Finance and budgeting at university

Worried about money as you head to university? You’re not alone! Here’s a handy guide to help you manage your finances, from understanding student loans to finding part-time work and budgeting like a pro.

Student Finance

First things first, let’s talk about student finance. Most students apply for a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan through Student Finance England. These loans cover your tuition fees and help with living costs. The best part? You don’t need to pay your tuition fees upfront; the loan takes care of it, and you start repaying it once you earn over a certain amount after graduation. To find out more about finance and support you can get from BCU, head over to our Finance pages. If you want to work out how much Student Finance you'll receive, try the Student Finance calculator. 

Accommodation costs

If you're planning to live away from home then accommodation will probably be one of your biggest expenses. There are loads of options to choose from in Birmingham, have a look at our recommended options here. Prices vary and range from £110 - £215 per week (academic year 2025-26), you can find full details on our accommodation pages here. When you're deciding where to live, you'll need to work out what's most important to you and what you can afford. You can use this Save the Student calculator to work out how much money you'll have to live on. 

Earning money as a student

Balancing university and work can be challenging, but many students find part-time jobs to help manage their money. There are many part-time retail and hospitality jobs nearby with the Bullring and Grand Central, plus we offer part-time roles within the university, such as Student Ambassadors, Content Creators, and positions in the Students’ Union. Discover more about student jobs here.

Budgeting

Effective budgeting is essential to avoid money worries. Start by listing your income (loans, part-time job earnings) and expenses (rent, food, travel). Use budgeting tools and apps to keep track of your spending. If you're looking for more tips on how to budget and manage your money at uni, we've created BCU Boost to pull together all the support you can get at BCU as well as useful advice from finance specialists.

Scholarships and grants

Scholarships and grants are a great way to top up your income as a student, and the best part is that you don't have to repay them! They're often given based on financial need, academic success or for people who meet certain criteria. Find out what scholarships and grants are here. To search for bursaries, grants and scholarships you might be eligible for you can use websites like Turn2us, The Scholarship Hub or Blackbullion. 

Improve your financial skills and knowledge

There are lots of great resources out there to learn more about managing your money and becoming a finance pro. Blackbullion is an amazing platform helping students to master their money, you can register for free once you've got a BCU email address, but you can also complete lots of the pre-university modules for free by signing up with your normal email address. 

Support while you're studying 

If you have any worries or challenges around money during your time at BCU, speak to our Money and Childcare Advice Team team. They're here to help you with everything from Student Finance to accessing welfare benefits and offer tiered levels of support based on your individual needs. 

Paying back your loans

Paying back your Student Finance loans is a lot less scary than it might seem. There's nothing for you to do, once you've graduated and are earning above a certain amount, you'll pay back a small percentage of your loan. This automatically comes out of your salary so you don't have to do a thing. For example, if you were earning £27,000 (that's £2,000 over the £25,000 threshold) you would only pay £5 a month. There's a detailed table with example repayments here. Visit our Finance pages for more detailed information and breakdowns.