how do they pay dsa for a laptop?

bubblegum1985

I think you should have heard by now, but check out this website, it might give you an idea of who to contact. http://www.yourdsa.com

peterpan01

if i am awarded a laptop can i ask them to give me a alowance so i can buy a new one?

in may forums the laptop they provide dont last the three years and are second hand.

Indie_Kid

My laptop wasn't second hand. It was brand new. I do find it hard to believe that student finance would give second hand laptops - they are meant to last for the duration of your course.

tomtontom

peterpan01 wrote: »

if i am awarded a laptop can i ask them to give me a alowance so i can buy a new one?

in may forums the laptop they provide dont last the three years and are second hand.

No, they will not give you an allowance, although you can pay to upgrade to a higher spec than the one offered. Any laptop will come with a warranty that covers the length of your course.

Ms_Wheels

I have received DSA for two different courses and both times my equipment was new with warranty and insurance.

My assessor recommended various pieces of equipment (including if it is a desktop or laptop) and had the final decision on what to propose to DSA. The needs assessment report included 3 quotes for all the equipment recommended and it is DSA who decide which supplier to use - I assume they go for the cheapest! I then received a letter from DSA stating what they were funding and requesting I contact the suppliers direct to organise delivery. I have heard of some students paying extra direct to suppliers to get a better laptop - you can always ask the suppliers when you contact them. The suppliers did not ask me and I only became aware of this option afterwards.

My assessor requested an allowance of £200 per year to cover books and ink (standard paper was not covered - as all students need to buy this, but coloured paper can be included). In addition, for books it was specified that the books I could be reimbursed for were not 'core books' that all students have to purchase. To be reimbursed, I had to send copies of book and ink receipts to DSA.

Have you had your needs assessment yet?

sazaccount

Hi,

I've had 2 laptops though dsa on 2 different courses they were both new, however where people may be getting confused as the company normally already downloads all of the extra programs ready to use such as dragon, microsoft word packages, read and write etc. I depends on your disability I'm dyslexic.

You can also say at the assessment if there is any programs you think are better or dont want, eg I had a recorder during my undergrad however I found it hard to use so asked them not to send me one during my masters. Also read and write gold (love it!!!) I found was easier than dragon (speech to text) as I can touch type so found it easier than talking etc.

They always give you a bag I've had 2 which were back pack style as standard but by my dissertation time I used to just put my laptop and books in a wheely suitcase as it was too much for my back and hip.

Depending on your course you can ask for a mac book but these are mainly given for design courses. I don't think that they could give a note book purely because of the internal memory and having all of the additional programs there may not be enough memory space.

For the consumables it depends on your local council for my undergrad I was given £100 a year to spend however (this is going back 5-8 years ago though!!) during my masters (2 years ago) if I brought any extra I had to send the recipts in to claim the money back