Earn upto £3,500 for 30 minutes work!!! 'Access to Learning Fund'

Zziggi

allsetuk wrote: »

.....i applied in october but as a single parent to a disabled son they offered me 1100 pounds. telling me to to reapply if my situation changed,

I think £1100 is a nice amount!

How does getting an official diagnosis change the amount of you need to pay due to a child's disability? I can't actually see why just getting an official diagnosis would change the situation which would mean you could reapply for more ALF money. If a child suddenly developed a problem that required extra expenses then i could understand the situation but if the child already has a problem, which you explained in the original ALF application, then why would an offical diagnosis be a "change in circumstances"? Surely it is just an official name has been placed on the child's already apparent problems? Also if you were wanting to get carers allowance then you must be getting DLA for your child at the medium or higher rate. The DLA is extra money to help meet your child's disability related expenses. Even if at the time of your original application you weren't getting DLA & carers allowance and you are now wanting the ALF to review your case on the grounds that you are ineligible for Carers Allowance, it must mean that you have had an increase of income since the first ALF award by the amount of your childs DLA (Which of course the ALF do want to know about in assessing your case). I can't see how this "change of circumstances" is a real change of circumstances and I can't see how telling them about the new found DLA and ineligibility for Carers allowance is going to strengthen your case (if anything it would weaken your case - surely?)

allsetuk wrote: »

uni finance took 5 months to make a decision and i kept asking them what was going on and they needed more and more evidence, i gave them every shred of medical and financial evidence , reciepts bills everything yet still they asked for me for more or they asked me to go in, which i couldnt as it was always when my son was on half term or was ill .....

It's not nice to be messed around but look at this situation from their side. They have awarded you just over a grand, which is more than many people have got. You were advised to contact them again if you situation changed. Maybe they think the situation hasn't changed significantly but you still reapply. Then they decide to ask you to come in to talk about this. Whenever they ask you to come in you say your child is ill, on holiday etc etc. Now it *could* look like you want it done on paper evidence and you are avoiding going in to see them. Eventually if they cannot get you into the office to see you to discuss the matter, you get turned down. Are you surprised they turned you away???

Maybe you just assumed you would get more money? How many people do you know got the top £3500? Probably one person at best. Surely no-one needs to tell you not to believe all the bragging that goes on... I'd be angry about the 5 month wait for a decision rather than (a) you didn't get more cash or (b) because of all these young, single students with well-paid part-time jobs who alledgedly got £3.5K by lying to the ALF.......

As a student with 2 disabled children, I'd have been more than happy with a grand!!

melancholly

bumping up

student_advisor

Spendless wrote: »

Is it only uni students who qualify or would college ones do too? and does it depend on the length of the course and hours of the course?

I work in an FE & HE College and we have two funds, one for FE courses (Learner Support Fund) and one for HE courses (Access to Learning Fund).

As a college we only get a very small amount of cash and do not struggle to spend it all unlike larger institutions.

thisisjoe

Are there any funds available for international students.

student_advisor

thisisjoe wrote: »

Are there any funds available for international students.

The ALF guidelines state that students must have been resident in the UK for the previous 3 years and have "settled status" which basically means no restrictions on them. There are exceptions, but they're too complicated to go into here.

On this basis, you would need to contact your institution to see if they had a specific fund for international students.

melancholly

bumping up again!

samsong_1234

I have to shell out my first part of my loan to Halls

Would it be crazy to go applying for this right away, even though im pretty sure i will need it within the first month what with needing a PC for my course etc

yeslek

samsong_1234 wrote: »

I have to shell out my first part of my loan to Halls

Would it be crazy to go applying for this right away, even though im pretty sure i will need it within the first month what with needing a PC for my course etc

are you sure its 100% essential and not just conveient?

i'm pretty sure the librarys and IT centres are open long enough...the ones at stafford uni at open 8am-11pm weekdays and 10am-6pm w/e and the library is open until 3am (cept w/e)

no real need for a PC really

if you still want one, build one? its easy to learn and costs half the price.
or buy a second hand one

HalibutMadness

I am wondering about this, even though I don't fit into any of the categories mentioned in the first post. My parents, until June, ran their own fairly successful business. However, the lease on their premises ran out, and for a pathetic reason was not renewed, so they now no longer have a job, and so obviously no income.

When I applied for a student loan I didn't choose to be income assessed as their would have been no point (as you are assessed on last years financial records), and so now I have a situation where my parents earn well below the limits for grants, but I will not be getting any. Do you think this is a suitable way to go to get help, or should I look at other ways?

If it helps, I am (as of today ) going to Oxford.

melancholly

firstly, congratulations! you will probably find that your college at oxford has a variety of funds you can apply for, so when you start, ask your tutor what would be the most appropriate fund to look at.