Front gates on a sunny date with blue sky

On this page, you can find information about paying for your course fees and accommodation, managing your College Account and registering your educational loans.

 

Front gates on a sunny date with blue sky

The Finance Office team

The Finance team is here to guide students in paying the fees relating to their study. Student-facing members of the team include Birgit Lintner, who looks after all Undergraduate and MASt students, and Katerina Gargaroni, who supports all Postgraduate students (both on full and part time study).

Undergraduate student accounts

Birgit Lintner looks after all Undergraduate and MAST students. Her contact details are:
Wolfson College, Cambridge CB3 9BB
ugaccounts@wolfson.cam.ac.uk
Tel: 01223 335911
Wed & Fri

Postgraduate student accounts

Katerina Gargaroni deals with all Postgraduate students, both on full and part time study. Her contact details are:
Wolfson College, Cambridge CB3 9BB
pgaccounts@wolfson.cam.ac.uk
Tel: 01223 335915
Mon, Tue, Thu

 

How College finances work

This section explains how you can keep track of your spending in College, the ways we communicate with you and your University self-service account.

Your College Account

Every Wolfson student receives their own internal College Account, which keeps a record all the charges that you incur and payments that you make to the College. These charges include:

  • course fees, such as the University Composition Fee (UCF)
  • accommodation charges
  • miscellaneous items including linen, key replacement charges, etc.
Your College Account code

Your College Account code (D9XXXXX) is made up of “D9” followed by your Wolfson College ID Number (WCID). So if your WCID is “11111” then your College Account code is “D911111”. As a new student, you can find your WCID in the confirmation email you receive from the Tutorial Office. This reference number also appears on the top right part of the College Account statements we regularly email out to you.

We ask that you include your College Account code in all your correspondence with the Finance Office, as it helps us to deal with your queries faster. When making a payment to the Finance Office by bank transfer, you must include your name and College Account Code (DXXXXXX) in the payment reference, to enable us to identify your payment correctly. This is especially important if someone else is making the payment on your behalf, such as a sponsor or family member.

Charges on your College Account

The Finance Office sends out students’ College Account statements at the start of each academic term. Please be aware that if you are a current student, official emails from the College and University will always be sent to your @cam.ac.uk email address, so be sure to check this address regularly. We also recommend checking your Trash/Spam folders in case important communication end up there by mistake. If you also have a departmental email address, you may want to set up email forwarding to receive all your messages in the same inbox.

Currently, you cannot access your College Account online. However, if your College Account is in credit or debit, you will receive an email from the Finance Office at least once a term with your College Account statement as an attachment. 

Students are expected to pay all charges on their College Account by the deadlines specified in each statement. Guidance on making payments to the College can be found in the following sections on this webpage.

Paying for food and drink in College

Wolfson College operates a cashless payments system to pay for meals in the College cafeteria and bar, which only accept cards or contactless payments. Please read through the Dining Portal guide  carefully as it explains how to load money on your University card so you are able to buy food and drinks in College. Your Dining portal account is separate from your College account. Your Dining portal account is a top-up account that you need to log into and load monies on before you can buy food, drinks and book Formal Halls in College.

New students receive a temporary overdraft (up to £150) on their University ID card that may be used for cafeteria purchases before topping up your Dining Portal account. This overdraft is primarily designed for international students who may not yet have set up a UK bank account. The overdraft is closed on the division of term (9 November), at which point any outstanding amount is transferred to your College Account. This will show as a debit charge on your College account and will need to paid the next time you receive your statement from us. 

 

University Composition Fee (UCF) charges

You are responsible for making sure your course fee is paid on time. Below is the information you need to do this including how to pay and the payment deadline.

Receiving your UCF Invoice

Your UCF Invoice tells you the total amount that you need to pay for your University Composition Fee. All UCF charges are issued at the start of each academic year, during the first week of full term in October, and emailed out to students by the Finance Office.

Please look out for our email to your @cam.ac.uk email address. The College cannot issue individual UCF invoices before this time, so please do not request one. For the academic year 24/25, College Account statements will be emailed out by the end of the second week of October 2024.

The exception to the above procedure are students on MBA, MFin, MAcc and MSt courses. These students are invoiced by their Department and students need to make a payment for their UCF to their respective Department, not the College. Please contact your Department directly for course fee invoices, payment details and deadlines if you are on one of these courses.

If you are undertaking a pre-course that starts during September you must ask your Department or Faculty about the cost of your pre-course and how that can be paid directly to them. The College does not charge or receive payments for pre-courses.

Payment timeline for your UCF

The College will issue all UCF bills by 11/10/2024. If you are personally liable for your UCF, full payment must be made within two weeks from the first day of your first full term. Please see Term Dates for the University term dates. For the academic year 24/25, the UCF payment deadline will be 22/10/2024. Please note that failure to pay in due time may result in your not being permitted to continue your studies or receive your degree. For students starting in Lent or Easter terms, please arrange payment for your UCF within two weeks from your course start date.

If you have a scholarship or award that covers part or the whole of your UCF, please read the "Scholarships" accordion section below for more details. If you are taking out an SFE Postgraduate Loan or US Federal/Private Loans to cover your course costs please read the section on “Loans” at the bottom of the page for specific instructions. For any other loan types please contact Birgit Lintner (Undergraduate students) or Katerina Gargaroni (Postgraduate students) at the Finance Office to provide evidence and discuss adjusted payment deadlines.

Bank transfers

If paying by bank transfer, you must include your name and College Account Code (DXXXXXX) in the transfer reference to enable us to identify your payment correctly. Your College Account Code (D9XXXXX) is usually made up of “D9” followed by your Wolfson College ID Number (WCID). So if your WCID is “11111” then your College Account Code is “D911111”. As a new student you can find your WCID in the confirmation email you receive from the Tutorial Office. This reference number also appears on the top right part of the College Statements we regularly email out to you.

BANK NAME    
 
LLOYDS BANK
A/C NAME    WOLFSON COLLEGE
A/C NO00463811
SORT CODE30-13-55
SWIFT CODE  LOYDGB 2L
BIC  LOYDGB21035
IBAN    GB44 LOYD 3013 5500 4638 11
ADDRESS    3 SIDNEY STREET, CAMBRIDGE, CB2 3HQ, UNITED KINGDOM

We cannot accept debit or credit card payments for the University Composition Fee (UCF). If your bank limits the daily amount you can transfer please feel free to make two or more separate transfers over consecutive days to cover the amount you need.

Payments can be made on your behalf from family members or sponsors provided they include your College Account Code (D9XXXXX) so we can correctly identify who the payment is for. You can choose to make one total payment for both your UCF and accommodation costs or you can make separate payments, both options are fine.

International transfers

International students may choose to make a direct transfer to our UK bank account (details above) or may prefer to pay via our partner TransferMate, in order to avoid paying any international transfer charges, and to get a good exchange rate. You can read the TransferMate payment instructions here.

Paying by cheque

We also accept Sterling (GBP) cheques. If paying by cheque please make this payable to 'Wolfson College'. You can leave this in a sealed envelope for the attention of (FAO) the Finance Office at the Porters’ Lodge. You can also post it to the main address of the College for the attention of (FAO) the Finance Office.

FAO: Finance Office, Wolfson College, Cambridge CB3 9BB

Scholarships

If we have evidence that your UCF is being paid by a Department or other body within Cambridge University (including Department/School scholarships and Cambridge Trusts awards) your UCF will be invoiced directly to them. We will also collect the monies from them. Please make sure that you upload a record of your scholarship information on your University Self-Service account as this where we look for this evidence. If this documentation is not on University Self-Service account please upload it, or email soft copies of your funding details to Birgit Lintner (Undergraduate students) or Katerina Gargaroni (Postgraduate students) as soon as convenient.

If you have a scholarship from an external body, whether in the UK or abroad, the UCF will be charged to you personally. This charge will show on your College Statement. We will email you with your UCF charge and you will be responsible for forwarding this on to your sponsor and making sure that they complete the necessary payment. We understand that some organisations take more than 2 weeks to process an invoice and this may mean that your UCF may not be paid to us by 22/10/2024. Please contact Birgit Lintner (Undergraduate students) or Katerina Gargaroni (Postgraduate students) in this case so we can discuss an adjusted payment deadline.

University self-service account

Your University self-service account (CamSIS), among other things, holds a record of your course costs and your funding evidence. With regards to funding evidence your self-service account holds records of any scholarship or awards you have uploaded. Please make sure you upload all relevant funding evidence on this account as this is where we look before we issue all UCF (University Composition Fee) charges.

With regards to costs, this may include amounts for “Non-UK Settling in Supplement”, “Additional fees/costs” and/or “Student Maintenance”. These figures are only estimates of the minimum amount required to cover accommodation, food, travel, books, leisure, etc each academic year. The College will not charge you these specific amounts. Please do not transfer money for these estimated costs to Wolfson College. International students are expected to open a bank account once they are in the UK which allows them to transfer in personal funds and access them when needed.

 

Accommodation charges

You can read this section if you have a Wolfson College room booking and would like to find out how and when to make a payment for it.

Charging for the College accommodation

Licensed accommodation charges are triggered once you arrive at Wolfson and pick up your room key. We cannot provide you with the exact amount of your rent charge before you occupy your room. You can estimate your termly rent costs based on your Accommodation Licence and refer to the Guide to Accommodation for weekly rent costs. The nightly charge can be obtained simply by dividing the weekly charge by seven.

You will be emailed your accommodation charge along with other applicable charges during the first week of full term in October,  if you have already checked in to your College room. Please look out for our email at your @cam.ac.uk email address. We cannot issue individual accommodation invoices before this time. For Michaelmas Term 2024 invoices will be emailed out by 11/10/2024. If you check in to your room after 08/10/2024 then please request your accommodation charges by emailing Birgit Lintner (Undergraduate students) or Katerina Gargaroni (Postgraduate students).

Please do not request for accommodation charges to be issued to sponsors' names as this is not possible. Your accommodation invoice will always be issued in your name as the Accommodation Office cannot issue individual invoices to third parties.

Payment timeline for your College accommodation

Full payment must be made within two weeks from receiving your accommodation bill. If you do not receive a bill within 1 week of moving into your room please request one by emailing Birgit Lintner (Undergraduate students) or Katerina Gargaroni (Postgraduate students).

Accommodation charges are billed termly in advance. This means that in October you are invoiced for October, November and December. Accommodation invoices should be paid within 14 days unless otherwise agreed in writing. If payment is not made within 14 days interest will be charged at the Bank of England’s base rate +3%. Any debts still outstanding after 28 days will be referred to the Senior Tutor. Moreover, you will not be able to book College accommodation in the future unless you have paid for all your previous bookings.  

If preferable, you can pay for the whole of the tenancy period at the beginning of the academic year. The monies will be held in your College account and the credit will offset the relevant accommodation costs during the year.

Bank transfers

If paying by bank transfer, you must include your name and College Account Code (DXXXXXX) in the transfer reference to enable us to identify your payment correctly. Your College Account Code (D9XXXXX) is usually made up of “D9” followed by your Wolfson College ID Number (WCID). So if your WCID is “11111” then your College Account Code is “D911111”. As a new student you can find your WCID in the confirmation email you receive from the Tutorial Office. This reference number also appears on the top right part of the College Statements we regularly email out to you.

BANK NAME    
 
LLOYDS BANK
A/C NAME    WOLFSON COLLEGE
A/C NO00463811
SORT CODE30-13-55
SWIFT CODE  LOYDGB 2L
BIC  LOYDGB21035
IBAN    GB44 LOYD 3013 5500 4638 11
ADDRESS    3 SIDNEY STREET, CAMBRIDGE, CB2 3HQ, UNITED KINGDOM

Payments can be made on your behalf from family members or sponsors provided they include your College Account Code (D9XXXXX) so we can correctly identify who the payment is for. You can choose to make one total payment for both your accommodation costs and UCF or you can make separate payments, both options are fine.

International transfers

International students may choose to make a direct transfer to our UK bank account (details above) or may prefer to pay via our partner TransferMate, in order to avoid paying any international transfer charges, and to get a good exchange rate. You can read the TransferMate payment instructions here.

You can choose to make one total payment for both your accommodation costs and UCF or you can make separate payments, both options are fine.

Paying by card

We accept VISA and MasterCard payments for accommodation charges. Please note that we cannot accept debit or credit card payments for the University Composition Fee (UCF). We do not accept Diners Club or American Express. When paying by card please ensure the card used for payment is in your name.

Card payments can be taken over the phone on +44 (0)1223 335915 or 335911. We will need the name, number, start and expiry dates of the front of the card and the security code at the back of the card.

Paying online by card via Paypal

Payments can be made online via PayPal, either through your PayPal account or by using your credit/debit card. Please enter the amount you wish to pay and your College Account code (DXXXXXX) as shown on your College statement in the boxes below. If you do not enter your College code in the box below we may not be able to identify who the payment is for.

 

 

Paying by cheque

We also accept Sterling (GBP) cheques. If paying by cheque please make this payable to 'Wolfson College'. You can leave this in a sealed envelope for the attention of (FAO) the Finance Office at the Porters’ Lodge. You can also post it to the main address of the College for the attention of (FAO) the Finance Office.

 

Educational Loans

Students who have taken out a loan to cover their course costs can read the information in this section on how to get their loans registered with College and how to manage their payments throughout their studies.

Student Finance (SF) Undergraduate Loans

If you are in receipt of a tuition fee loan from student finance, we can invoice Student Finance directly for your tuition fees.

Please follow the instructions below so that your tuition fees can be invoiced directly to Student Finance and will not appear on your college account statement.

We will need to confirm your attendance/registration on the SFE website. This will also release your maintenance and Cambridge Bursary payments.  

  • Forward a copy of your Confirmation letter (“Letter of Entitlement”) to ugaccounts@wolfson.cam.ac.uk (You can download a pdf file of this letter from your online account with SLC). You will need to forward your confirmation letter at the beginning of of each academic year
  • At the beginning of your course, please register with the Tutorial Office as soon as convenient; this entails visiting the Tutorial Office in College with the necessary identity documents

We will not be able confirm your registration/attendance unless we have received a copy of your Student Finance confirmation letter at the beginning of the academic year, which will delay payment of maintenance monies to you.

Please remember that you will need to apply for funding from Student Finance and the Cambridge Bursary for each year of your course.

Find out more information about Cambridge Bursary Scheme.

NHS Bursaries Tuition fee grants 

Medical students who are in receipt of a tuition fee grant from NHS Bursaries will need to submit a copy of their confirmation letter from NHS Bursaries to ugaccounts@wolfson.cam.ac.uk at the beginning of each academic year. We will then be able to invoice NHS Bursaries directly and the charge will not appear on your college account statement.

Please remember that you will need to apply to NHS Bursaries for each year in which you are eligible.

Student Finance (SF) Postgraduate Loans (except MSt students)

Our course fees policy is for students to pay the UCF in full at the beginning of the course. However, if you are going to be taking out a SF Postgraduate Loan then your UCF can be paid in instalments. We can accommodate such an arrangement strictly under all the following conditions:

  • that your loan application is approved before your course starts, and that the first instalment towards your fees is ready to be paid to us by 22/10/2024
  • that at least 1/3 of your UCF is covered in each of the Michaelmas, Lent and Easter terms

If you can fulfil the above conditions please follow the instructions below so that your loan can be paid to you in a timely manner:

Step 1:
We will need to confirm your attendance/registration on the SFE website so your payments can be released to you. In order to do this we will need to make sure you have started your course.

  • If you are in Cambridge, please register with the Tutorial Office as soon as convenient; this entails visiting the Tutorial Office in College with the necessary identity documents
  • If you are studying remotely, please have your department confirm to us by email that you have started attending your course. The email should originate from your course/departmental administrator or academic tutor

We will not be able confirm your registration otherwise. Once we have confirmed you on the SFE website it takes 3 working days for you to receive your first loan instalment. You do not need to do this again in the following terms, it is only done once, at the start of each academic year.

Step 2:
You will need to arrange payment of your fees.  You will receive your statement by email at your @cam.ac.uk address by 11/10/2024 and this will include charges like your annual total University Composition Fee (UCF) and rent, if using College accommodation. However, once you have completed Steps 1 and 2 you will not be required to make the full UCF payment. Although the full UCF will be showing on your College account statement you will be allowed to pay this off in 3 equal instalments.

At the beginning of every term you will receive your College statement in a generic email (that goes out to all of our students); this will show all your charges including your annual UCF. Unfortunately, we cannot reflect this termly UCF payment arrangement on your College account statement. Please keep to the 1/3 termly payments as per above as this agreement will be on our records.

Student Finance (SF) MSt Postgraduate Loans

If you are going to be taking out a SF Postgraduate Loan to cover your course costs then please follow the instructions below so that your loan can be paid out to you in a timely manner:

We will need to confirm your registration on the SF website so that the loan payments can be released to you. In order to do this we will need to make sure you have started your course.

  • If you are in Cambridge, please register with the Tutorial Office as soon as convenient; this entails visiting the Tutorial Office in College with the necessary identity documents
  • If not, please have your department confirm to us by email that you have started attending your course. The email should originate from your course/departmental administrator or academic tutor

We will not be able confirm your registration otherwise. Once we have confirmed you on the SFE website it takes 3 working days for you to receive your first loan instalment. You do not need to do this again in the following terms, it is only done once at the start of each academic year. 

US Federal and/or Private Educational Loans

The administration of these loans is handled jointly by Wolfson's Finance Office and the University's Student Services Centre. You can find detailed information regarding US student loans funding on the University of Cambridge website US Loans and Consumer Information pages.

If you are taking out a US Loan to cover your tuition fees then your UCF can be paid in line with your loan schedule. Unfortunately, we cannot reflect this UCF payment arrangement on your College account statement and your statements will show the full UCF being charged in full on Oct 24. 

If there is maintenance to be paid out to you this must be through bank transfer to a UK bank account. This means that you will need to have a UK bank account in order to receive your maintenance. You can ask the Tutorial Office for help on how to set up a bank account as soon as you arrive in Cambridge. Please note that due to the influx of new students October is usually a very busy month for local high street banks and you may have to wait a few weeks in order to get an appointment to set up a bank account.


Before your loan instalments can be released you need to

  •  Register with the Tutorial Office: This means that you need to check in to your College room (if living in College), provide your ID and pick up your University card from the Tutorial Office. Continuing students have to sign the register at the Porters Lodge to confirm they are back in Cambridge and studying. 
  • Open a UK bank account: The University work with Convera UK Ltd, who convert your funds from US$ to GBP£ and who will also be paying you the living expenses portion of your disbursement to your personal bank account (the amount left over after the College has taken any tuition fees/charges owing to ourselves for the payment period). About 2 weeks before the disbursement date, you will receive a request via email from Convera UK Ltd, requesting that you go into their portal and enter your UK bank details so that your living expense funds can be paid to you. Please see here for the University’s Guide on opening a UK bank account.
     

Please bear in mind that these loans are made out in US Dollars and, therefore, the amount received in GB Sterling is subject to fluctuations of the exchange rate. The College is not responsible for shortfalls in funding due to this, and students should bear this in mind when budgeting for their course and maintenance costs. As it is not certain when exactly the first payment will be received, please make sure you have sufficient maintenance funds for the beginning of your course as no advances can be made.

Please contact Katerina Gargaroni (Postgraduate students) or Birgit Lintner (Undergraduate students) at the Finance Office for any queries regarding the disbursement of your US student loan. The contact details for the Student Funding team that deals with the US loans scheme administration are:

Student Funding and Fee Policy Team
Student Services Centre
University of Cambridge
New Museums Site
Cambridge
CB2 3PT
StudentLoans@admin.cam.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 337971

 

Financial support

Information regarding scholarships, hardship funds, bursaries for music and sports, as well as travel and research grants are available on our financial support pages.