Student Finance Wales calculator
See your 2026/27 Welsh maintenance support: the total is fixed, and household income decides how much arrives as grant rather than loan.
Rates taken from the official source and last checked on 12 September 2026.
Wales pays everyone the same total
The Welsh system is built differently from England's. Every eligible full-time student in the same living situation gets the same total support: £10,685 living with parents, £12,590 away from home outside London, £15,720 in London. Household income decides none of that.
What income decides is the split. At £18,370 or below, the largest possible slice arrives as Welsh Government Learning Grant, which is never repaid. As income rises the grant shrinks and the loan grows to fill the gap, down to a floor of £1,020 of grant that every student keeps whatever their household earns.
The split at a glance
| Household income | Grant | Loan | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| £18,370 or less | £8,260 | £4,330 | £12,590 |
| £25,000 | £7,085 | £5,505 | £12,590 |
| £35,000 | £5,311 | £7,279 | £12,590 |
| £45,000 | £3,538 | £9,052 | £12,590 |
| £59,200 and above | £1,020 | £11,570 | £12,590 |
The grant falls by £1 for every complete £6.805, £5.639 or £4.387 of income above £18,370, depending on where you live: the Welsh Government's own divisors, which this calculator reproduces against every row of the published tables.
Why the split matters more than it looks
Two students on the same course can leave with the same support received and very different debts. At the bottom of the income range most of the money was a gift; at the top nearly all of it was borrowed. When people say Welsh student finance is more generous than England's, this grant is what they mean.
The rest of the UK
Studying from England, Scotland or Northern Ireland instead? Each nation runs its own system: the England calculator, the Scotland calculator and the Northern Ireland calculator cover them. Your funding follows where you normally live, not where the university is.
Common questions
How much student finance will I get in Wales for 2026/27?
The total is fixed by where you live: £10,685 with parents, £12,590 away outside London, £15,720 in London. Household income only changes how much of that total is grant rather than loan.
What is the Welsh Government Learning Grant?
The part of Welsh maintenance support you never repay. It is largest at household incomes of £18,370 or below and tapers as income rises, but never below £1,020: every eligible Welsh student keeps at least that.
Do Welsh students get more than English students?
Often, once the grant is counted. England lends nearly all of its support, so most of it comes back in repayments. Wales gives a meaningful slice as grant at every income level, which lowers the debt for the same money in hand.
Does household income reduce my total support in Wales?
No. The total stays the same at every income; that is the design. Income moves the grant and loan split only, so a higher household income means more borrowing rather than less money.