary is paid whatever you borrow. Because Plan 4 has the highest repayment threshold of any UK student loan and low interest, borrowing is relatively cheap. Many graduates repay only part of it before it is written off after 30 years. Even so, borrow only what you need: you can ask SAAS to increase your loan later in the year if your costs rise.

Council tax and benefits

Full-time students are disregarded for council tax, so a household where everyone is a student pays nothing. Most full-time students cannot claim Universal Credit, but some can, including lone parents and some disabled students. Student loans count as income for those who can. Students who live with parents on benefits should check whether the family’s benefits change when they start their course.

Part-time and postgraduate study

Part-time students in Scotland can get help with tuition fees if their income is under £25,000, but no living-cost loan. Postgraduate students can get a SAAS postgraduate tuition fee loan and a living-cost loan for eligible master’s courses. These have different amounts and rules from the undergraduate funding on this page.

Scotland compared with the rest of the UK

A Scottish student on a four-year degree at a Scottish university, from a household on £30,000, borrows £37,600 for living costs over the whole course and nothing for tuition. An English student on a three-year degree in England borrows around £30,000 for tuition alone, plus a maintenance loan. Scottish graduates also start repaying at a higher threshold, £33,795 rather than £25,000 for English Plan 5 loans, so they usually repay less each month for longer.

What Plan 4 repayments look like

Plan 4 repayments are 9% of income over £33,795 a year. On £35,000 that is £108 a year, about £9 a month; on £40,000, £558 a year or £47 a month; on £50,000, £1,458 a year or £122 a month. The threshold rises with RPI each April, so many Scottish graduates repay little in their first years of work.

Disabled students

Disabled Students’ Allowance in Scotland helps with the extra costs of studying with a disability, long-term illness, mental health condition or learning difficulty. It can pay for equipment, non-medical personal help and extra travel costs. It is not means-tested and does not have to be repaid. You apply to SAAS with evidence of your condition, and a needs assessment works out what you need.

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