Applying for student loan from LEA

cuzzy

I recently decided to go to uni in september, and have been accepted at all the places I tried to get in. So I went online to fill out the LEA student finance application form. After about 45 mins of doing it, it finished and said i was able to have a certain amount, or if i go for income assessed they will give me more if I meet the criteria.

As Ive worked for the last year and I am dependent, what type of money do you think I will get?

I was a student in the USA the 2 years before the last year so ive only got a years worth of working in there. Do you think that will affect me?

any help would be appreciated

Broke_Student

cuzzy wrote: »

[I recently decided to go to uni in september.

The you better be quick with all the student finance form filling if you want your loans on time!

cuzzy wrote: »

After about 45 mins of doing it, it finished and said i was able to have a certain amount, or if i go for income assessed they will give me more if I meet the criteria.

Everybody is (generally) entitled to a student loan. If you want just a loan then you do not need to apply for income assessment.
With an income assessment you can possibly get more loan + a non repayable grant aswell. If you are a dependent then it is assessed on your parents income. If you are independent then you should be entitled to full funding if on a full time course.

cuzzy wrote: »

As Ive worked for the last year and I am dependent

This sentence confuses me. You are dependent if you do not meet the criteria for being independent. You are not dependent as you have worked for a year.

Independent student
Generally, you will be classed as independent if you:
- have care of a child (or children)
- are 25 or over before your course starts
- are married or in a civil partnership
have supported yourself for at least three years before your course starts
or:
- have no living parents
If you are an independent student, your local authority will take into account your income and that of any spouse or live-in partner (including same sex) in the same way as for dependent students.

cuzzy wrote: »

what type of money do you think I will get?

You can work that out yourself on the student loans calculator:
http://www.studentsupportdirect.co.uk/portal/page?_pageid=1768,796584&_dad=portal&_schema=PROTOCOL

cuzzy wrote: »

I was a student in the USA the 2 years before the last year so ive only got a years worth of working in there. Do you think that will affect me?

It should not affect your eligibility for a student loan if you have not had any funding from the student loans company before.
However, if you were living out of the UK for 2 years, then spent a year working, it could mean that your are an independent if you were supporting yourself during this period.

michael_iain_elliott

Broke_Student wrote:

Cuzzy wrote:

Originally Posted by cuzzy
As Ive worked for the last year and I am dependent

This sentence confuses me. You are dependent if you do not meet the criteria for being independent. You are not dependent as you have worked for a year.


Independent student
Generally, you will be classed as independent if you:
- have care of a child (or children)
- are 25 or over before your course starts
- are married or in a civil partnership
have supported yourself for at least three years before your course starts
or:
- have no living parents
If you are an independent student, your local authority will take into account your income and that of any spouse or live-in partner (including same sex) in the same way as for dependent students.

Broke_Student wrote:

However, if you were living out of the UK for 2 years, then spent a year working, it could mean that your are an independent if you were supporting yourself during this period.

They will only consider you independent if you have 3 years worth of supporting yourself in this country. This is recorded through either the National Insurance or the HMRC (Inland Revenue as was), I forget which. I had a friend who had lived abroad for a year, came back to the UK for 2 and worked, then applied to University. They still classed him as dependent as they had no proof he had been supporting himself. That having been said, he argued the toss, a lot, provided copies of payslips, bills, etc. etc. from his time abroad, which supported his case for having been 3 years independent, and they finally caved in and assessed him as an independent student.

Same damn thing for Scottish/English students. I class myself as Scottish, having been born there, and having a Scottish mother, but cause we haven't been domiciled in Scotland for longer than 3 years, I still get assessed by my LEA. Especially crucial now that top-up fees are in place, you could save yourself a bomb moving to Scotland - cause even if you go to university in England/Wales/NI, you would still be assessed by the SAAS. Typical.