In Norway there are about 20,000 student flats, in part financed by public funding. These flats are administered by the student welfare organisations. Special government support schemes exist for building student flats and running kindergartens. Moreover, the student welfare organisations receive some public support for their overall costs. Norwegian law ensures Norwegian students economic aid from the State Educational Loan Fund, in the form of loans and grants.
Most support is in the form of loans.
Foreign applicants will only be supported for special programmes at individual institutions, however, foreign students may study in Norway without paying tuition. The accumulation of loan interest and repayment do not normally take effect before the studies have been completed. Outstanding loans are usually repaid over a period of 20 years. NSU has approximately 85,000 members. The students become members automatically when they pay their semester fee.