Student Loan Calculator
This is a ready reckoner - have a play to see what you might repay
It's impossible to tell you exactly how much your student loan will cost - as it mostly depends on what you'll earn. Instead we've designed this tool to show you the impact that changing factors like earnings and inflation will have - which could help you figure out the scale of your likely repayments.
The best way to use it is to play with the sliders and watch how those changes could impact your total repayments, based on the current system.
For more on how student borrowing and repayment works, watch Martin's Student Loans Decoded video, where he gives the facts and dispels the myths. Read the Student Finance Mythbuster or the 2012+ Loan Repayment guide. Also don't miss our new How much should you save for your child to go to uni calculator
Your Results
When will the loan be cleared?
How much will you repay?
today's money
Remember, this is based on your salary increasing to £0 by the time your debts clear (in 0 years).
For lower salaries, the amount you repay won't change as you vary the fees or loan. This is because the debt is wiped after 30 years.
The results are a rough estimate only, as a number of assumptions have been made...
- Interest is accrued and applied monthly (in reality it will accrue daily, but we have simplified it so that the tool can work properly - this makes a difference of up to 'plus or minus 2%').
- You don't take any time off during the 30 years after graduation, and your salary rise is consistent. If you retire before the 30 years are up, there's a significant chance you'll repay far less.
- Repayments start in the April following graduation.
- No tuition fee inflation as some universities will keep you at the rate you start on, so if you pay £9,250 in year one, you pay it for each year of study.
- The repayment threshold is £27,295 in 2021/22, after which it will rise by average earnings growth (we assume this to be RPI+1% per annum, though you can change this)
Try the following changes to see how it affects your repayments...
- If you're going into a profession with very high salaries, try increasing 'Your salary growth'.
- Similarly, if you're looking at a career where salaries tend to remain static, you could set this lower.
- Try changing the size of the maintenance loan (unless you know how much you're getting/have got). The amount will vary based on where you study and your household income.
If you are likely to take a long career break (unemployment, sabbatical, travelling the world, or raising children), switch to part-time work or retire within 30 years, then you are likely to repay substantially less during that time - but the calculator can't factor this in.