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

melancholly

bumping up to all the students starting soon

kelloggs36

My daughter is overdrawn up to her limit (just going into year 2), has no job, the bank have refused to increase her limit to their normal year 2 limit and she has to pay rent before she gets her loan. I wondered what her chances might be. She left it too late last yea. She is looking frantically for a job at the moment, but her rent will only just be covered by her loan, so she has no idea how she is going to eat or pay any bills at the moment as we can't afford to give her any money.

dmg24

As a short term measure she may be able to get a crisis loan, which will obviously need to be repaid once she has the loan.

Gilbretto

I'm gonna have to give this a go.

I've had to extend my overdraft again to cover my rent payments and am trying to open another student account to receive a second overdraft.

I'll let u know how i get on. :T

The_One_Who

My university does not have this. It only has loans available.

[Deleted User]

The_One_Who wrote: »

My university does not have this. It only has loans available.

Which university is this?

The_One_Who

Oh, apparently we (at Glasgow) do have a hardship fund, but most money is given out in the form of long or short term loans.

Dreaming_2

My university kind of said but not exactly said because I'm not disabled I can get a job. I'm over £2k in debt and for the past few years have been helping my mum at home after my dad died. She has just started a part time job though so things are on the up, but I'm still in debt and all I wanted was a hardship loan to help me through the summer and they said I could apply in that kind of 'we don't discriminate against applications' way but made it clear in a way that because I didn't have a disability I wouldn't really be considered.

If they expect me to have a job, why when I am looking for a job will the government not give me JSA. Because the government does not class students as unemployed, even in the summer we are classed in full time employment. It should not be required to work (despite the fact I do in term time, I could not over the summer for any extended period due to the economic circumstances of the country - just two temp jobs lasting a week or two each) when in education. The hardship funds should be there for students who are in hardship because my mum can't support me - I more support her not completely financially but helping her around the house.

The fact she doesn't receive government benefits either because my sister worked as an apprentice for a hairdressers 40 hours a week for £80 just further annoys me. They just want to pass the buck. After seeing how willing the doctor was to sign my mum off on the sick (my mum refused, despite struggling with depression she doesn't want to be classed as destitute) I am almost tempted to go myself and feign depression, then the university will probably be falling over themselves to give me a loan until January when I will have got a bit more student loan to pay off the debt in my bank. (I wouldn't do this really, but thats the state we live in, you need to prove your entitlement by focusing on what you can't do - I can work hard at uni, I can get good grades and I do plenty of extra stuff like helping new students and such - but because I don't fit in their 'needy' box they won't even lift a finger to help with financial hardship - I was £500 in the black before the summer so I don't frivolously spend my money, it went on rent, helping my sister out with her money, etc. the biggest 'selfish' spend was £150 on a holiday that I go on once a year with my friends)

I'll apply again in person when I get back to university and see how it goes but if I can't prove that I'm 'special' in some way I don't think they care.

[Deleted User]

The_One_Who wrote: »

Oh, apparently we (at Glasgow) do have a hardship fund, but most money is given out in the form of long or short term loans.

Ok, I thought you meant nothing was available at all (in grant form).

bestpud

Dreaming wrote: »

My university kind of said but not exactly said because I'm not disabled I can get a job. I'm over £2k in debt and for the past few years have been helping my mum at home after my dad died. She has just started a part time job though so things are on the up, but I'm still in debt and all I wanted was a hardship loan to help me through the summer and they said I could apply in that kind of 'we don't discriminate against applications' way but made it clear in a way that because I didn't have a disability I wouldn't really be considered.

If they expect me to have a job, why when I am looking for a job will the government not give me JSA. Because the government does not class students as unemployed, even in the summer we are classed in full time employment. It should not be required to work (despite the fact I do in term time, I could not over the summer for any extended period due to the economic circumstances of the country - just two temp jobs lasting a week or two each) when in education. The hardship funds should be there for students who are in hardship because my mum can't support me - I more support her not completely financially but helping her around the house.

The fact she doesn't receive government benefits either because my sister worked as an apprentice for a hairdressers 40 hours a week for £80 just further annoys me. They just want to pass the buck. After seeing how willing the doctor was to sign my mum off on the sick (my mum refused, despite struggling with depression she doesn't want to be classed as destitute) I am almost tempted to go myself and feign depression, then the university will probably be falling over themselves to give me a loan until January when I will have got a bit more student loan to pay off the debt in my bank. (I wouldn't do this really, but thats the state we live in, you need to prove your entitlement by focusing on what you can't do - I can work hard at uni, I can get good grades and I do plenty of extra stuff like helping new students and such - but because I don't fit in their 'needy' box they won't even lift a finger to help with financial hardship - I was £500 in the black before the summer so I don't frivolously spend my money, it went on rent, helping my sister out with her money, etc. the biggest 'selfish' spend was £150 on a holiday that I go on once a year with my friends)

I'll apply again in person when I get back to university and see how it goes but if I can't prove that I'm 'special' in some way I don't think they care.

Now, I'd expect a remark like that from someone with no experience of depression, but you are watching your mum struggle with this illness... :eek:

Although, when I've been depressed enough to go to my GP, the last thing I've worried about is being thought of as destitute! I would not have been able to work - simple as! Jeez, just getting to the GP has been too much before now!

I'm not sure why you needed to help your sister out? She is earning £80 a week!!

Good on you for supporting your mum but the fact is, you are able to work. There are three adults in your house - how much time can the housework take? Plenty of single student parents study, work and keep a house, along with all the other duties that go with being a parent!

Come on, the ALF is a limited pot and some people will need that money to keep on the course! Leave it for those who cannot work or have unforeseen circumstances to deal with!