Advice onstudent finance if you choose to leave University

amiehall

Normally any maintenance loan is calculated pro-rata. Any grant or bursary is normally repayable in full. She will be allowed to reach an agreement to repay anything she's not entitled to. I used to give them a fiver a month and they left me alone while they were getting that. If she ever wants to go back, all overpayments have to be repaid before she can have more funding.

jelemica

I had a similar problem with my daughter 2 years ago.Although she was happy with where she was staying by the time it got to the half term in October she realised that she should have done a different course.There followed a similar story where we said to stick it out until after xmas and what would she do if gave up etc.
She started looking into applying to a different uni for the course she really was interested in,to start the next September.
Fortunately she was accepted and although her heart was not in it she stayed until June.
The price of this decision was nearly £600 which had to be paid back even though she had stayed till then.
Now she is in her 2nd year,doing a course she loves.There was a lot of worry for us at the time and the 1st term of uni is when most would drop out.
I hope it works out for you all.Good luck.

mintymoneysaver

She's home for the week now, and almost definitely only going back to withdraw and to collect her stuff. She has phoned student finance who have told her that her grant will have to be paid back on a pro rata basis, so she understands that there are some financial implications to this.
She hopefully will learn from this experience that things aren't always handed to you on a plate, and that life as an adult involves work.
I am really upset that it hasn't worked out for her, because I wanted her to have such a wonderful time, but I do support the decision she is making. As she says, if she's got to pay money back she'd rather get on and earn some than just keep spending it in the weeks up till Christmas.

devildog

Don't be upset, this will be the right decision for her and there is no shame in admitting that we get it wrong sometimes and I think it is far better to do that then to continue with something that you are not happy with out of fear re what others might say.
My youngest came back after 4 weeks last year, took time to re-evaluate, work experience etc and has now 'gone' again. Some 6 weeks away now, loves the uni, loves the course and I am so happy that they had the guts to say they made a mistake the first time around and took the time to seriously consider their options.
I am sure it will all work out

wantnomoneyworries

mintymoneysaver wrote: »

She's home for the week now, and almost definitely only going back to withdraw and to collect her stuff. She has phoned student finance who have told her that her grant will have to be paid back on a pro rata basis, so she understands that there are some financial implications to this.
She hopefully will learn from this experience that things aren't always handed to you on a plate, and that life as an adult involves work.
I am really upset that it hasn't worked out for her, because I wanted her to have such a wonderful time, but I do support the decision she is making. As she says, if she's got to pay money back she'd rather get on and earn some than just keep spending it in the weeks up till Christmas.

She is lucky to have you to support her.
I am having a similar problem with my son, though he is in 2nd year! Think his first year was easy - partying and not much work, but this year they want loads more work out of him and he now feels he can't do it! Had him on the phone upset saying he wants to jack it in!! I've tried telling him to speak to someone at uni, but he says there is no one!! I've looked online at his uni and I can find counselling stuff on certain days in the week.
Its rubbish when you are miles away and really want to talk face to face! Skype is not the same really

bewildered123

wantnomoneyworries wrote: »

She is lucky to have you to support her.
I am having a similar problem with my son, though he is in 2nd year! Think his first year was easy - partying and not much work, but this year they want loads more work out of him and he now feels he can't do it! Had him on the phone upset saying he wants to jack it in!! I've tried telling him to speak to someone at uni, but he says there is no one!! I've looked online at his uni and I can find counselling stuff on certain days in the week.
Its rubbish when you are miles away and really want to talk face to face! Skype is not the same really

I don't know whether it's any help to know this but this is something many second years go through - the work they didn't do in first year turns up to bite them. I teach second years and would say that if your son is willing to start working hard, then it's almost certainly possible for him to succeed if he passed first year. It's impossible to diagnose what the problem is, but one common issue is organisation. Try to encourage him to use some sort of system to note down what reading or otherwork has to be done weekly and when he's going to do it. Have a plan for assignment deadlines - what bit has to be done by when. Get him to think when and where he works best to maximise effective studying. It sounds simple, but it's something many students don't do, then they get overwhelmed and start to stick their heads in the sand and hope it will all go away.
If you can, get him to break down why he feels he can't do it. Is the problem with one module or all of them? The staff teaching the modules will have office hours and he needs to start to go to them to clarify what he hasn't understood. Most students do not bother to use our office hours but it's a real opportunity to get some one-to-one advice on assessments or the course in general. If he feels that the root of the matter is his maths or writing skills, many universities have specialised writing and maths help centres to help. Either the library reception or the education officer in the student union are good places to ask about what exists and when it's open. You've already found the counselling services, but a less formal avenue many, even non-religious students, find useful for general advice an sympathy is the university chaplaincy. He will probably also have a personal tutor. Even if your son has been avoiding the emails asking him to arrange a meeting (as many do), encourage him to go and see this person. Honestly, we've heard it all before and can help at this stage. There will be lots of support on offer - please encourage him to use it.

wantnomoneyworries

bewildered123 wrote: »

I don't know whether it's any help to know this but this is something many second years go through - the work they didn't do in first year turns up to bite them. I teach second years and would say that if your son is willing to start working hard, then it's almost certainly possible for him to succeed if he passed first year. It's impossible to diagnose what the problem is, but one common issue is organisation. Try to encourage him to use some sort of system to note down what reading or otherwork has to be done weekly and when he's going to do it. Have a plan for assignment deadlines - what bit has to be done by when. Get him to think when and where he works best to maximise effective studying. It sounds simple, but it's something many students don't do, then they get overwhelmed and start to stick their heads in the sand and hope it will all go away.
If you can, get him to break down why he feels he can't do it. Is the problem with one module or all of them? The staff teaching the modules will have office hours and he needs to start to go to them to clarify what he hasn't understood. Most students do not bother to use our office hours but it's a real opportunity to get some one-to-one advice on assessments or the course in general. If he feels that the root of the matter is his maths or writing skills, many universities have specialised writing and maths help centres to help. Either the library reception or the education officer in the student union are good places to ask about what exists and when it's open. You've already found the counselling services, but a less formal avenue many, even non-religious students, find useful for general advice an sympathy is the university chaplaincy. He will probably also have a personal tutor. Even if your son has been avoiding the emails asking him to arrange a meeting (as many do), encourage him to go and see this person. Honestly, we've heard it all before and can help at this stage. There will be lots of support on offer - please encourage him to use it.

Many thanks for this - he likes to fly by the seat of his pants if you know what I mean and this had worked for him in the past - he likes the pressure of doing things "last minute" - the problem being then that if you don't understand what you're doing you're scuppered!
He has spoken to his tutor today and she has told him to get in contact anytime by email - which is brill. Think a few things are getting on top of him (lack of finances being one) and it all came to a head this weekend. Think he lacks some IT skills so maybe this is something he could access at university?
Thanks again - sometimes you think you are the only one with the problem IYKWIM

bewildered123

oh good - if he's started to talk to someone then that's the worst of the problem gone. It's when they just won't talk to anyone that it's hard to help. It might be worth having a look on the university's student finance website - my university employs a really good student financial advisor, who helps them go through their budgets, apply for any funding they might be eligible for and haven't accessed yet etc. She's stopped a couple of my tutees from dropping out through money worries, so if your son's university offers a similar person, then it might be worth trying.
Also on the IT skills, where I work, the student union runs some courses but a good starting point would be IT services (sometimes known as ISS) - they usually have a 'help' email or phone number or designated help desks in busy computer clusters, and would be able to give him an idea of what resources are available. Good luck but you're definitely not alone!

mintymoneysaver

Just thought I would update this thread in case anyone else is looking at it in the future. The changes to student finance mean that as she left in her first term she is entitled to the fees loan and maintenance loan for that term, and it will be paid back when she is earning over £21,000. She had also got a grant, and that has been calculated pro rata, and she needs to pay back £580 of this ASAP, although she can phone them to discuss paying it back in stages. ( She is fortunate in that she had savings which she can use)
However, on the plus side she was also entitled to a bursary and Manchester stated that as she had already paid her fees for that term she was entitled to the bursary so she received £250 last week, even though she has been gone 4 weeks.
Emotionally it's been hard, she's been bored, frustrated but she has got off her backside and sorted some work experience ( with some gentle persuasion!) She has reapplied for a totally different course next year, and has already had two unconditional offers ( sent off 4 days ago!) The unis she has applied to are nearer home ( apart from one) but I hope she will still live in halls, although the whole experience has really knocked her confidence. Thankfully she can keep her options open till May when she will have to make her final decision. I do think she made the right decision, although it's been a tough time for us all.. x

mountainofdebt

Minty

There's no shame in admitting things didn't work out, according to plan....and I should know that!

Would one thing might help next time is for her to get out and meet new people so to speak so that she's more confident with people she doesn't know...I know it would scare the c**p out of me to live with strangers now!

Anyway tell her that a new year = new start!