Grants and parental income.

Rexy_Velvet

As I can't find work and my A level results were better than expected I have made a late application through ucas. I am now starting to try and finance the next 3 years.

My Dad had a stroke in January 2009 and then an aortic dissection in January of this year. He gets DLA and Mum carers allowance and Dad also gets ESA. Basically they have been getting by over the last few years by selling what they can isa's peps etc. This means they will not be able to help me financially at all and actually had hoped i would be earning soon to help out. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find work :-(

I had hoped to qualify for some sort of grant but as my dad worked until his stroke in Jan 2009 apparently I am being treated the same as my friend whose dad earns 70k a year. Surely this can't be right. Why cant they take the april 2009/2010 tax year or 2010/2011 or this year or any year in the future? Has any one got any tips how I can get round this. Thanks.

kayr_2

Sorry I don't know anything about grants but this sounds really harsh. Hope someone can help you.

sheilavw

I have sent you a pm

devildog

I don't think that it is correct either.

Had your dad had stroke say in June 09 and there was a drop in income of more than 15 % you could ask to be assessed on current years income.

For uni students starting Sep11/12, they will be assessed on income from Apr 09/10. So just on that basis you should get help as it appears the family income had already decreased at the start of April 09.

As far as I can see, no tips are needed, you are entitled!

Unless Taiko can see a glaring issue that I can't.

Amanda65

SFE assess this year's loans / grants on 2009 /10 income but they also hav a change of circumstances form that you complete to update with current incomee (why they can't just do it on current income in the first place who knows - but it seems that nothing SFE do makes sense:() I know this as DD1 had a loan last year and DD2 is going this September but OH was made redundant in April so we have had to complete one of these forms.

Also, if your Dad worked, there may be an occupational charity that would consider helping with your university education as his career was cut short by the stroke. If you want to let me know your Dad's occupation (either on here or PM me) I will see if I can point you in the right direction.

And well done on the results Where are you off to and what are you studying ?

Rexy_Velvet

Thanks for all your replies No chance of anything to do with Dads occupation he was a project manager. But.......it seems we have managed to sort the student finance i am going to get a grant of £2600 and have also applied for a maintenance loan and tuition fees.

I am going to be studying animal science and management so as well as a laptop I need to buy lab gear and protective clothing for the animal centre so I hope the loans and grants come through quickly.

Does anyone know how long they take to come through? I'm really excited now. If I can do it I will be the first in my family to get a degree:j

Lokolo

You don't get anything until you start. You'll get a schedule letter at some point, usually a few weeks before you go.

silvercar

Rexy_Velvet wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies No chance of anything to do with Dads occupation he was a project manager. But.......it seems we have managed to sort the student finance i am going to get a grant of £2600 and have also applied for a maintenance loan and tuition fees.

I am going to be studying animal science and management so as well as a laptop I need to buy lab gear and protective clothing for the animal centre so I hope the loans and grants come through quickly.

Does anyone know how long they take to come through? I'm really excited now. If I can do it I will be the first in my family to get a degree:j

Open a student bank account, they will give you an interest free overdraft to tide you over til your grant/ loan comes through.

johnswife

Well done Rexy!! Keep trying for the jobs, it is difficult but persevere.
which uni are you going to?

bouncydog1

Well done you! Depending on which Uni you are going to, some offer support to students in the form of a bursary. There are also other awards which you can often apply for.

It would help if you could post up the Uni details as then people can point you in the right direction. Don't forget to sign up for supermarket points cards etc as all of this can help you save money.

As funds are going to be tight, you need to start thinking about everything else you are going to need and the best way to get it as cheaply as you can.

Helix

Amanda65 wrote: »

SFE assess this year's loans / grants on 2009 /10 income but they also hav a change of circumstances form that you complete to update with current incomee (why they can't just do it on current income in the first place who knows - but it seems that nothing SFE do makes sense:() I know this as DD1 had a loan last year and DD2 is going this September but OH was made redundant in April so we have had to complete one of these forms.

It makes perfect sense really, if they used the 10/11 tax year then many people don't get P60s until Late May which leaves it tight for applying for student finance. If they used the current tax year (i.e. 11/12) then it would cause a huge mess because you would have to estimate and it would lead to 10,000s of students having overpayments come April 2012 that they have to pay back.

It's not like they don't give you the option of using the current tax year if your income drops, its just easier to only apply that to the students it affects.