Benefits and full time study worries - help please

Cate1976

Can't do links on my phone but if you look at the thread titled Student Finance, there's a link which says what student finance is counted for HB & CT. The only one that is counted as income for tax credits is the Adult Dependants Grant. I'll be sitting down this afternoon to work everything out to see how affordable it'll be for me to start uni next year (2015). Hopefully that'll help you as well.

How old are your children still living at home, if over school age working or college?

dippy3103

The o/p says all her kids are settled & working. Doesn't say if they live with them or not though?

Elvisia

Regarding the CA it's done on a case by case basis now. Even if it's full time if you are doing under 21 hours a week you are still eligible for it. However they consider every hour you do in the classroom will require an hour of study at home, do you could only do 10 hours a week in the classroom as they'd assume you'd be doing another 10 hours at home. It changes all the time as so many people have taken the DWP to tribunals to complain they are full time students but still caring, so it's always worth putting in an appeal for that.

When I was trying to find out the info for this every site I came across said you can't claim if you're full time, even the finance dept at my uni said this, but I did manage to put a claim in for CA, backed up with letter from my college saying how many hours a week I was studying, and I got it accepted.

Indie_Kid

Surely, the amount of private study would make the OP ineligible for CA? When I was at uni full time, I had 12 hours study and anywhere up to 40 hours personal study a week. Even part time, I was doing up to 20 hours a week.

Cate1976

Walnut77: Here's the link to the thread I started yesterday asking about the impact of student finance on HB/CTS & CTC:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5020424

The finances which are disregarded are more generous than I was expecting, both the parent's Learning Allowance & the Adult dependant's Grant are disregarded by HB/CTS.

The only one which is counted as income by tax credits is the Adult Dependant's Grant.

Good news for me is that I've worked out that I can afford to go to uni in 2015.

CTC will be used for food & housekeeping, anything left each week will be put into savings a/c for family holiday in the summer & anything kids need during the year.
Child Benefit will also go into savings a/c for clothes for kids and family holiday.
Maintenance Loan, the £693 disregarded will go towards travel & books, the rest will be used for covering difference between what HB pays & actual rent and Council Tax.
Maintenance Grant used to pay the 15% of childcare not covered by the child care grant, help with monthly bills if needed, clothes for me and a small amount each week for 'casual' spending possibly £20.
Parents Learning allowance will be used for travel, books & other course related costs eg stationery.
Adult Dependant's Grant will be put onto my CashPlus card to be used for clothes and other things which'll benefit my husband including possibly a few days away without the kids.
My husband's wages will cover the monthly bills such as electric/gas, phone & internet, water, mobile phones & Sky (only 'luxuary' thing we have, neither of us smokes & I only drink occasionally).

To cut costs down, I'm considering taking packed lunch with me on the days I'm at uni.

Hopefully this helps you, personally I think you should take the offer, the amount of financial help for mature students is more than I thought it would be. I've already got Diploma Of Higher Education (1998), I failed my final year at uni but have always wanted to go back but haven't been able to until now.

RAS

walnut77 wrote: »

I have always wanted to teach and have done an OU degree in early years during the last few years.
Anyway, I need to take out a tuition loan and have applied for a grant too via Student Finance.

walnut

Please before you go any further, clarify the situation regarding your tuition fee, grant and maintenance loans.

Are you doig a three year degree or a PGCE?

if you already have a degree, they may not fund a second one but check as there are SOME exemptions.

Alternatively you may have a residual right to support, which would be for one year only.

teddysmum

You shouldn't need a car for school placements, as colleges have a wide range of schools to use, so should place you in one that you can reach on foot or by public transport. (I had to use the bus to get to mine).

Riteway2dothings

Goodness me, I'm new here and I'm absolutely disgusted by some of you. What a lot of nasty spiteful people! Some are actually trying to help but many of you seem to use these forums as a way of being as horrible as you can to vulnerable people who are just looking for support. I shouldn't think Walnut 77 will ever come back after the way he/she has been treated in here.
I used to work in a student advice bureau and I can tell you that as a full time student with an adult dependent and a dependent child you will pay NO council tax and will keep most of your grants. If you have entitled to IS then you should change the name so that your partner can get it, that way you will get full HB.
And of course you need a car. How can you get to placements and then get home quickly to your family without one? Talk to the JObCentre Plus and explain all this, they will be as sympathetic as they can and also very very pleased to see that you are trying to move your family out of an impossible situation and into a brand new life.
GO FOR IT AND DON'T LET SOME OF THE SPITEFUL. SPINELESS IDIOTS ON HERE PUT YOU OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

walnut77

Thank you so very much Riteway2dothings for your wonderful reply. I was devastated and so upset by the horrible comments at the top of the page and just felt like giving up but I have had lots of support from other education forums which has been positive and useful. My family has had a nightmare of a time, my husband almost died after something that happened at work and we lost everything. I have this chance to improve our lives and I have worked very hard to get to this point along with bringing up 3 children and caring on a sole full time basis for years.
I have been to the DWP and the news is great: I pay no council tax as a ft student; I get to keep all of my £4000 bursary for a car - I get this for my 2:1 degree class; I keep my adult dependants grant, special support grant and parents learning allowance; I will get full HB and my husband can claim IS. I also carry on getting CB and CTC for my youngest.

A huge thank you to all the posters who have made helpful and positive comments, especially:

Riteway2dothings
dippy3103
Indie Kid
ViolaLass
pmlindyloo

walnut77

teddysmum wrote: »

You shouldn't need a car for school placements, as colleges have a wide range of schools to use, so should place you in one that you can reach on foot or by public transport. (I had to use the bus to get to mine).

This isn't possible as the two schools I am placed with are rural and bus routes are scanty.