The Maintenance Loan will probably be your main source of cash while you're at uni.

How is the Maintenance Loan paid?

Across most of the UK, Maintenance Loans are paid straight into your student bank account in three (almost) equal instalments throughout the year.

You'll get one at the beginning of each semester - other than in Scotland, where loans are paid monthly. This means it's down to you to budget your loan responsibly and make sure you don't spend it all in freshers' week.

Students often ask why the third payment is as big as the others when you'll likely be at home over the summer. The answer is simple: you're still a student, and some of you still have rent to pay during July and August.

And it's thanks to that same logic that things change slightly in your final year.

Your final Maintenance Loan payment is smaller than it would have been in previous years. This is because after June/July you're not a student and no longer entitled to a Student Loan.

Also, note that not all of your Student Loan is paid directly to you. Tuition Fee Loans are paid straight to your university, and you'll never see the money. That means you shouldn't have to worry about your uni chasing you for payment, nor the temptation to spend the cash yourself.

Sources

Save The Student
Student Maintenance Loans 2026

By Save The Student
Save The Student is the UK's leading student money website, helping you budget your money, make sense of student finance, look for part-time jobs, find extra funding and more. Founded in 2007, the website provides free and impartial guides, tools and verified deals to tackle the real-life money problems students face at university.