Confused - regaring funding / loan & student accounts.

pretzelnut

I start college in August to do a 2 year HND as a mature student with 3 children (i live in scotland) and i am totally confused about everything.

I know i can apply for funding, i have used the calculator and it says my fee's will be paid for, but does this come out of the amount of loan i recieve or is this ''extra''?

Also i am already self-employed and i still want to be self employed as the course i am doing relates to my job, can i still do this and how will it affect tax credits?

Also i bank with natwest and my credit isnt good, long story from a long time ago but i have been a good customer with my bank for many years. Will i be abe to apply for a student account with my bank. How do student accounts work, could i apply anywhere to take advantage of the deals on offer or is it still based on credit scoring for student accounts.

Lokolo

Credit scoring will be part of it. We don't know the student bank deals at the moment though.

You get 2 parts to your loan:

Maintenance Loan
Tuition Loan

The tuition loan you do not see. It just goes to the uni to pay for fees. You of course see it on your student loan statement and have it added to your debt.
Maintenance Loan you get in your bank account.

pretzelnut

Ah ok, but as im in scotland i thought i got free tuition??? Or am i mistaken there.

Lokolo

There is that.......

Have you applied yet or not?

Once you apply you get told what you'll get. Then if you still confused post that and we can explain

Not sure how SAAS works entirely.

I would apply tomorrow if you haven't already otherwise you have to wait another week.

Due to essential infrastructure maintenance both our website and our online services will be unavailable from late on Thursday afternoon on 1 April until Tuesday 6 April. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

pretzelnut

No you cant apply to saas until late april.

So i wont know for some time what i'll be entitled to. It would be handy to know as we are due to get married in august but if i arent entitled to much, we will have to postpone the wedding so we can save some money over the next 5 months to help towards costs in year 1.

Lokolo

Ah I see, so you got something like:

Tution Fees: £1820
SAAS to pay: £1820

I don't understand that either.

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In the FAQ it says:

http://www.student-support-saas.gov.uk/faqs_fees.htm wrote:

Eligible Scottish domiciled and EU students studying in Scotland are entitled to free tuition. We will pay tuition fees straight to your institution.

but also

If your husband's, wife's, civil partner's or partner's income is £20,645 or above we will expect them to make a contribution towards your fees.

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There is a Scottish student who roams these boards so it maybe worthwhile just bumping this thread every now and again until she notices.