help/advice

crazyfrog339

wonder if anyone can help...
My niece is about to start uni and has been told she needs to attend 4 days of enrolment week. Problem is her student finance isn't going to come through until AFTER she's started uni but she has to finance the travel for enrolment before that she has no parental support and lives alone with her two year old and the uni is over 2.5 hours away which is going to cost around £25 a day to get to. How is she meant to fund this a s a single parent on benefits? All she wants to do is get a good education to build a better life for her and her child and there seems to be so many financial barriers in the way it seems it would be easier to give up and stay on benefits!

Anyone got experience and can offer advice?

Oh and she cant relocate to be nearer the uni as she still has a years contract on her house

agrinnall

She could ask the university or the students union if there is some sort of hardship fund she could apply to.

However, the bigger question is how is she going to manage her child if she's having to travel 2.5 hours at the beginning and end of every day for 3 years? That means paying for up to 13 hours a day childcare, plus she'll never have any time with the child during the week. If she really can't get out of her tenancy agreement for another year then I'd seriously consider postponing uni until next year so that she can move a lot closer.