parents bankrupt - student grants

Oldernotwiser

PaulW1965 wrote: »

It's a view held by only a few posters. Unfortunately, they are retired/under-employed and have lots of time on their hands to haunt this board. They seem to get their kicks out of being as mean as possible. Still I suppose it's like RL, you meet all sorts.

Perhaps some of us have a wide experience of helping students and know that it's completely normal for them to have part time jobs?

I wouldn't encourage anyone to work the excessive hours that some students do but a couple of evenings working in a bar or a Saturday job aren't going to make any difference to a students' results and may make a great difference to their financial peace of mind.

JAYk_2

As some have suggested, you'll need a part-time job or a full-time job; and in my view if that fails I suggest lookin into self-employment to make ends meet - better than doing nothing at all / not working. Wish you well.

dmg24

silvercar wrote: »

The Official Receiver should make an allowance in calculating the IPA ( amount the bankrupt pays each month) for a dependent adult, given that the student loan company use the bankrupt's income to assess the contribution that the parent is deemed to be paying to support their child. This instruction is included in the guidance to ORs apparently.

Whether that actually gives the parent sufficient income to feel able to support their student offspring is a different matter, but the fact is that it should be included in the allowance of essential spending that is made when calculating a bankrupt's income that is available to repay creditors.

The issue that the OP has is that the father's income has not been taken into account for their student loan, so the above may not apply.

bananamania wrote: »

Before his bankruptcy, there was no point in using income assessment for student loans, since I would not have received any anyway, and since my college room rent is fairly high (you get allocated), my basic not assessed maintenance loan just about covers my rent (maybe £50 shortfall overall). He supported me so that I could afford food, etc.

MsHoarder

Get married?
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/How_to_Apply_for_Student_Finance

Joking aside...

If you aren't already in debt, and are in your final year, use your interest-free overdraft to buy food. Also may be worth seeing if your university has a hardship fund (this will mean telling someone there about your situation). The student union may have someone who can advise you on this.

Oldernotwiser

Is there any possibility of your mother getting a job, which would help both you and your parents?

ThinkingOfLinking

Just a note to the OP:

I'm currently in uni doing 3 full days a week, plus a LOT of practical work on the other two days. I work 40 hours a week in a retail job, and also do some event stewarding work when my schedule allows. I run a busy household and still have time to unwind with a glass of wine and a film. It's about prioritising and time management, both of which are essential life and employment skills. Where there's a will, there's a way (I have no parental help either). And my grades aren't suffering at all either; my most recent assignment saw me get the highest grade in the class.

Taiko

Can confirm Ember's account of things to be accurate. If she can do it, no reason the OP can't.

AnxiousMum

Except that....the OP has already stated that his university will not ALLOW the students to work during term time. I remember when my son was looking at Oxford University for entrance last year, this was one thing that was quite clear - if you got caught working, you risked being kicked out of the course. Needless to say, he decided to say 'up theirs' and went elsewhere

But, looking at the bursaries etc that were available there, it certainly would've been the cheapest of all of his options to go to, meaning that he wouldn't have needed a part time job - and accommodation was less than half what he is paying right now (1.5 times his student maintenance loan).

So....swings and roundabouts.....

OP - go talk to a financial adviser at the school - be honest about what has happened and see what help is on offer. if you are at Oxford....or whatever other university bans students from working - they must have something in place for situations like this. After all, it's not from your own doing that you are in this situation.

I doubt that as your parents didn't support your application in the first place, that you would be eligible for the 'within 9 months' of course starting to submit that information - and your family income hasn't changed anyway. try the Uni - they are there to help you as well - good luck.

Oldernotwiser

Taiko wrote: »

Can confirm Ember's account of things to be accurate. If she can do it, no reason the OP can't.

I don't doubt that she does it, but it doesn't mean it's a good thing.

There's more to university life than studying and graduate employers like to see that students have used their spare time productively, not just flipping burgers.

InaPickle

Hi bananamania,

Speak to your personal tutor or equivalent as (s)he may can point you in the direction of those know how to deal with the Student Loans people, even if they can't do anything else (which I think unlikely as the pool of institutes I guess you attend is generally known for being quite generous under strained circumstances).

Also, can some other posters get off the backs of students: they aren't all workshy layabouts, and at least many of them can read and process information, which is more than certain other people seem to be able to do: some institutes categorically FORBID you from working at the same time as studying. Even if they didn't, and the OP was, say, a med student with a 40+ hour working week, would people still be trotting out the 'get a job' line? :mad: