Students: make sure the money stacks up for your university studies

Study now and pay later. That's the current funding system for undergraduate students in England – and if you can live on what the state lends you, university won't cost you a penny, for now.

Later on, when your earnings reach £21,000, you begin paying back the loans – plus the interest that has been mounting up - through the tax system. Any outstanding amount will be written off after 30 years.

Most applicants will have filled in a loan application to cover the tuition fees and living costs by the deadline of 30 May. If you are applying for the first time through clearing then fill in an application straight away – even before you get a place - because it takes six weeks to process.

So how much do students get to live on? It's complicated, but first the easy bit: the government loans you the full cost of tuition fees, paid directly to the university.

Borrowing limits
Then you can borrow money for living costs that is added to your student loan account. It's not enough to cover the long vacation, so parents or a summer job come in handy.

Loans for living costs – not fees – are means tested on parental income and the more they earn the less you can borrow. They are expected to make up the difference.

The government also provides grants for living costs that don't have to be repaid. The full annual maintenance grant is £3,387 and if your parents earn less than £25,000 this is what you will get.

Those with a family income between £25,000 and £42,620 will get a grant on a sliding scale of between £3,378 and £50.

Now it gets more complicated: the more grant you get, the less money you will be able to borrow. So, for example, someone with a grant of £3,387 will get a reduced loan of £3,862. Those who don't qualify for a grant get loans of between £5,341 and £3,826, based on family income.

Bursaries
Many universities provide non-repayable bursaries for poorer students, ranging from £500 to £3,000 a year, again based on parental income. Universities recruiting the richest students have the most money to hand out, so the Russell Group can generally afford bigger bursaries than the new universities.

If you get A-level grades of AAA-ABB some universities seeking top students may offer you a scholarship, usually for the first year only.

Students living in London qualify for bigger loans to cover the more expensive living costs. Those living at home get less. Universities provide additional guidance on their websites.

More information can be found on the Student Finance England, Student Finance Northern Ireland, and Student Finance Wales websites.

Even thrifty students can find their pockets aren't deep enough, but help is at hand

Budgets are easier to set than they are to stick to for students with multiple demands on their bank balance. Rent, bills, travel, books and everyday things such as toiletries can send your bank balance into a nose-dive. Keeping hunger at bay can also prove surprisingly costly, especially if you are not adept in the kitchen. Even the most careful students can find themselves running out of money before their next loan instalment.

Of course, there's always the bank of Mum and Dad but, in fact, parents being unable to fully support their children are one of the biggest causes of student hardship, say welfare staff; the student loan is reduced if parents earn more than £45,000 and they are expected to contribute.

"There's an assumption that parents will make up any shortfall, but that isn't always possible," says Helen Johnson, head of student financial support at Keele University. "When that happens our students can get help to find part-time work through the Student Union's Job Shop and the university itself provides many opportunities for paid work, as student ambassadors or in the bars, for example," she says.

Avoid the sharks
"Come to us – don't go to payday lenders and rack up huge sums in interest. Like most universities we have an access-to-learning fund and students can apply for a grant that they will not have to pay back. At Keele we can sometimes provide interest-free loans to tide students over in a crisis," says Johnson.

Student unions are another source of help, says Steph Driscoll, vice-president for education at the University of Plymouth Students' Union. "We run an advice centre independent of the university, although the university funds it. Some students prefer to come to us, knowing it will be confidential. We get a lot of calls for help at the start of term if loans haven't come through – some students feel uncomfortable phoning up people they don't know to find out why," she says.

Emergency support can even include a food parcel, says Jess Hawker, a money specialist at Leeds University union. "The important thing is for students to seek advice, so they don't feel alone. It doesn't matter if you are not currently in the UK – we can offer telephone or email appointments. There are lots of fantastic ways to work part-time while you study and we can help students with that too."