parents bankrupt - student grants

Oldernotwiser

Fang wrote: »

And with that you lose any sympathy you had garnered.

And I thought you needed brains and analytical skills to get into Oxford!

Taiko

This, in fairness, is the typical Oxford student. I've dealt with many in the past, and had similar.

They don't have analytical skills ONW, the last two didn't even notice the acrostic "!!!! off" I wrote into their rejection letters.

trygetback

bananamania wrote: »

Dear all,
I wanted to apply to student finance in order to possibly receive a maintenance grant and have my parents' income (re)assessed to get it (you can do that up to 9 months AFTER you've started the current academic year).

However, when I called student finance england several times, they didn't understand the situation, and when I asked about how things get financially assessed since my father still nominally earns way more than the grant-receipt threshold but doesn't receive much of it because it all goes to the official receiver, they just kept telling me to "fill in the income assessment form if he's got no money" and when I then told them that if he filled in his nominal income, that is above the threshold, I won't get a grant, they said they didn't understand the problem, since he still earns the same he did before, and so the loop went on and on and on and on.


Essentially, my question is whether anyone here has had a similar issue, and had to deal with this, how they dealt with it, and what they did (and sent to student finance).
I personally thought a letter from the official receiver stating I could not get any money from my father anymore could solve things, however the OR is not prepared to do this, and I don't know what to do.
At the moment I'm immensely frustrated at the ridiculous bureaucracy of things and could just scream at everyone and everything.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a ton,

C. J.

Hi, hope I could help you a bit.

First you must talk to your college about the financial problem, they could help you out and give you some tips

second, do submit the student finance application form, I would suggest you download the *paper one (you of course could apply on their web page, but I would suggest paper form, it's easier to deal with under your situation). Have a look yourself, create your account with the SLC and have a look, then you would understand what I am talking about. Besure the form is for 2010/11 not the one for 11/12
Sorry I am not allowed to post the SLC link here, so please copy the follow link (direct.gov/en/EducatioAnd Learning/UniversityAnd Education/StudentFinance/DG 183342)

(* no matter what, the SLC would create a web account for you later)

The form need you and your parents to declare the details of your parents income of the 2008/2009 financial year, do fill it in and then get another form (on the same web page : current year income assessment form) and completed it.

Make sure to mark your mobile phone/email address/your SLC web account/any reference with the SLC and your college) on the form (if there's no place to fill, just put it down near your personnal details)

Make a copy for your own record and post it out (better with recorded delivery), hurry it up, if you couldn't find your parent to fill the parts, just fill yours first post it out, the earlier you sent out, then you get the process rolling and sooner getting the loans.

I know it's very difficult to talk to the SLC (my own experience, I have a complicate case myself too), so in this way, let them contact you (they normally sent you letter) and then you submit all the financial proof they ask for.

Don't worry about the proof, your parents had gone throught he bankrupcy process so they have all the legal/formal doucments to show the SLC. Or they could write declaration on a paper instead.

Make sure keep an eye to the process, the SLC is a big giant and they sometimes make things compicate and get some case totally ridiculous wrong.

I do have some onhand experience to deal with them, so far the best I found is to let them contact you instead you begging them for listening.

According to the rule, you are qualified to get the loans and the grants, so do hurry up, it's within your right.

The Oxford university's workload request your full attention so you must put your study first. You don't want to regret and get a low mark after all years hard work. It's a great honour to be a student in such great environment. So forget about the financial problem, it would be fine once you get the SLC loans.

I did see some Asda evening job/weekend job near Oxford, if you could check Asda web page and then tell them you might like to do it during your term break, maybe you could earn instant money before the loans settle.

Meanwhile, ask your college for hardship fund and search the net for charity student grants (some special for books, travelling etc), send out covering letter with their application form stating your emergency circumstance (some dealline maybe gone, but I would suggest you just send out no matter what)

There's some local charity grants (found them on my council's web page) for local students to apply. I would suggest you do that too.
The chance to get award is much greater .

Don't give up, there's help out there. But you must keep orgainise and there' lots of extra work for all these.

If you need anything, just put it on thread or on the student room blog. There's always nice people willing to help/share useful information.

Don't feel bad for such hardship, there's lots of bankrucpty in this country for all kind of reasons nowadays. Take good care yourself and please do show your care to your parents. They must feel very bad too. They need your support too.

If you don't mind, could you kindly update your case time by time, I do want to know everything fine to you afterall.

Wish you alll the best

trygetback

Hi, didn't notice your thread on 13.3.11 before I post my last post

Still do apply for this year's SLC maintenance grants, you are entitled now under the change circumstance.

Reading your thread, I now understand you had already get some/full maintenance loan, you could sent the current income assessment form in to get a reduced loan and the full maintenance grants, submit the form (you could properly do it online too) and then the SLC would contact you for all the details. In total, you properly get a little more. Still, having grants are much better to have huge loans to pay back at the end of your studying.

I suppose you alreay pay for the tution fee at the beginning of the term on your own moeny. I do not know if you could get it back now or the SLC to pay for it instead this moment or then getting refund from the college, better book an appointment with your college account officer about that (check see the term of the SLC first).

Still... ask your local council for funding, it's never late for that! You might get a few hundreds to pay for the rent or the advance rent payment for next term. You would find there's always bill on the table to pay.

And keep checking on all these student charity, you need to gather all the financial help as now you are starting with a '0', every penny helps.

wish you for the best, take good care yourself.

Oldernotwiser

I'm afraid that the last two posters are missing the point that the OP's parents do not have a low income, which is what SLC funding is based on. You can perfectly well be bankrupt with a high income, which seems to be the case here.

Hopefully she will have had some success with the OR freeing up some funds as was suggested earlier.

forallotherthings

OP - sorry for the situation you have found yourself in - regardless of anything else it must have been a bit of a shock to you (understatement there i know) however I would have thought that going through this kind of thing gives you more compassion and understanding not less.

Clearly if you can you should stay at your uni which includes not working if it would mean they kick you out, so hopefully the financial assistance will come off.

However for an average student I don't believe you can't do part time work over a 3 year course, I did a nursing course which included fill time placements for 6 months of the year on top of the academic work, the nursing course has 6 weeks of holidays a year unlike other academic courses and I managed a part time job. I was lucky in that I could work a basic 8 hours at a weekend and then pick up extra shifts when I had more free time.

Im only a normal person but it's only three years of your life. Not everyone has the self indulgent luxury of being able to say employers are looking for a little more than flipping burgers, if as a graduate you can't work out how to explain the tranferrable skills you have learnt then yes quite right no employer should so much as look at you.

As for people criticising the parent skills of others I assume you are a parenting expert not a jumped up disgusting know all?