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Your family (the people in your household) usually need to contribute to your costs at university. The amount they contribute depends on your household income.
How household income is assessed
When you apply for student finance, the amount you receive will depend on your household's financial circumstances. You will undergo a household income assessment. This will take into account:
- the income of the parent or guardian you live with
- the income of your parent or guardian's co-habiting partner, if they have one
- their pension contributions (this will be deducted from your household income total)
- any siblings you have (a small deduction will be made for this)
- whether you will be living at home while at university
If you don't get a full student loan
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.
Our Cambridge Bursary will help to make up some of this shortfall.
If your household income is under £35,000, a contribution form your household is not required. Your government loan and Cambridge Bursary would cover our estimated costs for 9 months living in Cambridge.
Work out your household contribution
We've provided some information to help you work out how much the government will expect your household to contribute in 2026-27.
We have based this on:
- the cost of living in Cambridge for 9 months (£11,745). Find out how we calculate living costs
- loan values for the 2026-27 academic year
- maintenance loans offered by Student Finance England. Check your maintenance loan amount with your funder if you're funded by:
- the government's expected household contribution for students living away from home and outside London
- receipt of the Cambridge Bursary
Household contributions in 2026-27
| Household income | Maintenance loan | Cambridge Bursary | Total support | Residual household contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | £10,830 | £3,500 | £14,330 | £0 - requirement fully met by loan and Cambridge Bursary |
| £30,000 | £10,044 | £3,050 | £13,094 | £0 - requirement fully met by loan and Cambridge Bursary |
| £35,000 | £9,258 | £2,590 | £11,848 | £0 - requirement fully met by loan and Cambridge Bursary |
| £40,000 | £8,472 | £2,140 | £10,612 | £1,133 |
| £45,000 | £7,685 | £1,680 | £9,365 | £2,380 |
| £50,000 | £6,899 | £1,220 | £8,119 | £3,626 |
| £55,000 | £6,113 | £770 | £6,883 | £4,862 |
| £60,000 | £5,327 | £310 | £5,637 | £6,108 |
| £65,000 | £5,047 | £0 | £5,047 | £6,698 |
Working while you study
Students are not expected to undertake paid work during term-time. The University tries to keep student living costs manageable. Find out about financial support at Cambridge.
The vast majority of students do not work during term-time. Instead they concentrate on their academic studies and co-curricular or social activities.
Check with the College you are applying to about the College policy on working while studying.
Vacation work
As Cambridge terms are short, many students work during the vacations, especially the long vacation in the summer.
Impact of work on your studies
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.