student carer needing help

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

vickyb25 wrote: »

my loan i receive is less than i received through CA and IS. although my mum doesnt pay rent as her house is now paid for i still have to obviously pay keep to her for living in her house and paying my way im not rent free in that way.

i didnt qualify for ALG (after being told i did and then applying for it) while in college before sept as my previous financial earnings (as was previously employed 2009 but had to leave to commit to caring role) meant that i earnt too much to be in receipt of the ALG.

@jowo ill post in the debt free part too thanks.

Considering that you are caring for your mum will she not let you live there rent free in exchange for the care that you provide.

Afterall if you were not having to care for her you would be able to get a job & earn your own money as well as paying your own rent.

Mojisola

Are you sure that your Mum is getting everything she is entitled to? It would be worth having a benefit check done. Ask for an advisor from the Welfare and Benefits Office of your local council to come and see her.

Has she had an assessment of her care needs done by Social Services? Also, have you had a Carer's Assessement done?

While it's great that you are willing to care for your mother, it would also be good to take up any other help available. It's going to be difficult enough while you're at uni - what if after uni the perfect job comes up and it's miles away from where your mother lives? Are you going to stay single for the rest of your life because work and caring commitments don't allow for any social life? What happens to your mother if you get ill, need to go into hospital or even want to go on holiday?

One person doing all the care for another is not always the best situation. See if you can get other people involved so that you can get on with your life and your mother can be sure that she will get care whatever happens in your life.

silvercar

Previously you had CA and IS, as a student you get student maintenance loan and grant plus tuition fee loan. Most students will need to do some part time work to supplement this but then they have rent to pay as well as living costs. As you don't have rent to pay (though I can see that you still have living costs), you should be able to manage on the loan and grants.

kingfisherblue

Although full time students cannot claim CA, part time students can. Could you study part time, over a longer period of time, instead of full time? I did my degree over five years instead of three, and still received IS and CA. I also didn't have any tuition fees to pay, and received a grant of £250 a year towards travel, books and childcare. I didn't apply for, or need, a student loan, but I'm not sure if I would have been eligible anyway, as I still received IS and CA.

Indie_Kid

kingfisherblue wrote: »

I didn't apply for, or need, a student loan, but I'm not sure if I would have been eligible anyway, as I still received IS and CA.

The grant you mentioned, is the maximum you can get. Many part-time students are either on benefits or work alongside study. There's no loan for part-time students.