Financial help for students
Student funding has a clear order of preference, and it runs from money you never repay to money that costs the most. Working down it in order is worth thousands of rand, and most of the deadlines are fixed.
NSFAS funds qualifying students at public universities and TVET colleges, covering fees and providing allowances. Applications open and close on fixed dates, and missing the window generally costs a full year.
Bursaries from companies, foundations and professional bodies are extensively under-applied for, particularly in scarce-skill fields. Many go unawarded each year for lack of applicants.
Institutions run their own hardship funds, merit awards and payment arrangements. The financial aid office is the single best place to ask, and it is the step students most often skip.
Bank study loans generally require a guarantor with verifiable income and often allow interest-only payments while studying — considerably cheaper than consumer credit.
Short-term consumer credit comes last, and for a full-time student without verifiable income it usually is not available at all. That is a constraint rather than a problem to solve with a different lender.
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Page last checked 10 August 2026. Statutory caps and lender terms change — confirm anything you intend to rely on with the provider or the National Credit Regulator. Found something wrong? Tell us and we will correct it.