Halls and finance

melancholly

silvercar wrote: »

Sorry I wasn't clear. I was trying to say that some students won't know they have a place until late August. So there must be places in halls for students in late August and therefore a payment schedule that doesn't require so much money up front. I can't believe that the many, many students with conditional places won't find accommodation in late August. So signing up for halls now can't be essential.

I think this happens when halls are so over subscribed - demand is greater than supply in many places, more so in London. They can get people to do it, so they do.... Not good at all.

wintersunshine

jgh wrote: »

No, HE has to find £2000. The whole point of student funding reforms over the last 20 years is that STUDENTS pay for their education by going into debt. By paying your son's bills you are signing up to the rich toff's manifesto of paying their children's way and insulating them from the realities of the world and giving them an artificial step up above normal people.

So bitter

silvercar

melancholly wrote: »

I think this happens when halls are so over subscribed - demand is greater than supply in many places, more so in London. They can get people to do it, so they do.... Not good at all.

Most universities guarantee first year students living away from home accommodation in university owned halls.

Sure the most popular halls may be oversubscribed, but not all.

melancholly

silvercar wrote: »

Most universities guarantee first year students living away from home accommodation in university owned halls.

Sure the most popular halls may be oversubscribed, but not all.

Many only guarantee places for students who have their uni as a first pick and it's increasingly common for students to get shared rooms without knowing about that possibility in advance. Private halls for the first year are very common - unis haven't built new halls themselves and with increased numbers of students over the last decade, private providers fill the gap. A lot of places don't guarantee a place at all..... If you read their FAQs they often 'aim to' offer halls to all first years without guaranteeing it.

Last year there were a lot of high profile problems with this and some very unhappy threads on here where students were being put into rooms built for one, with bunk beds added at the last minute despite only having one tiny desk.

It really is more of a problem than you'd think. Hopefully with fewer applications this year, it won't be as bad. Last year really was bad for some students.

standingupformyself

Update: The university were very helpful, as we are a low income family my son was able to apply for a short term loan with the uni (Open Access I believe) and are paying the first rent payment direct to the halls, and this money will be taken out of my sons bank account approx 2 weeks after he arrives at uni, giving the loan/finance chance to go through.. Happy Ending.

Bennifred

That's great! Thanks for letting us know. Good luck to him for the course.

silvercar

DS has his place confirmed. The uni is guaranteeing accommodation to all who confirm places before 31 August - even those who get a place through clearing. And the accommodation department haven't asked for any money yet.

OCS_Fan

A very revealing thread. Thanks for sharing and good luck to your son.