Student finance funding an extra year??

need2savenewbie

hello.

i have read previous posts and am aware that student finance fund 4 years for a full time course if needed.

the trouble is, my situation is more complicated so need more specific advice please!

i did 1st no probs, went on to 2nd year, had family difficulties etc and interrupted before completing 120 credits.

returned to study at different university 2 years later and did the remaining 30 credits.

now want to return to the original university to repeat 2nd year (grades really not good due to circumstances) then go on to 3rd year etc.

initial conversation with student finance was 'we will not fund your 2nd year if you do it again as you have already had 3 years funding.'

however, this is not true, because at the very least, full tuition fees were not paid last year as i only did 30 credits. i want to ring again tomorrow and remind them of this, because if i can get my maintenance loan as they said plus tuition fees paid (or most) i can retake which is what i really want and what the uni have agreed is best.

does anyone know if i will win this battle or will they just be stubborn and say i've had the 3 yrs even though they did not pay full tuition fees last year?

thanks for your help

Oldernotwiser

Why are you doing your second year yet again when you say that you now have enough credits?

need2savenewbie

as i said, my marks were really bad due to the circumstances, and this will affect my final degree mark, so myself and uni have agreed retake is for the best (plus quite a long break since i attended previously due to having a child etc!!!)

thanks

Caseyface

I did two years of a degree and then changed course completely because i wasn't happy etc etc. They let me transfer my credits over to the new course and i started in the second year of that course. So technically i did 4 years and they funded me for that. I had to write a letter of why i left my previous course though. Hope that is of some help

emidee

Hi Need2savenewbie

Student Finance WILL pay for more than the prescribed number of years that your course lasts for, the general rule is:

Number of course years + 1 year, minus number of years of previous HE Study.

However there are exceptions. If you didn't recieve Tuition Fee & Maintainance grant support for any of the previous study years, then they're not counted.

Also if you had what are called 'Compelling Personal Circumstances' in any given year, then you can ask for these to be taken into consideration (write). Unfortunately there's no guarantee with this, it's at the processor's discretion. :mad:

Incidentally if you're deemed not to be eligible for tuition fee support, then you'll still be eligible for all the other forms of support, bar the Tuition Fee grant & Maintenance Grant. (i.e CCG, PLA, ADG, Bursary, ALF Fund).

And lastly there's a situation where you can do one year of a course over 2 years, claiming 'full-time' support for both years yet only studying half a years' credits each year. It's really only useful if you have to pay your own fees, it makes it a lot cheaper. Ask your Uni's Advice & Welfare Dept about it, coz although it's legal (I've seen the 'Processor's Guidance Notes' about it); not many people know about it, least of all people in the Student Finance Callcentre, lol! :rolleyes:

HTH
Emily xx.

makes_cents

However there are exceptions. If you didn't recieve Tuition Fee & Maintainance grant support for any of the previous study years, then they're not counted.

This is wrong, even if you don't take a penny, a single days attendance counts as a full year of funding.

I've been refused funding for my first year of a three year course because I had previously attended a foundation degree and dropped out of the first year of another degree (without taking any financial assistance).