Emergency Short Term Loans (ESTL) are available to Home UK students who have made their application to the Student Loans Company (SLC), but who have yet to receive their first instalment of their maintenance loan funding.  

If you have not received your first payment from Student Finance England (SFE), Wales (SFW), Northern Ireland (SFNI) or the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) at the start of term, you can apply for an interim Emergency Short Term Loan (ESTL) of up to £80 for each week that your funding has been delayed by. The maximum that a student can receive in any one application is £320. 

This fund will open for the 2026 / 2027 academic year at 10 am on Monday 5 October 2026.

You must agree to repay your ESTL after receiving the first instalment of your student finance. 

To make your payment, you will need to contact FinancialHardship@kent.ac.uk to access the payment link.

If the ESTL is still outstanding, after the second instalment of student finance is due to be paid, the amounts will be transferred to the University student account.   

Turnaround for applications is usually no more than 7 working days as long as all relevant documentation has been supplied  

Once authorised, a Faster Payment should be made within 4 working days.

There is no appeal process for ESTL, but the Financial Hardship Team may suggest other financial support if your application is not successful.