declined hardship fund- advice needed 29 May 2009 at 10:30PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Student Money Saving 15 replies 2.7K views

roxxzor

[FONT=&quot]hi, this is my 1st post here after reading through the forum and looving the helpful advice now i feel i would like to help out as much as possible.

at this time i am currently in my 1st year at uni just taking my exams xD but i have no money at all as i have to pay rent to a private landlord and bills etc. i handed in my access to learning form 2 weeks ago and got my result for the fund which was declined because i don’t meet the requirements,

i am currently working although my shifts have been cut so i only get 400 a month
my overdraft is maxed at 2000 and no money available
i had the largest loan /grant from student finance
my rent is £450 a month (my mum suffers from depression and has gone to live with my sister and left me with the rent =( and is is only my name on tenancy agreement until October )
i have gas / electricity bills for 250 each
my transport to uni each day is around £4
i am 21 years old and live in the uk

i applied to the fund as my wage is not covering what i need to live on and i am finding it hard to buy food and even get in to uni, i have been unable to buy the books i needed for my course which has had an adverse effect on my results.

the letter they gave me advised me to get in contact if my situation gets any worse, is there any sort of grant or loan i am able to apply to? and am i eligible for the fund in my current situation?

Can you please help me and advice me on what I should do with regards to the atl fund

Thanks Chris[/FONT]

Oldernotwiser

Can you get someone in to share for the summer or another job to bring in more money? It doesn't seem fair that your mother's left you with all the bills to pay - if she's onbenefits then she'll be given money to cover these things.

blue_ashleigh

Did your uni explain why they had refused you access to learning?

Oldernotwiser

blue_ashleigh wrote: »

Did your uni explain why they had refused you access to learning?

ALF funds have been cut very hard this year.

blue_ashleigh

That's a bit pants.

Perhaps you could advertise on Gumtree that you'd be willing to babysit? I had a few offers from families when I posted, so it may be worth doing just for a little extra money (but make sure you stay safe!).

Fire_Fox

roxxzor wrote: »

[FONT=&quot]hi, this is my 1st post here after reading through the forum and looving the helpful advice now i feel i would like to help out as much as possible.

at this time i am currently in my 1st year at uni just taking my exams xD but i have no money at all as i have to pay rent to a private landlord and bills etc. i handed in my access to learning form 2 weeks ago and got my result for the fund which was declined because i don’t meet the requirements,

i am currently working although my shifts have been cut so i only get 400 a month
my overdraft is maxed at 2000 and no money available
i had the largest loan /grant from student finance
my rent is £450 a month (my mum suffers from depression and has gone to live with my sister and left me with the rent =( and is is only my name on tenancy agreement until October )
i have gas / electricity bills for 250 each
my transport to uni each day is around £4
i am 21 years old and live in the uk

i applied to the fund as my wage is not covering what i need to live on and i am finding it hard to buy food and even get in to uni, i have been unable to buy the books i needed for my course which has had an adverse effect on my results.

the letter they gave me advised me to get in contact if my situation gets any worse, is there any sort of grant or loan i am able to apply to? and am i eligible for the fund in my current situation?

Can you please help me and advice me on what I should do with regards to the atl fund

Thanks Chris[/FONT]

It's hard to understand what you have coming in and going out. Can you complete this, press the format for MSE button, and either post it here or on the Debt Free Wannabe board?
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Full maintenance grant is £2800 a year, full student loan is £3400 a year, your wages are £4800 a year. Total £11K a year untaxed, plus the £2K you spent of your overdraft. That's an average of £1080 a month income, of which you are paying £450 rent, no council tax, £80 travel. Why haven't you paid your energy bills or have enough money for food or books??

If you read the DFW board you will see entire families living on £4K a year, after rent and council tax. Why are you paying your travel costs by the day? It's usually cheaper to get a weekly or monthly bus pass and you should then be entitled to a student pass of some description - sometimes this is accessible through uni and sometimes through the bus/ train company.

MessyMare

If I was you I wouldnt worry about buying text books- I did, and it was possibly the biggest waste of money, as we barely used most of them. Uni libraries are a godsent! Well, so long as you remember when to take the books back and avoid incurring large fines (I've lost count of the amount of money I've thrown down the drain on late fines)

smileygiraffe

It's been my experience that towards the end of the year, there isn't all that much left. however, if you don't go home over the summer, there is usually a summer ALF fund that could help you out. Although it is usually reserved for students with dependants.

ALF is usually worked out by putting your incomes and outgoings for the year into a spreadsheet and seeing what the amount at the end is. if your incomes match or exceed your outgoings, you're refused. it's common sense on that end. but like I said, it's very late in the year to be applying so the fund will be really low. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but couldn't you have applied earlier?

the ALF usually refills at the start of the next school year, so get your form in QUICK as soon as they start enrolling the first lot of students, even if you haven't enrolled yet, get it done. in the meantime, I'd suggest you get a job/lodger/cheaper accomodation.

Impet_Limpet

Is there anybody at your university you can talk through your financial issues with?

Sometimes universities have people in the student union who can help plan a budget and give advice to help reduce your outgoings and may help you submit another application if applicable (or check the one you sent in orignally for errors or omissions).

When I was at my uni I discovered when applying to the ALF that our uni had guideline figures of what they expect things to cost for a single person under the age of 25 eg rent £70 per week, food £xx, bills £xx. My incomings exceeded that hence I was rejected, however I got good advice on reducing my bills/fuel/food bills and it was enough to keep my head above water.

Impet_Limpet

ColleenPamela wrote: »

If I was you I wouldnt worry about buying text books-Uni libraries are a godsent!

She's right, you may only refer to books a few times, there is no point buying them. Better to borrow them from the library or try "eBooks" which many librarys can offer nowadays or if you really need to own them/ mark them, buy them second hand.

Mrs_P_Pincher

Go and see your Student Union money advisors. They may be able to recommend to the people who run the ALF Fund that they make you 'a non-standard award'.

Gotta be worth a try

Mrs P P