Uni for free!!??

scotty123476

hi, im new to the site and was wondering if anyone could help me with a dilemna im having:

currently i live with my parents and my course is £3000 a year and i get a loan of £2400 a year.

if i were to move out and live with a friend for a relatively low rent charge how long would i have to be financially independant for before i am eliible for all he grants and whatnot.

atm i will be graduating uni in £16200 worth of debt and it is a scary prospect. i was wondering what the least amount of debt i would be in if i didnt live with my parents?

thanks in advance to anyone who can help!!

Luvly.cuppa.T

The last I looked you had to be living independantly for 3 years, before you are considered to be the 'payer' of your fees etc.

Or over the age of 24, or there abouts.

you can get a book from the uni in the student welfare that explains all these differing positions, or you can ask the LEA to send you one. If you are in uni now, then you should have recieved one with all the paperwork that you needed to fill out. Just gotta read it!

guerillasaver

Hi, a BIIIIG welcome to moneysavers! What course do you do and where is it? Good advice from cuppa.T above, go to your student finance office and have a chat with them, they should be able to help you.

freebie_junkie

hi, you have to have been 'self-supporting' (i.e. earnign money or claiming benefits in your own name whilst living in your own home) for 3 years or be over 25 or married or a parent unless you are extranged from your parents for over 3 years and have written proof from a social worker or similar) or they are dead.

my oh is moving in with me and ive been living alone for 3 years but becuase im 23 and for teh last year my loan has been assessesed on my parents, it will still be assessed on them after he moves in for teh remained of 3rd year and for when i do my post grad! how daft is that?! (but a bonus for me coz my oh earns more than my parents do so i get full loan and grand and id get !!!!!! all if it was assessed on my oh!!)

you will still be able to apply for things such as hardship funds, so the proofs you send in for these are your rent statements, food shopping reciepts and bills taht will be in your name, these grants only take your ins and outs into account, not your parents.

your LEA office and student support office will be able to advise you further good luck!

jennifernil

Not exactly what you asked, but...........

If you didn't live with your parents you would probably be in more debt!!

I take it you are not receiving any financial help from your parents. Are they providing "bed and board", or do you give them something towards this from the £2400?

You cannot avoid the fees, but you could get a part time job to help with your other costs, even doing a couple of evenings or a day at the weekend could bring in £50 per week. And you will be able to work full time in the summer so could accumulate some savings.

Look again at your budget, if you are not paying "bed and board" , do you really need to spend all of the £2400? Get yourself an ISA and start saving.

Our daughter lives in a shared flat so has to pay bills and food (but not rent as we own the flat). Bills are about £50 per month, food I don't know, maybe £100 - £120. Then there are clothes and personal stuff, travel, books etc, and of course having fun. I think she spends about £275 per month.

During the Uni year (Oct to May) she gets a total of £2000 from us and about £1500 from her PT job. Working over the summer last year for 3 months she earned £5400 less tax and NI. This was an IT placement, previously she only made about £3000.
In 3 years she has saved about £8000 and bought her own laptop.

Up here in Scotland there are no fees, but she will have to repay about £2200 after she graduates and she will have enough savings to do that if she wishes.

So although you will have to repay the £16200 the monthly repayments will be fairly small, and meantime you could probably be working and saving quite a bit if you put your mind to it.