Education Maintenance Allowance
What is EMA?
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is an income-assessed weekly payment of £40 to help 16 to 18 year olds with the cost of further education.
Payments are made every two weeks directly into the student's bank account. It provides young people, who wish to continue in education after school leaving age, with an incentive to earn awards through good attendance and achieving agreed objectives.
How to apply
Before making your application, there are some things you should check to make sure you are eligible to get EMA - see link at the bottom of this page for details.
Apply directly online to 'Student Finance Wales'. You will be required to create an account.
Key dates for the 2024 to 2025 academic year
April 2024
Applications for the new academic year become available. The earlier you make your application, the better. If you do not know if you’ll be continuing at school or going to college, that’s OK. You can still make an application and let 'Student Finance Wales' know if anything changes.
30 June 2024
Submit your application and evidence by this date to have your application approved by the start of your course. You can still apply after this date.
13 weeks
To be eligible for backdated payments, you must apply within 13 weeks of the start of your course.
31 August 2025
This is the last date 'Student Finance Wales' can accept your application and evidence for you to be eligible for EMA in academic year 2024 to 2025.
For further information and how to apply please see the Student Finance Wales website:
