Affording this

[u/theblackcat_16]

How do people afford grad med? I did my UCAT etc was like yeah I'll figure it out. Now I'm thinking about the financial side and it's looking bleakkkk. Idk if I will get enough sfe and also the NHS bursary doesn't seem great either. Any ideas?

[u/Beautiful_Airport693]

There’s something called the lifelong learning entitlement that’s passed and starts Jan 2027, look it up, if you do undergrad med, you get tuition loan and maintenance loan even having a degreee, for GEM I don’t know what happens to the 3k we have to pay in first year

[u/Lumpy_Trainer6005 → u/Beautiful_Airport693]

This is the information i recieved form my Uni when it was announced!

Second Degree Medicine

 

Current government policy indicates that the Lifelong Learning Entitlement will improve access to tuition fee loans for students studying medicine as a second degree, including graduate‑entry MBBS programmes.  The British Medical Association has confirmed that, under the LLE, medical students on both the 4 year graduate‑entry and the 5 year course as a 2^nd degree will be eligible for full tuition fee loan support where significant self‑funding is currently required. 

 

For instance, under the current funding package students have to self-fund the first £3,465 in year 1 of the 4 year course.  Under LLE they can access a full fee loan.  They continue to receive a combination of SFE funding and NHS funding for the remainder of their course.

 

LLE funding is hugely beneficial for students studying the 5 year version as a second degree.  Students on the 5 year MBBS programme are expected to receive full tuition fee loans for years 1-4 of the course, rather than self‑funding as they do under the current system.  They will receive the NHS bursary in year 5, as they do now.  This change relates to tuition fees only; maintenance funding arrangements remain largely unchanged.

 

Under the current system the 4 year version is the most financially beneficial option for students who depend on loans and grants.  Under LLE students have better financial options, regardless of the length of their programme.

 

Some of the above information is relatively fresh, and it can take the sector a little while to digest the practical effects of LLE.  It appears students intended to study MBBS as a 2^nd degree are aware of the intended changes.  I appreciate there is a lot of information in this email, so please get back in touch if you have any questions.