Help With Student Loans - HERE!

TeaBoy_2

i got my forms in really early for this year, seems ages ago now. I've not heard anything back yet. when are we supposed to get confirmation?

Goodweenatron

Hi,
I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I think my situation is completely hopeless but you never know.
I am 21, just going into my second year. I receive the minimum student loan available because of the amount of money my parents earn ( i have actually just applied for non-income assessed this year, but it's still the same amount.) The problem is i do not receive ANY financial support from my parents whatsoever (they are VERY unhappy i have chosen a degree in the arts instead of something 'more academic'). I have been living away from home for a year and obviously have to fund all the usual household related expenses. I pay my fees and all my travel expenses also. I am basically an independant student ( i really would like to stress that my parents contribute NOTHING- i'm not just some whinging student who wants more money!). My problem comes when applying for my loan. I do not fit any of the tick boxes for "independent" student status. I am not married, i have no children, i am not irreconcilably separated from my parents i am not over 25 and i have not been living away from home for 5 years. I work everyday i am not at uni (4 and a half days a week), which, although difficult, has not been a giant problem this year but i am worried going into my second and third years that i will not have enough time to put into studying. I have applied for financial help from my university but i do not qualify for the same reasons i do not qualify for independent student status with student loans. Is there anything you can suggest? have you come across other students in this situation?

AddieH

Goodweenatron, do you have a Welfare officer that you can talk to at your Student Union they are usually very helpful and may have some ideas for you?

andyrules

Hi

I have 3 loans, 2 before 1998, the first was taken out before I turned 40. I just defer each year as I don't earn enough. Years ago, I was told (by more than one slc rep) that the first loan would be written off when I was 50, but now that milestone has happened I'm told it's now 65. Has there been a mistake? I don't have any orginal paperwork, not sure why. I can't find anything on the website that refers to my query. Can anyone help please?

TeaBoy_2

was on the phone to student support to ask what the hell is going on with loan as i sent application of months ago...
they've only gone and lost my appliction form, so i'm a wee bit annoyed!!!!

what are the chances of me having any money for the start of uni in a couple of weeks time?? i'm guessing its very slim. so what the hell should i do? i'm already into third overdraft and really struggling.

liz545

I've recently received my pay award, along with a repayment of back pay. I've had my student loan deducted from the back pay, as well as my salary. Is this how it should happen? It seems to me that the lump sum of back pay, if it had been paid in installments along with my regular pay, wouldn't have pushed me over the threshold for a repayment, but because my employer took so long to agree the pay scales, I've been penalised by the SLC!

toepazz

My daughter (22) has given her full-time job to study at Bournemouth Uni (3 years Advanced Diploma Mental Health Nursing) from October. It seems that, being an "independent student" (having been self-sufficient for 3 years) who is neither under 19 nor over 25, she falls into an administrative black hole so far as additional funding is concerned.

She has been awarded a bursary from her university but as she currently shares a rented house with a friend (who is in full-time work) and still has to contribute to all the bills, she is about £150 a month short of what she really needs to keep her head above water.

She has been down the Council Tax rebate route but as yet no decision has been made - similarly with Housing Benefit.

Can anyone please advise if she is likely to be entitled to any other help at all, or have we exhausted every avenue already?

Sadly we are complete novices in the Uni world and any help would be most welcome - many thanks in advance :T

Ollieda

Sorry if this has been asked before but i'm just a bit confused.

I've been awarded £3000 for my tuition fees on a tuition fee loan, and then i've also been awarded £2700 on the maintainance grant (non-repayable right?) which means my tuition fees are covered but i'm still about £1000 in paying for my accomidation as my maintainance grant doesnt fully cover it, so i'm already £1k down before even considering living costs. Is this right or have i missed out on some other type of loan?

hostie

Hi there, maybe you can help me.

I started uni in 1995 and left in 1997 to care for a family member with cancer. I was on invalid care allowance but my head was a bit of a mess and although I spoke to the Student Loans Company I didn't actually defer my loans at that time. In 1998 when the situation improved a bit and I was no longer required to provide full time care, I took a job. I also started repaying the loans. Then in 2000 I went back to uni to complete the degree I had left. I stopped making payments to the loans as I was no longer working. At this time my head was in a better state and I tried to defer the loans. I was able to defer them BUT my loans have my date of graduation as 1998 and because I didn't defer them earlier, they accrued quite a high interest all the time from 1997.

On the telephone a few years ago I was told by a few separate advisors that I could try to get my date of graduation changed to 2001. I wrote letters but was never able to do this. Do you know how I can do this? I DID graduate in 2001 so really they should put this on their records. I also feel that it was unjust to charge high interest to someone in such a distressing situation. I am now repaying the loans but would like to reduce all the interest which I feel has been unfairly applied to them.

Thanks for reading this far!!

AddieH

Ollieda wrote:

Sorry if this has been asked before but i'm just a bit confused.

I've been awarded £3000 for my tuition fees on a tuition fee loan, and then i've also been awarded £2700 on the maintainance grant (non-repayable right?) which means my tuition fees are covered but i'm still about £1000 in paying for my accomidation as my maintainance grant doesnt fully cover it, so i'm already £1k down before even considering living costs. Is this right or have i missed out on some other type of loan?

Yes a grant is "non-repayable", most definitions of grant include the "non-repayable", but the terminology used is usually "non-repayable grant" presumably to make that clearer.

So are you saying your annual accomodation is £3,700? Crikey I thought mine was pricey! If you are entitled to the full maintenance grant you should also be entitled to quite a large maintenance loan as well, this will be dependent on where you live and if that happens to be London which I hope it with those accommodation charges it is, you might be able to get up to £3,970 (the London loan rate is £6,170, but £1,200 of this is a part of your £2,700 maintenance grant).

Hope that helps.