College course fees payable - no notice given

embob74

I wonder if anybody has some advice/ information for me....

My 19 year old DD applied to a course at college and was due to enrol today. They have just dropped the clanger that she will have to pay the course fees which amount to over £1000. She hasn't got that money and neither have I Maybe if we'd known in advance we could have saved for it.
She's not the only one this has happened to - I've heard a few people say the same has happened to them. Can anything be done? Where can I find out about funding for 19 year olds? The college didn't have a clue when my other child went a couple of years ago and she had to camp out for a whole day trying to get enrolled as they kept saying they were going to charge. It was free in the end but I wonder just how big the problem is of them saying one thing then refusing people entry when they don't pay as they were never made aware they would have to :eek:

So....rules for funding for 19 year olds please? Then I can at least give her the info to show the college and do their job for them.

tomtontom

What course is it, and what level of qualifications does she have to date?

embob74

it's a level 2 catering course and she has one AS level

rochja

For help and advice why not try the national careers service? 0800 100 900

jackieblack

This explains the situation:
http://www.nus.org.uk/en/advice/money-and-funding/im-a-student-aged-19-years-old-or-older--what-further-education-funding-can-i-get-in-england/

Whether you need to pay tuition fees or not depends on the course you want to take and your age.

You don’t need to pay tuition fees for a basic literacy or numeracy course, no matter what your age. Also, you don’t need to pay for the following, depending on how old you are:

~ training that leads to your first Level 2 qualification (the equivalent of five GCSEs at grades A* to C – though you can’t take GCSEs for free), if you’re under 24 years old at the start of your course
~ your first full Level 3 qualification (the equivalent of two A Level passes), if you’re under 25 years old at the start of your course.

If she already has a level 2 qualification, then it seems that another won't be funded.
She 'should' be able to get funding if she can get on a level 3 course though.