• You must be a new student to Higher Education starting at the University of Kent in September 2023 in Stage 1.
• You must be registered on a full-time undergraduate degree programme at the University of Kent, paying the maximum tuition fee. Students on courses where the tuition fees are lower than the maximum tuition fee, including students from franchise or associate colleges, will not be considered for an award.
• You must be ordinarily resident in England (as determined by Student Finance England).
• You are from a household where the annual income is less than £30,000* per year.
• Your last place of learning must have been a UK state school or college.
• You made an application to the University of Kent by the UCAS deadline of 25 January 2023. Should sufficient funds be available, the University reserves the right to consider those who submitted an application after this date.
• You must also meet one of the following criteria:
  • your household is located in an area that traditionally has had low levels of participation in higher education as defined by the Office for Students. A list of postcodes and their classification by participation (POLAR4) can be found on the Office for Students website. Awards are made to students who fall into POLAR4 quintiles 1 and 2 and who are under 21 on 25 September 2023, who also meet other eligibility criteria, and students who fall into any POLAR4 quintile and who are over 21 on 25 September 2023, who also meet other eligibility criteria.
  • your household is located in an area that traditionally has had high proportion of children aged 0 to 15 living in income deprived areas across England. A list of postcodes and their classification (IDACI) can be found on the Government Website. Awards are made to students who fall into IDACI quintile 1 and who are under 21 on 25 September 2023, who also meet other eligibility criteria, and students who fall into any IDACI quintile and who are over 21 on the 25 September 2023, who also meet other eligibility criteria.    
  • you are in receipt of the Disabled Students' Allowances
    
  • you are a Care Leaver under 25. You will need to apply to, and be approved for, the care leavers package before you will be considered for the KFSP
  • you are a young independent student under 20. You will need to apply to, and be approved for, the young independent student package before you will be considered for the KFSP.
  • you are a carer. You will need to apply to, and be approved for, the young adult carers package before you will be considered for the KFSP.
  • you are estranged from your parents. You will need to apply to, and be approved for, the estranged student package before you will be considered for the KFSP.
  • you were in a Foyer or 'homeless' before starting your course. You will need to apply provide evidence of this before you will be considered for the KFSP.

Evidence of these criteria will be collected from the candidate's UCAS application and their student finance application to Student Finance England. Evidence should be maintained by the applicant to meet University audit requirements which may include in year spot checks. Successful applicants will be informed from September 2023 that they have met the University's criteria for the financial support package once the University is in receipt of all relevant information.

Candidates must demonstrate continued eligibility on the basis of household income as assessed by Student Finance England in order to receive the financial support package in subsequent years.

New part-time students starting in the academic year 2023 may be eligible for a pro rata financial support package. The value of the financial support available will depend on the student's level of study.

In order to qualify students must be studying a minimum intensity of 25% and meet the eligibility criteria as stated above.

Part-time students need to make an application to the Financial Aid Office if they believe they meet these eligibility criteria. Applications can be submitted once students are registered on their course and have been in attendance for two weeks. Application forms will be available from the Financial Aid Office from 26 September 2023.

Applicants will be informed whether they have met the University’s criteria for the financial support package once the University is in receipt of all relevant information.

For an application form or any further information please contact the Financial Aid Office.

• Telephone: +44 (0) 1227 827289
• Email: FinancialAid@kent.ac.uk

The information given on these web pages is correct at the time of publishing. The University reserves the right to modify or cancel any statements and accepts no responsibility for the consequences of any such changes.

* Students who meet the care leaver, young independent, carer, estranged, Foyer or 'homeless' criteria do not need to meet the household income criteria to be eligible for the KFSP 2023, however, they do need to meet all of the main criteria and must be income assessed by Student Finance England.

This calculator can be used as a rough guide, subject to the eligibility criteria described above.