Whichever university you choose to study at, when you apply for your government funding, the amount you’ll receive will depend on your household’s financial circumstances. You will undergo a household income assessment which will take into account the income of the parent or guardian you live with (plus the income of their co-habiting partner, if they have one) minus their pension contributions and a small deduction for any siblings you have. The assessment will also factor in whether you will be living at home while at University.
Working out your household contribution
The lower your household income, the higher the loan you will receive. If you don’t receive the full loan, the government expects your household to make up the difference. This is the government’s expectation of what support you will receive from the parent or guardian (and any partner) you’re living with. Our Cambridge Bursary (support provided directly by the University) will help to make up some of this shortfall. If you are from the lowest income backgrounds, your costs will be fully covered by your loan and Cambridge Bursary.
We’ve provided some information below which should help you work out how much the government will expect your household to contribute in 2025-26. If your household income is under £35,000, no contribution is required as the government loan and support from the Cambridge Bursary Scheme meet your suggested maintenance for 9 months living in Cambridge. Visit our Living Costs page for more details about how we calculate maintenance costs.
Household contributions in 2025-6
Household income |
Maintenance loan¹ |
Difference between maximum loan and loan received² |
Cambridge Bursary |
Residual household contribution³ |
---|---|---|---|---|
£25,000 |
£10,227 |
£0 |
£3,500 |
£0 - requirement fully met by loan and Cambridge Bursary |
£30,000 |
£9,497 |
£730 |
£3,050 |
£0 - requirement fully met by loan and Cambridge Bursary |
£35,000 |
£8,766 |
£1,461 |
£2,590 |
£0 - requirement fully met by loan and Cambridge Bursary |
£40,000 |
£8,035 |
£2,192 |
£2,140 |
£985 |
£45,000 |
£7,304 |
£2,923 |
£1,680 |
£2,176 |
£50,000 |
£6,573 |
£3,654 |
£1,220 |
£3,367 |
£55,000 |
£5,842 |
£4,385 |
£770 |
£4,548 |
£60,000 |
£5,111 |
£5,116 |
£310 |
£5,739 |
£65,000 |
£4,767 |
£5,460 |
£0 |
£6,393 |
Working while you study
Students are not expected to undertake paid work during term-time. The University tries to keep student living costs manageable. This means that the vast majority of students do not work during term-time. Instead they concentrate on their academic studies and co-curricular/social activities.
Find out about financial support available through the Colleges and the University.
As Cambridge terms are short, many students work during the vacations, especially the long vacation in the summer.
If you take on work you should first consider the impact on your studies and discuss this with your Tutor. You should always take into account personal constraining factors. For example, any visa and financial sponsorship restrictions.
The pressure of paid work may affect your performance in assessments and your results. When this happens, we do not normally accept this an extenuating circumstance for exam mitigation.
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¹ 2024-25 loan figures for students applying to Student Finance England. Students receiving funding through Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Northern Ireland and the Student Awards Authority Scotland will receive different amounts and you should check with your funder.
² This is equivalent to the government's expected household contribution for students living away from home and outside London.
³ Based on the cost of living in Cambridge for 9 months (£11,160) and receipt of the Cambridge Bursary.