Repeating a Year, Transferring or Changing Course: What Happens to Your Student Finance?

The short answer

Repeating a year, moving to another university or switching course does not stop your student finance automatically, but it can leave you with one or more years that have no Tuition Fee Loan. For a full-time course, that usually comes down to one calculation: how long your course normally lasts, plus one extra year, minus the years of earlier study that count. Previous study does not normally stop you getting a Maintenance Loan, but a repeat or transfer can change how much you get and when it is paid.

Two separate decisions are involved. Your university or college decides whether you can repeat, transfer or change course, and what you will be charged. Student Finance England decides what funding you can get. Get both answers before you commit.

The calculation behind most outcomes

For full-time courses, Student Finance England works out how many years of Tuition Fee Loan you can get like this:

length of your current course + 1 year − number of years of previous study

Course length here means the normal length of the course, not how long it ends up taking you. Three rules make this calculation matter more than people expect:

• A short time usually still counts as a full year. Official guidance says that even if you only attended a course for a short time, it still counts as a year of previous study. There is one exception: if you transfer directly from one course to another before finishing an academic year, the time on the first course in that year is not counted as a separate year of previous study. Leaving a course and starting another one later is not automatically a transfer, so ask Student Finance England how your move will be classified.
• Any remaining years go at the end. If you have fewer years of Tuition Fee Loan than years on your course, the years you do have are applied to the final years of the course. The gap falls at the start.
• The Maintenance Loan is different. Any Maintenance Loan and grants you qualify for should be available for the length of your course, even in a year without Tuition Fee Loan.

The extra "+1" year gives you some room, but it does not work by counting how many times you have changed. What matters is whether the years of Tuition Fee Loan you have left are enough to cover the years of study you still have to do. A repeat, or a restart from year 1, adds years you still need to study, so it can create a gap. A transfer into a later year of a new course may not, because you have fewer years left to fund.

For the full rules on earlier study, including self-funded study and second degrees, see our guide to previous study and remaining student finance.

Which situation are you in?

Repeating a year

If you are repeating a year of the same full-time course, the extra year in the calculation is designed for this. On a 3-year course with no earlier study that counts, the calculation gives 3 + 1 − 0 = 4 years of Tuition Fee Loan, which covers a course that now takes four years. The course length in the calculation stays at 3; the repeat is covered by the extra year.

The risk comes when the years of Tuition Fee Loan you have left are fewer than the years you still need to study. That can happen with a second repeat, or with a repeat after time on another course. Depending on how many years you have left, one or more years may have to be paid for yourself, unless an extra year for compelling personal reasons is approved. Previous study does not normally stop you getting a Maintenance Loan in those years, but the amount can change (see below). Ask Student Finance England which years will have no Tuition Fee Loan before you agree to repeat, because that decides when you need to find the tuition fee.

If illness, a mental health condition, bereavement, pregnancy or caring responsibilities caused you to repeat or leave, you may be able to get an extra year of tuition fee support for compelling personal reasons. That is a separate request: you send a covering letter and evidence, as explained below.

Transferring to another university

If you transfer from your old course onto a new course, Student Finance England treats you as a continuing student, not a new one. That affects how you apply. It does not by itself guarantee that every year of the new course is funded.

If you transfer before the year starts

If you are a full-time student and do not get tuition fee support only, change your university and course details in your online student finance account before the academic year begins. Part-time students use form CO2 only before their course starts; once the course has started, they contact their university or college to change their course details. Students who get tuition fee support only use form EUCO1 by post before their course starts, and contact their university or college once it has started. If you are not sure which route applies to you, ask Student Finance England (see the reporting table below).

If you transfer part-way through the year

The Tuition Fee Loan is paid to universities in three instalments: 25% in term 1, 25% in term 2 and 50% in term 3. For full-time students, you are liable for any instalment paid to your university from the first day of term, even if you later withdraw, transfer or suspend.

The table below applies when you move to a new university within the same academic year of funding. If your new course starts at a different time of year (for example, a January intake), or starts on or after 1 January 2027, Student Finance England may assess it differently, so ask before you move.

When you move during the year in this way, the new university only receives what is left:

Worked example. You are on an ordinary full-time course (not an accelerated degree) with a fee of £9,790, the maximum Tuition Fee Loan for that type of course in 2026 to 2027. Accelerated degrees have a higher maximum. Your new course charges the same fee, and you transfer during term 1 of the same funding year. Your first university keeps the term 1 instalment: £9,790 × 25% = £2,447.50. Your new university can receive the remaining 75%: £9,790 × 75% = £7,342.50. Your total loan for the year is still £9,790.

If your new university charges you for part of the year that the loan no longer covers, ask them in writing how much and how it must be paid before you transfer. This is a question about the provider's fees, not something Student Finance England decides.

Does time at your old university count as previous study?

Usually yes, but there is an exception for transfers. If you transfer directly onto a new course before finishing the academic year, the part-year on your old course is not counted as a separate year of previous study. Earlier years that you completed still count. If you leave one course and start another later, that is not automatically a transfer in this sense, and the year you enter on the new course does not settle the question on its own. Ask your new university which year you will enter, and ask Student Finance England how your move will be classified and how many years of Tuition Fee Loan you will have left, before you accept.

Changing course

Changing course can change two things in the calculation at once: the length of your course and the number of years of previous study that count. The examples below are for full-time courses. They assume the earlier years all count and that nothing else, such as an extra year for compelling personal reasons, changes the result.

Restarting a 3-year course after two years elsewhere. 3 + 1 − 2 = 2 years of Tuition Fee Loan. Those two years are applied to years 2 and 3. Year 1 has no Tuition Fee Loan, but you can still get the Maintenance Loan in all three years. This matches the official example on GOV.UK.

Moving to a 4-year course after two years elsewhere. 4 + 1 − 2 = 3 years of Tuition Fee Loan, applied to years 2, 3 and 4. A longer course adds course years, but it does not cancel the deduction for earlier study.

Leaving in your first year. Official guidance says that if you stopped your course within the first year, you will get funding for the same course or a new course when you go back. On a 3-year course that is 3 + 1 − 1 = 3 years. This assumes you have no other previous study and that the course you go back to starts before 1 January 2027.

If your new course includes a foundation year or a placement year, ask your university to confirm in writing that it is one course of that total length, and ask Student Finance England to assess that exact course.

Your Maintenance Loan during these changes

Previous study does not normally stop you getting a Maintenance Loan for the length of your course, including a year where you have to fund your own tuition fees. But a repeat, transfer or course change can change how much you get and when it is paid. If you repeat only part of a year, or only some modules, your Maintenance Loan may be paid only for the time you are attending. Moving to a different area (for example, into or out of London), living with your parents instead of away from home, or changing between full-time and part-time study can also change the amount, or whether you get one.

If you suspend or leave your course, your student finance stops and you must repay anything you were not entitled to. How much, and when, depends on the type of student finance and when in the academic year you leave. If you suspend because of illness, your university or college tells Student Finance England the date, and you might still get your Maintenance Loan and any grants you are entitled to for up to 60 days from that date. After 60 days, or if you suspend for another serious personal reason, contact Student Finance England to check whether you can apply for further help.

Who tells Student Finance England, and how

You must report it if you change course, university or college, repeat a year, or your Tuition Fee Loan amount changes. How you report it depends on how you study, what funding you get, and whether your course or academic year has already started.

If you are not sure which row applies to you, for example because more than one seems to fit, check with Student Finance England before you send anything. Even after the year has started, you still report your own name, address and marital status changes yourself.

Compelling personal reasons: the extra year

If you could not continue to the next year, or had to leave, because of personal reasons such as mental health, illness, bereavement, pregnancy or a caring responsibility, you may be able to get an extra year of tuition fee support. Applications cannot be based on financial hardship, not liking your course, or reasons within your control.

Send your evidence as soon as you have applied for student finance. Include a covering letter with your customer reference number that says which year or years were affected, what happened and how it affected your studies. Add supporting evidence, such as a letter from a doctor or social worker, a letter from your university confirming your circumstances, or a copy of a birth or death certificate. If you cannot get that kind of evidence, send a detailed letter explaining your situation with whatever supporting documents you have. Student Finance England says it takes 4 weeks to review the evidence; treat that as an estimate, not a guarantee. Our guide to compelling personal reasons and the extra year of student finance explains the evidence in detail.

If your new course starts on or after 1 January 2027

Courses starting on or after 1 January 2027 may use the new Lifelong Learning Entitlement instead of the calculation above. The date you move is not the test on its own. If you started your course before 1 January 2027, you stay with the existing student finance service when you go into the next year of that course, or when you transfer directly onto another course that also starts before that date. Check the start date of the course you are joining, and ask Student Finance England how your move will be treated.

Under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, new learners can get Tuition Fee Loans up to a standard total of £39,160, which equals four years of full-time study at the 2026 to 2027 fee rate. How many credits that pays for depends on the cost of each credit, so it can be more than 480. If you have had government-funded study before, the amount you have left may be lower. Some priority courses, such as medicine, nursing and teaching, can give access to additional entitlement. Your account shows how much you have left. Applications open from the end of October 2026 for courses starting from January 2027, and you reapply each year of a longer course.

Do not use the worked examples in this guide to predict a Lifelong Learning Entitlement decision. Check the course start date first.

Questions to ask before you decide

Ask your university or college:

• Am I repeating the whole year or only part of it?
• Which year of the new course will I enter, and how many credits transfer?
• Does the new course start at the same time of year as my current one?
• What tuition fee will I be charged for each remaining year, including any part of this year?
• Will you tell Student Finance England about the change, and when?

Ask Student Finance England:

• How many years of previous study are on my record?
• Will my move be treated as a transfer, and does any part-year on my old course count?
• How many years of Tuition Fee Loan remain for this exact course, and which years will they cover?
• Do I need to update my application, reapply, or send evidence?
• Will the change affect when or how much I am paid?

Keep written confirmation of the answers and copies of anything you send.

Frequently asked questions

Will I get student finance if I repeat a year?

Usually, for a first repeat with no other earlier study that counts, because the calculation includes one extra year. If the years of Tuition Fee Loan you have left are fewer than the years you still need to study, one or more years may have no Tuition Fee Loan unless an extra year for compelling personal reasons is approved. Previous study does not normally stop your Maintenance Loan, but the amount and payment period can change, for example if you repeat only part of a year.

Does a few weeks on a course count as a year?

Usually yes. Official guidance says that even a short time on a course counts as a year of previous study. The exception is a direct transfer to a new course before the academic year ends: that part-year is not counted as a separate year. Ask Student Finance England how your situation is classified.

If my university agrees I can repeat, is my funding approved too?

No. Your university decides whether you can repeat and what you pay. Student Finance England decides your funding separately.

Am I a new student if I transfer to another university?

No. Transferring onto a new course from your old course makes you a continuing student. Your funding for the new course still needs to be assessed.

What happens to my Tuition Fee Loan if I transfer in the middle of the year?

If you move within the same funding year, your old university keeps the instalments already paid and your new university receives what is left: 75% if you transfer during term 1, 50% during term 2, and nothing during term 3. If the new course starts at a different time of year, or on or after 1 January 2027, ask Student Finance England how it will be assessed.

Can money worries count as a compelling personal reason?

No. Financial hardship alone cannot be the basis of an application. If illness, bereavement or another qualifying reason also affected your studies, explain and evidence that reason.

Do these rules apply if my new course starts in February 2027?

Not necessarily. A new course starting on or after 1 January 2027 may fall under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement. Going into the next year of a course you started before then, or transferring directly onto another course that also starts before then, stays with the existing service. Check the course start date and the official guidance first.

How Ready Study Global can help

Changing course often feels like one decision, but it is two: an academic decision and a funding decision. Ready Study Global can help you compare realistic university options and plan your application so you know which questions to settle first. Your university and Student Finance England make the final decisions.

Talk to Ready Study Global about your options

Ready Study Global does not charge students a consultancy fee for university application guidance. University tuition, deposits, visa fees, tests, accommodation and other provider or third-party costs remain payable.

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Student Finance England decides student finance entitlement, and each university or college decides admissions, transfers, credit and fees.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Going back to university or repeating a year
• GOV.UK: Change an application
• GOV.UK: Change of circumstances form for part-time students (CO2)
• GOV.UK: Change of circumstances form for tuition fee only students (EUCO1)
• GOV.UK: How to apply for student finance
• GOV.UK: Student finance: who qualifies
• GOV.UK: Student finance for new full-time students
• GOV.UK: Student finance: how you're assessed and paid 2026 to 2027
• GOV.UK: If you suspend or leave your course
• GOV.UK: Getting student finance while you suspend your studies
• GOV.UK: Student finance for courses starting on or after 1 January 2027
• GOV.UK: Apply for student finance: Lifelong Learning Entitlement
• GOV.UK: Lifelong Learning Entitlement overview