Skip to main content

4. Cancellation examples

The amount to be cancelled under the scheme depends on whether the student is has completed their course or if they are still receiving maintenance payments.

The tables below are an illustration of how the cancellation would be applied to a student’s eligible maintenance loan. 

Making a repayment after a student has completed their course

If a student has completed their course, the amount of cancellation will depend on:

  • how much is repaid; and
  • the balance after the eligible repayment is made.
First maintenance loan balance First repayment amount* Outstanding balance Amount cancelled**
£200 £200 £0 £0
£1,000 £5 £995 £995
£3,000 £1,000 £2,000 £1,500

*It is important to note that where students have more than one loan, unless they specify which loan they are repaying, SLC will apply the first repayment to the loan with the highest interest rate first. Where that loan spans more than one academic year, SLC will split the first repayment proportionately between the academic years. The proportion of that first repayment allocated to the eligible maintenance loan will determine the balance available for the cancellation applied.

**No further cancellations will be applied

Making a voluntary repayment while still studying

If a student is currently receiving maintenance loan payments, has no other maintenance loans and makes a voluntary repayment to their loan, then the amount of cancellation will depend on:

  • when the voluntary repayment is made; and
  • the loan balance at the time of the voluntary repayment.
Example 1: a £50 repayment is made during term 2 of a student's course
Description Amount
Term 1 maintenance loan payment £600
Term 2 maintenance loan payment £600
Voluntary payment £50
Outstanding balance £1,150
Cancellation applied -£1,150*
Term 3 maintenance loan payment £600
Remaining balance £600

*No further cancellation will be applied

Example 2: a £50 voluntary repayment is made during term 3 of a student's course
Description Amount
Term 1 maintenance loan payment £600
Term 2 maintenance loan payment £600
Term 3 maintenance loan payment £600
Voluntary payment £50
Outstanding balance £1,750
Cancellation applied -£1,500*
Remaining balance £250

*No further cancellation will be applied

Example 3: student voluntarily repays the full outstanding amount after receiving their term 2 loan payment
Description Amount
Term 1 maintenance loan payment £600
Term 2 maintenance loan payment £600
Voluntary payment £1,200
Outstanding balance £0
Cancellation applied -£0*
Term 3 maintenance loan payment £600
Remaining balance £600

 *No further cancellation will be applied