No Money for University

hermoine87

I am going to Uni this September and have recently been assessed for income by the student loans company. My parents don't earn a lot, as one of them is retired and are in no position to help me out financially. But, despite this, I am still assessed on THEIR income. It seems silly as now I am hardly eligible for any money and yet they are unable to give me any at the same time (not that i would ask them for any).

It seems I am stuck in this middle band of people whose parents earnings are ok but means I won't get anything for university. I've tried all local councils, Direct gov, student finance etc and no luck.

Does anyone have a clue as to where I could get some extra funding??

Thanks

duchy

You could get a part time job whilst you study.

If you already live seperately from your parents already and have done for some time you can be assessed on your own income .

Presumably you qualify for student loans ?

Did you not look into how you were going to support yourself before now though ?

hermoine87

Yes of course I did but the amount I was assessed for got massively reduced. I lived by myself for 2.5 years in another country but they need to see you have done it for 3 years. I have actively looked for part time work and am still doing so but I will be going to a small area where there really aren't enough jobs to go round.

Sophie4120

I can't quite tell by the way you have phrased your first post whether you already know this - but you are eligible for a non-income assessed loan and tuition fee loan.

When I started Uni I was in a similar position to yourself - my loan was the minimum, yet my parents actually wanted to start spending their hard earned cash on themselves for a change So I had no parental contributions whatsoever.

I knew this was the case so worked all summer before I started (and had been saving small amounts since I first started working at 16) - have you had a job during the holidays and have you been able to save anything? My first recommendation is to sort yourself out a job at your new Uni ASAP. I.e. before the other students drink their first loan away and realise they need to start earning. Our Uni had a 'job shop' which was a good source of ads for part-time work, but CV drop in as many other places as possible.

Once you start Uni, go straight to your student information centre and ask them about hardship funds. There is a lot of paperwork involved, but it is certainly worth filling out. You can usually apply for these once a year, but get your application sorted before April. My Uni were great and I was given two of these hardship grants, totalling £1800 over 2 years. It was an absolute life saver and I couldn't thank them enough.


Edit: sorry, looks like you posted as I did, apologies for any repeated q's!

melancholly

you must be entitled to student loans to some level? if you are a British citizen who has been resident for 3 years, you are entitled to a minimum level of support

a lot of students are in your position - many work part time or work full time all through holidays. most have a plan a little further in advance though....

have you applied for a student account? that will give you an interest free overdraft for the short term.
have you applied for jobs where you are going to uni?
have you chosen cheaper accommodation?

you could try the access to learning fund, but i think you should try to get some more regular income as a first attempt.

hermoine87

Sophie, thanks very much for your post. I have been working (doing temp work) but although I am very good with money I still couldn't save alot of it as I had expenses like car insurance etc which I had to pay out for.

I have been looking on the union website for jobs but they don't seem to be there. I have actively sent out cv's but with no avail as I don't have any retail experience (used to be an admin manager).

I have checked on the uni website for extra funding in special circumstances but i don't fit the mould for any. I was trying to look for scholarships for my subject (Dietetics) or companies that sponsor you but they don't seem to be doing at the moment because of the economic climate.

melancholly

do you need your car?
could you sell it, get a lump sum and save on expenses like car tax, insurance, MOT and petrol?

hermoine87

I definately need my car, i will more than likely have to drive from my parents house everyday.

melancholly

ok... but you will have to make some tough choices. if you're living at home, that at least should save a huge amount of money on rent versus halls. that must mean that you loan only needs to cover living expenses?

Lokolo

Are you being charged rent to live at home or not?

If your parents aren't earning a lot (one is retired) then you will get grant and extra loan anyway.

ladylouise62

Would you be able to replace your car with a scooter as they are cheaper to run (or even a bike if it's not too far)?

Also, although it doesn't help you right now, next year (spring to early summer) will be a census year and they will need help - application is about now until Nov I think. The good thing about a lot of the roles is that you can fit them around your studying.
https://censusjobs.co.uk/fe/tpl_census01.asp?newms=info1