If you’re going off to university and your parents are separating, it’s natural to have questions and concerns—not just about feelings and where to live but about money as well. A big question that may be on your mind is: “Will my student finance be affected?” The answer, in short: yes, it could be—and no, it won’t necessarily fall apart. Let’s look at the details.
The basics of student finance
If you’re applying for funding from Student Finance England (or the devolved equivalents in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland), your eligibility for maintenance loans, tuition-fee loans, and so on depends on various factors, including your household income.
In the UK, university funding is means-tested—that is, it takes into account the money your family has coming in. When your parents separate, household membership and sources of income change, which means that you may need to update your application.
Who counts as “household income” when parents separate?
When you and your parents are living together in the same household, the system is clear-cut. But if your parents split up, the question arises: which parent’s income is relevant for assessing your student finance?
If parents are separated or divorced, you need to specify which one you live with or have most contact
with for student-finance purposes. If the split is recent and you have significant contact with both, you may need to make a decision on whose household will be used for your application. That parent’s income (and potentially their new partner’s income) will then be taken into account when assessing your student finance.
What you need to do
Update your application: If your parents’ situation changes, for example, if one parent remarries or if your contact schedule or living arrangements change, you must notify Student Finance.
Provide necessary evidence: You will likely need to provide proof of your parents’ separation, your living and contact arrangements, and their income details. This process may vary depending on how recently they’ve separated.
Ask questions: If you’re not sure which parent you should be reporting, you can ask Student Finance for advice. The parent you select can impact the level of support you receive.
Will one parent still need to pay for university?
One thing to bear in mind is that while student finance assesses household income for the purposes of loans, that doesn’t necessarily mean that a parent (or parents) are automatically legally liable to pay for university fees or living costs. As this helpful resource from Major Family Law explains, in most cases there is no automatic legal obligation for divorced or separated parents to cover the cost of higher education, although many do choose to.
This is a separate question from how student finance is assessed.
What if your household gets assessed and your support is reduced?
The parent you choose for the purposes of your application will be the one whose income Student Finance will consider, and it’s possible that if that person’s income is high, it could lead to you getting less money in the form of a maintenance loan. Tuition-fee loans are set based on the course and university, not on family income, but maintenance loans are supposed to help with living costs.
If your household circumstances mean you get a reduced level of financial support, you may need to top it up by other means if your cost of living is higher than the maintenance loan covers.
This might include:
• Student hardship funds or welfare provided by your university
• Part-time work or internships
• Additional bursaries or scholarships targeting students from separated or lower-income households
Final thoughts
Parental separation is a big change for a family, but it doesn’t need to mean your plans for student finance are derailed. The important thing is to be clear on the rules: notify Student Finance of any changes that apply to you, make an informed choice of which parent’s household to base your application on, and understand your rights and responsibilities.
If you have concerns about how your parents’ separation could affect your higher-education finances, checking both your student-finance eligibility and the broader family-law implications can help you move forward with more confidence.