Student finance help!

princesse_sarah_x

Just wondering if anyone can help me with this, I've already called student finance and have to wait until Thursday for an appointment with the advice centre at my university.


Basically, I completed a foundation year at my university, leading onto my degree. I had to resit a few modules from my first year over the 2013-2014 academic year, due to family problems etc. The student advisor at my uni contacted student finance and was told this was a gift year that they would fund, I had to provide them with alot of evidence for my circumstances etc, and this gift year was granted.

Now I have just applied for my loans starting the second year, of my course, and have been told i'm entitled to 0 tuition fees and the minimum of maintenance loan. I called them, and they said they will only fund my last year and I need to pay for this year myself, however I have absolutely no way of doing so! From what we understood, the gift year was granted irrelevant to the fact I had sat a foundation year as it led directly onto my degree course. My family have no way of paying for this either and I can't materialise nearly £4000 in 2 months, and the minimum maintenance loan barely covers my rent.

Hopefully this makes sense, is there anything I can do regarding this?!

GwylimT

Where student finance are concerned you are entitled to full funding of your course length and one gift year, so you should be entitled to two more years worth of funding. However, if you have compelling personal reasons student finance can grant you an extra year of funding, such as bereavement, pregnancy or serious illness, this is on top of the gift year.

The above is assuming ugh have received one year of normal student finance and one gift year of student finance.

princesse_sarah_x

Thank you for your quick reply The foundation year and first year of my degree was normal student finance funding, the resit of the first year was the 'gift year'. The gift year I applied for was due to compelling circumstances which they know all about. Does this mean that for my second and third year, I should receive normal funding?

GwylimT

So basically you are entitled to three years of funding (for a three year course) and one gift year, so you have one more year of funding left as you have used two funded years and one gift year, this is because your foundation degree is counted towards your funded years.

Now, during the years where you have to self fund you maybe be able to obtain bursaries to help out, you can also sometimes pay in monthly instalments rather than an instalment each semester.

However, if student finance agree that your circumstances were a significant reason to need another year, they may be willing to fund another extra year, meaning you are only one year short.

I'm not sure if they are correct or not in suggesting that the remaining funding you have can only be used for your final year.

princesse_sarah_x

Ok thank you, well as far as I understand I am a year short now. My course is 3 years, plus foundation year which I understood they funded, so presuming I hadn't resat a year this would mean I wouldn't have to self fund. Then I was just told the resit year (gift year) was also paid for by student finance due to the significant cirumstances.

Sorry I hope this is making sense, I'm getting confused!

GwylimT

Student finance can be confusing! Yes, a gift year is funded by finance, so if you didn't have to resist your final year would be considered your gift year.

Contact your university regarding bursaries and hardship loans, if you haven't already you could look at opening a student account with an overdraft facility, these are often 0% for 12 months after course completion, if you don't have one already you could look for part time work to go towards fees/living costs.

princesse_sarah_x

I already have an overdraft, don't want to have to increase it but it looks like a possibilty I just wouldnt have taken the gift year if i'd know this happened and paid the resit year myself, as the tuition fees were only £800. I'll just have to wait to talk to my university, something must have gone wrong, they told me I'd definately get the funding for the last 2 years of my degree

norfolkshops

hope you dont mind

my grandson is starting a part-time foundation course he 19 and starts in sept 2015

his he entitled to any finance form student loan,or can his pernet still claim tax credits thank you all

agrinnall

norfolkshops wrote: »

hope you dont mind

my grandson is starting a part-time foundation course he 19 and starts in sept 2015

his he entitled to any finance form student loan,or can his pernet still claim tax credits thank you all

Come on, you've been around for long enough to know forum etiquette, start your own thread (and perhaps correct whatever word pernet was supposed to be )