This is what’s on offer in the new finance package...

This is what students can get in the new finance package:

All students from Wales starting a university course in September 2018 will receive support for living costs equivalent to the National Living Wage, made up of a mix of means tested grants and loans.

The new system replaces the universal tuition fee grants of £5,100 a year that had been paid to all students in Wales. It follows the review of student finance in Wales by Professor Ian Diamond.

The Diamond review modelled a range of household income thresholds for those eligible for means-tested support. The Welsh Government has decided to set the upper threshold at £59,200.

All new full-time and part-time undergraduates who are starting a new course in September 2018 are eligible. All students from Wales can apply, no matter where they plan to study in the UK.

The minimum grant you will get is £1,000, which you do not have to pay back.

If you’re studying full-time as an undergraduate, through a mixture of grants and loans, you could be eligible for a maximum of up to £11,250 a year towards your living costs if you live away from home and study in London, and £9,000 per year in the rest of the UK. Loans and grants are offered on a sliding scale depending on household income.

The maximum amount is available to students from households with an income of £18.370 or less. They are eligible for a grant of £10, 124 and loan of £1, 126 if they live away from home and study in London, falling to a grant of £8,100 and loan of £900 if they live away from home and study outside London.

The minimum amount is available for students from households with an income of £59,200 or more.

They are eligible for a grant of £1,100 and loan of £10,250 if they live away from home and study in London falling to a grant of £1,000 and loan of £8,000 if they live away from home and study outside London.

Grants will be means-tested to support those who need them most. If you are from a lower income household, you will receive the highest grant.

You can take out a maintenance loan to top up what you get. The maximum loan amount depends on how much grant you receive.

You will need to apply for a separate loan to cover tuition fees. Tuition fees are set by the university or college. In Wales, tuition fees have been capped at £9,000 per year but in other parts of the UK you could be charged up to £9,250 per year for a full-time undergraduate course.

Student Finance Wales provides a loan to cover your tuition fees, which you will have to repay once you start earning over £25,000.

Loans to cover tuition fees are not means-tested.

Applying for student finance is done directly through the Student Finance Wales website. The application system will go live in spring 2018.