Help With Student Loans - HERE!

Oldernotwiser

Sylvan wrote: »

He's a "straight A" (/A*) student but he wants to do a practical course and none of the universities offer anything sufficiently hands-on. He applied for an HND but they persuaded him to do their foundation degree instead on the basis that they'll still let him do all the good stuff on the side:rotfl:.
We feel that after 2 years on a course that has an entrance requirement of only 80 UCAS points he's likely to be looking for something more intellectually challenging...

Will he have to do anything special when he applies for finance, to make sure they link it with his brother's?

He'll be bored out of his mind on a foundation degree if he's an A/A* student.

I'm afraid it sounds as if he's been the victim of sharp sales practice by this college which will cost him a year of his life and add 8/9,000 to his debt! I'm sorry to speak so bluntly but has he had some independent advice on this because it seems like a very poor decision to me?

Lokolo

such_a_dommy wrote: »

Hi there SLC,


A friend mentioned I could work part-time (upto 16 hrs a week) and still receive full award from student loans and also not pay tax...

though after reading martins pages I will pay tax if i earn over £6400... but not sure if i can get the full amount by earning upto this?

please could anyone shed any light on this matter as the person i spoke to mentioned just over £1k for the entire year if i didnt work!?!?!

You can currently earn £6,475 a tax year before paying tax.

Your earned income isn't counted towards your student loan assessment. Only unearned income.

(I think this is for both dependant and independent students, definitely for dependant though)

Sylvan

Will he have to do anything special when he applies for finance, to make sure they link it with his brother's?

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

He'll be bored out of his mind on a foundation degree if he's an A/A* student.

I'm afraid it sounds as if he's been the victim of sharp sales practice by this college which will cost him a year of his life and add 8/9,000 to his debt! I'm sorry to speak so bluntly but has he had some independent advice on this because it seems like a very poor decision to me?

Warning: massively and horrifically off-topic...

Thanks for your concern Oldernotwiser. Believe me he knows all about being bored! He's been the luckiest of the five so far - at least his last school allowed him to take an A level when he was 15.

I'm not sure whether it is a poor decision - I know I'd have been much happier if they had allowed me to become a gardener, a nursery nurse or a telecom engineer (all mooted and slapped down ~ I was allowed three choices: Doctor/Lawyer/Chartered Accountant; Oxford/Harvard/Yale ~ the awful, pushy "Ethnic Mother" is a comedy stalwart for good reason:p) {I found a 4th choice...}

He's had 6 rejections so far.
Glasgow rejected him twice ~ first for Veterinary Medicine, second for Physics ~ and then didn't even bother replying to his application for Mechanical Engineering.
All the vet schools insist on a Chemistry A level and the school he's at now wasn't prepared to timetable 4 A2s so he had to drop Maths, meaning he'd probably have to do a foundation year anyway for Mech. Eng. - the next one up is currently doing that and says it's predominantly Chemistry.
:eek:Chemistry :wall: is an extremely dirty word in this household. The A level is apparently as boring and annoying now as it was 30 years ago. The Chemistry coursework is the final nail in the coffin.

He gave up on academia and applied for a shepherding course for next year and was looking for evening classes in welding, vehicle maintenance etc to take at the same time. His fall-back plan was to "just work for a year" (and we all know where that leads:o)

So we found him a couple of National Diplomas ("Agricultural Machinery / Land Based Technology" and "Land-Based Mechanisation") and luckily the one he opted for had an open morning on Saturday. We really can't fault the college. The man took one look at his application form and said "Why do you want to do this? You'd be marking time for two years". They've assured him he can do the degree and still get stuck in to all the practical stuff with the ND students (I think they'd have promised him the moon if they'd had to - after all he had more than the requisite 80 UCAS points before he'd reached 16:rotfl: ) - and he'll finish the Maths A level if I can find him an evening class, so even Glasgow might just be prepared to accept him in the end!

(and the grant/loan/bursary will be much more than the £30pw EMA he would have qualified for if he had done the ND, so we won't have to worry about him starving:T)

skabunny

Hi there, I would be grateful for any help you can give.
I dropped out of uni about 10 years ago after my second year, back in the day when it was a tuition fee grant and maintenance grant. I did also have a loan at this time but paid it all back after I left.
Now I have decided to return to higher education and managed to get accepted at a good uni (which I thought would have been the hard part) but when I contacted student finance direct to sort out a loan they said they would be unable to offer me one for tuition fees as I had previously had funding for them and they would only pay for my last year. I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do now. And a bit annoyed as it is only a loan I am asking for - I am going to pay it back at some point!!!!I am careful with money now and can probably save enough to just pay the 3290 by september but then I will have no money to actually fund me while I am there. I can still get the maintanence loan but this will just about cover my rent not food or books or anything. Is there anywhere else I can get a loan for this from?
I also did one of those budgeting calculations and it frustratingly told me that I would ne short of money by exactly the tuition fee amount!!!!!
Please help.

Oldernotwiser

The only other loans you could get would be private ones where you have to start repayments straightaway.

Have you thought of transfering your credits to the OU and finishing your degree part time whilst working?

skabunny

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

The only other loans you could get would be private ones where you have to start repayments straightaway.

Have you thought of transfering your credits to the OU and finishing your degree part time whilst working?

Sadly they do not do my course - I am going to study environmental science and its pretty practical on the fieldwork side of things. They do do environmental studies but I don't think I would get as much out of it looking at their options.
I guess I will just have to make do with a whacking great overdraft and some pretty thrifty living. Maybe I could write my dissertation on self suffieciency in practise or something!

meliaalison

Hi I don't know if anyone can help me, I just have a quick question. Basically I was doing an adv diploma in nursing and thus got a non means tested bursary of about £550 per month. I am doing my final year and have change to doing the hons degree so I had to reapply for the means tested bursary. My husband earnt about £40,000 upto april 2009 and we have 4 children 3 of whom are dependent (although I would love to know when children actually stop becoming dependent lol). Anyway my bursary has been reduced to £236 per month and I have been advised to apply for student loan as I can't really afford to loose £300 per month and still eat. On speaking to SL they have told me that as I am doing an NHS degree I get 50% less than anyone else also as it is year 3 I also get less than I wd for yr 2 so basically they have told me I will get a maximum of £1000 for the year bascially I would like to know would it be worth me applying for the means tested loan or should I just go for maintenance and would I really only get £1000 for the year? thank you for your help

ThinkingOfLinking

Hiya,
if there's anyone here with SLC experience, I've got a few questions I'd really appreciate you answering.

I do not have a valid passport. It asks for an original birth certificate but I only have a certified copy; is this ok?

Regarding estrangement, how do I prove it? Is it enough that I live 250ish miles away from my father?

I only have one parent anyway, so how would I prove this? Mother isn't dead, just left when I was 2 and not been seen since.

Finally, is there a name for any kinds of form to ask for from the job centre to prove my income from them over the last few years? I do not have any P45s or P60s...

Just really need to get my money on time or else there's trouble (for me I mean!)

I'll be 25 in October but the course starts in September...

Taiko

meliaalison wrote: »

Hi I don't know if anyone can help me, I just have a quick question. Basically I was doing an adv diploma in nursing and thus got a non means tested bursary of about £550 per month. I am doing my final year and have change to doing the hons degree so I had to reapply for the means tested bursary. My husband earnt about £40,000 upto april 2009 and we have 4 children 3 of whom are dependent (although I would love to know when children actually stop becoming dependent lol). Anyway my bursary has been reduced to £236 per month and I have been advised to apply for student loan as I can't really afford to loose £300 per month and still eat. On speaking to SL they have told me that as I am doing an NHS degree I get 50% less than anyone else also as it is year 3 I also get less than I wd for yr 2 so basically they have told me I will get a maximum of £1000 for the year bascially I would like to know would it be worth me applying for the means tested loan or should I just go for maintenance and would I really only get £1000 for the year? thank you for your help

Actualy figure for the year would be ~£2300. The loan is non means tested, as you're not entitled to means tested support from Student Finance England. If you're struggling financially, then take it. And if you're not, take it anyway!

Taiko

Flickering_Ember wrote: »

Hiya,
if there's anyone here with SLC experience, I've got a few questions I'd really appreciate you answering.

I do not have a valid passport. It asks for an original birth certificate but I only have a certified copy; is this ok?

Regarding estrangement, how do I prove it? Is it enough that I live 250ish miles away from my father?

I only have one parent anyway, so how would I prove this? Mother isn't dead, just left when I was 2 and not been seen since.

Finally, is there a name for any kinds of form to ask for from the job centre to prove my income from them over the last few years? I do not have any P45s or P60s...

Just really need to get my money on time or else there's trouble (for me I mean!)

I'll be 25 in October but the course starts in September...

As answered in a previous thread, it's over 25 by the 1st September. You would need to prove estrangement with things like social workers letter, solicitors or other evidence from a person of good standing who is fully aware of the situation.

Failing that, you need to contact HMRC who can provide you with a statement of earnings on request.