SAAS Travel Expenses 09/10 APPLY NOW

eklynne

The_One_Who wrote: »

For those needing to buy a travelcard, the loan/bursary comes in on the 7th, surely that would cover it. To be honest, I'm grateful I get any travel covered, I know I'll get my money soon enough.

Not everyone is in a like for like financial position. My friend for example has almost every penny of her loan instalment accounted for with rent, food and bills, and buys her full semester pass at the start of the academic year (when she gets double loan instalment) and post Christmas semester pass in early January (when she should theoretically have her travel expenses through). Now she is in a position where she has to fork out over £230 of her loan instalment on her travel pass which will leave her short for everything else, and no doubt anxious for the next two weeks about when it's arriving. Not the best situation when we all have exam stress at this time of year.
And as for being 'grateful'. I don't understand the concept of being grateful for something you are entitled to financially as a student. Some of us are putting ourselves through severe financial hardship to further our education and if the travel expenses weren't paid I am sure it would impact on many a student's decision to study at all.
I hope everyone still waiting gets their payments soon.

The_One_Who

Travel expenses are something that no one else in the UK, outside of Scotland get. Those commuting elsewhere need to pay for it out of their loan. I know that it is not something we need to get given to us, much like having free tuition. I'm sorry, but saying that you haven't received your claim on Christmas Day is a bit much. Or really, everyone should expect to have to wait during the holiday period. It happens every year.

eklynne

The_One_Who wrote: »

Travel expenses are something that no one else in the UK, outside of Scotland get. Those commuting elsewhere need to pay for it out of their loan. I know that it is not something we need to get given to us, much like having free tuition. I'm sorry, but saying that you haven't received your claim on Christmas Day is a bit much. Or really, everyone should expect to have to wait during the holiday period. It happens every year.

With all due respect, the Scottish loan/bursary/grant system works out per month far less than our southern contemporaries, whose travel expenses are factored in to what they get to live on per month.
Also, my concern is that some students who applied on the 14th received their payments within 3 days, yet others are still waiting. I can sympathise with people's frustration is all I am saying. It's a tough time of year financially for most, let alone those getting by on a student income.

GlasweJen

Apparently if your expenses are less than a certain cap they just go through and if over the cap are scrutinised to take longer to pay out. Mine went up a lot in 4th year because I moved out of the city and had a long commute and it took 14 days to pay out, in the first 3 years it paid out within a week.

weejan

I totally agree, almost everything I recieve as a student has to be paid back when I finish study so what exactly are we gratefull for? Debt?

The_One_Who

weejan wrote: »

I totally agree, almost everything I recieve as a student has to be paid back when I finish study so what exactly are we gratefull for? Debt?

The chance of an education? It's your choice to enter higher education and know that it needs to be funded somehow. I don't see why it should necessarily be the taxpayer who has to give students a free ride.

eklynne

The_One_Who wrote: »

The chance of an education? It's your choice to enter higher education and know that it needs to be funded somehow. I don't see why it should necessarily be the taxpayer who has to give students a free ride.

Well I fully expect to be paying wads of cash into the system when I graduate and get a job in my field. I have also worked full time and paid tax for 15 years previous to going to Uni so I don't particularly buy into this argument. It's not students draining the public purse, it's people who abuse the benefits system with absolutely no hope or intention of ever putting anything back. Student funding is essentially an investment in this country's greatest resource - it's population. My daughter will be applying for Uni in 3 years and I would far rather the government funded her education than paid her to sign on every 2 weeks, after all, her father and I have MORE than paid for it already as far as I am concerned.

The_One_Who

eklynne wrote: »

Well I fully expect to be paying wads of cash into the system when I graduate and get a job in my field. I have also worked full time and paid tax for 15 years previous to going to Uni so I don't particularly buy into this argument. It's not students draining the public purse, it's people who abuse the benefits system with absolutely no hope or intention of ever putting anything back. Student funding is essentially an investment in this country's greatest resource - it's population. My daughter will be applying for Uni in 3 years and I would far rather the government funded her education than paid her to sign on every 2 weeks, after all, her father and I have MORE than paid for it already as far as I am concerned.

Yes, and I would argue that the welfare system in this country needs a radical overhaul. But students seem to be expecting more and more and more. Maybe if there were less students there would be more money to go around.

eklynne

The_One_Who wrote: »

Yes, and I would argue that the welfare system in this country needs a radical overhaul. But students seem to be expecting more and more and more. Maybe if there were less students there would be more money to go around.

And so they should expect more! Scotland has prided herself on her education system for hundreds of years and if you ask me the government should spend way more money on our populus's education. It's not students squeezing the public purse, it's greedy MP's who think the country should pay their way, moronic decisions to engage in a war that doesn't need to be fought and the subsequent BILLIONS spent on arms in doing so, and banks being irresponsible with ordinary people's money and needing millions of pounds in bail outs to rectify the situation.
I am quite stunned by your attitude to be honest, but each to their own.

The_One_Who

Scotland's school system is going down the pan with all these new 'initiatives'. There is also a difference between spending more on education and giving more money to students. There are now a lot of students expecting to be handheld through their university education rather than doing anything by themselves, which is simply wrong.