For applications during this academic year, tuition fees will depend on the course you want to study so have a look at the individual course cards carefully.
Where you live and your status in the UK will determine what student finance is available to you. Normally you need to be a UK citizen, have settled status, and have lived in UK for at least 3 years to receive student finance.
Details can be found at Discover Student Finance.
For full-time courses
Funding (loans and grants) is available to cover the cost of your tuition and for your living costs while you study. Other grant funding is also available depending on your circumstances, such as disability student allowance and dependants grants. These grants are paid to eligible students in addition to main student finance and don’t usually have to be paid back.
Students need to apply for the following:
- Tuition Fee Loan for the full amount of your course (per year, paid directly to the University)
- Maintenance Loan / WG Learning Grant – to help with your living costs, made up of loans and grants, depending on your circumstances, up to the maximum allowance.
The maximum maintenance support available is a combination of grants and loans. The current thresholds are:
- Students living away from home - a maximum of £12,150
- Students living at home - a maximum of £10,315
For students living in Wales please visit – www.studentfinancewales.co.uk
For students domiciled in England please visit - www.gov.uk/student-finance
For students domiciled in Scotland please visit - www.saas.gov.uk
For students domiciled in Northern Ireland please visit - www.studentfinanceni.co.uk
All students living in Wales get at least a £1,000 Maintenance Grant, which can increase up to £8,100 dependent on your household income and whether you live at the family home. You top this up with a Maintenance Loan, which are available up to the maximum (above).
For part-time courses
You could apply for a tuition fee loan of up to £2,625 – the amount depends on how much the University or College charges you.
Maintenance grants and loans – these depend on household income and course intensity. The maximum total of grants and loans available is £6,724 (dependent on course intensity).
Repayment of loans
Once you are earning £27,295 in the April after you leave your course, this is done via the tax system (PAYE, Self- Assessment), this amount can change each tax year.
N.B. The maintenance grant doesn’t have to be repaid.
Special Support Grants
Special Support Grants have replaced some or all of the Welsh Government Learning Grants for students in certain circumstances. If eligible, students can get the first £5,161 as a Special Support Grant. Anything over this will be a Welsh Government Learning Grant. This means students on the lowest incomes will be able to get extra money.
Other grant funding is also available, depending on your circumstances, such as Disabled Student Allowance and Dependents’ Grants. These grants are paid to eligible students in addition to main student finance and don’t usually have to be paid back.
Application
Applications usually open in March. You will need to create yourself an account, and then start your online application, its quick and easy and takes about 30 minutes. (Please make sure you are applying for the correct academic year). Keep a note of your Customer Reference Number and your secret answer (separately). You will need them when you need to log back into your account.
Please read the guidance available on the website carefully, you will need to have your passport number (if you have one), your National Insurance number, and your Bank details in order to complete your application.
Courses that we deliver are mainly franchised from our partner Universities; you should use the table below to ensure that you pick the correct partner University when making your application.
| Title | Select the University/College | UCAS Code | Qualification and Type | Fee 1st Year Students | Fee 2nd Year Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Computing | University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) | I358 | HND | £9,535 | £9,000 |
| Business Management | University of South Wales (USW) | NN41 | HND | £7,500 | £7,500 |
| Business Management (Marketing) Top Up | University of South Wales (USW) | N79M | BA (Hons) | £9,535 | N/A |
| Business Management (Accounting) Top Up | University of South Wales (USW) | N79A | BA (Hons) | £9,535 | N/A |
| Childhood Development Practice | University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) | 5G12 | BA (Hons) | £9,535 | £9,000 |
| Electrical and Electronic Engineering | University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) | 2H99 | HND | £9,535 | £9,000 |
| Education, ALN and Mental Health | Cardiff Metropolitan University | F160 | BA (Hons) | £9,250 | £9,000 |
| Esports | University of South Wales (USW) | F170 | Foundation Degree | £7,500 | £7,500 |
| Mechanical Engineering | University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) | 8N2G | HND | £9,535 | £9,000 |
| Sport Coaching and Performance | Swansea University | F180 | BA (Hons) | £9,535 | £9,535 |
| Title | Select the University/College | UCAS Code | Qualification and Type | Fee 1st Year Students | Fee 2nd Year Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Science (Chemistry) | Gower College Swansea (GCS) | N/A | HNC | £2,100 | £1,200 |
| Construction Management | Gower College Swansea (GCS) | N/A | HNC | £2,340 | £2,340 |
| Education, ALN and Mental Health | Cardiff Metropolitan University | N/A | BA (Hons) | *£2,625 | *£2,625 |
| Electrical and Electronic Engineering | University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) | N/A | HNC and HND | £2,340 | £2,100 |
| Mechanical Engineering | University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) | N/A | HNC and HND | £2,340 | £2,100 |
| PgCE/ProfCE (PCET) | University of South Wales (USW) | N/A | PgCE/ProfCE (PCET) | £2,835 | £2,700 |
*The part-time BA (Hons) Education, ALN and Mental Health is a 5- year course, the costs will be £2,625 per academic year.
Entering University/College and course information:
Enter the name of the Franchising University/College.
Select from the courses listed, look out for Gower College, Gower College Swansea, or GCS in the course title, or type the UCAS number (as above), and select when the course appears (course will highlight in yellow once accepted).
Confirm the tuition fee:
Our fees are set by the Franchising University and are shown above. Use these figures to answer the questions regarding your fees. Students will have to pay or get a tuition fee loan for the full amount. You will see this figure on the Student Finance Wales website.
Allowing the University/College to update the tuition fee loan information removes the need for you to adjust your application later.
Apply for any Maintenance Grant, Maintenance Loan, and any other help that you wish to receive.
Once you have finalised your application, Student Finance Wales will correspond with you by email and post. Please look out for their emails, they will tell you what you need to do next, and what evidence you need to provide. Make a note of your Customer Reference number.
You can access your application at any time by logging back into Student Finance Wales. If you have already applied for funding, but were unable to attach a college or course, you should log back in, and update your college and course details, to avoid problems with your payments.
Enrolment
You need to enrol as a student with Gower College Swansea AND with your Franchising University.
Arrangements for Enrolment with Gower College Swansea:
Enrolment will be online; we will email you prior to the start of your course with a link to the enrolment form.
Arrangements for Enrolment with the Franchising University:
You will be sent instructions on what you need to do.
Payment of fees
If your tuition fee loan has been approved and on your student finance application you select that the fee is paid directly to the College you will not be sent an invoice.
If you select that the tuition fee is paid directly to yourself or you’re self-funding, the College will send you an invoice for the full amount of fees.
Any remaining balance of fees is fully payable by the student and can be paid in full on receipt of the invoice or in equal instalments over the three terms.
Bursaries
Bursaries of £1,000 are payable for all full-time courses, eligibility applies. Please visit 'criteria and process for bursary' for details.
For more information regarding funding options please visit the Student Finance Wales website.
If you decide to withdraw
If you decide that you want to withdraw from the College or change to a different course then please let us know as soon as possible so we so we can support you and guide you through the process.
If you are withdrawing you should call Student Finance Wales to request your payments are blocked.
The College will let student finance know that you have withdrawn, once we’ve done this your student finance will be reassessed based on the number of days you attended your course. Any future payments to you and the College will be stopped and you will be sent a new student finance entitlement letter. Depending on the date you withdrew, and the date that student finance was informed it’s possible you may have been overpaid.
Tuition fees
Tuition fee payments are made by Student Finance in three instalments: 25% in term 1; 25% in term 2 and the remaining 50% in term 3. If you withdraw from your course part way through a term, you are liable for the fee for that term. No tuition fee loan will be paid by Student Finance after you have withdrawn. The fee payable if you withdraw is as follows:
- Withdraw during term 1 - 25%
- Withdraw during term 2 - 50%
- Withdraw during term 3 - 100%
Please note that this may vary slightly by university partner.
If you’ve been overpaid
If you’ve been overpaid, student finance will contact you to let you know how to repay any extra student finance you received. You may need to repay this before you’re earning over the repayment threshold.
The process for Student Finance – What happens for all students?
- Confirmations of Registration and attendance must take place by the University (Please be patient the universities are processing thousands of student records and this takes time, they process in batches so you may not be at the same stage as other students on your course)
- Once confirmed by the University it can take up to 48 hours to update student finance
- It can then take up to 5 working days for the maintenance payment to reach your bank account.
*Important - Please make sure you have put the correct University and course on your student finance application. Changing this later can cause a delay in you receiving your student finance.
Please log onto your Student Finance Wales account and make sure your correct course/programme and University are listed. It should be the franchising university e.g. USW, UWTSD, Swansea University, Cardiff Metropolitan University.
If the information is incorrect or if you need support with your student finance application, please contact:
Ruby Kaur:
- Email: ruby.kaur@gcs.ac.uk
- Phone: 07974 406043
For course application, enrolment, and Finance queries please contact Beth Hughes – bethan.hughes@gcs.ac.uk
For help and answers to the most frequently asked questions please refer to the Student Finance Wales ‘How to’ guide.