Student Finances Help!?

JayJH

Hi, I know this is a little bit late for my student finance but I am currently a second year undergraduate at university. In Year One I was living at home with my mum and brother who's household income was low enough to be able to apply for the maximum Maintenance Grant. So I got roughly £3,350 off Student Finance England.

Sadly my mother passed away in June 2014 before I started and reapplied for student finance for Year Two. Now I'm living at home with just my brother. The household income is £0 and has been since I started my second year in September 2014, we're living off the inheritance. Student Finance just won't accept the circumstances and they keep telling me to get my dad's income, not only does my dad live in a different city but they also want his wife's income too. They don't financially support me and if I give that to student finance, it'll be over the limit to get the Maintenance Grant and they'll want me to get the Maintenance Loan.

The only thing that has changed from last year to this year is that my mother passed away, now I'm more worse off and I don't get it.

Was just wondering if I can try anything at all, if I can speak to somebody else to try and get the maintenance grant that I got last year. A friend told me to go and see my MP but I don't know what he would be able to do. I've spoken to the student financial advice people in university and they pretty much just shrugged their shoulders and went "Yeah that's their rules, sucks."...

Thanks,
Jamie.

silvercar

Sorry for your loss.

It does seem unfair if that is indeed the system. Does your university offer bursaries to those from low income families? Maybe the university can offer you some advice.

The other option is to have a conversation with your father, he may be willing to help in the circumstances.

Ed-1

JayJH wrote: »

Hi, I know this is a little bit late for my student finance but I am currently a second year undergraduate at university. In Year One I was living at home with my mum and brother who's household income was low enough to be able to apply for the maximum Maintenance Grant. So I got roughly £3,350 off Student Finance England.

Sadly my mother passed away in June 2014 before I started and reapplied for student finance for Year Two. Now I'm living at home with just my brother. The household income is £0 and has been since I started my second year in September 2014, we're living off the inheritance. Student Finance just won't accept the circumstances and they keep telling me to get my dad's income, not only does my dad live in a different city but they also want his wife's income too. They don't financially support me and if I give that to student finance, it'll be over the limit to get the Maintenance Grant and they'll want me to get the Maintenance Loan.

The only thing that has changed from last year to this year is that my mother passed away, now I'm more worse off and I don't get it.

Was just wondering if I can try anything at all, if I can speak to somebody else to try and get the maintenance grant that I got last year. A friend told me to go and see my MP but I don't know what he would be able to do. I've spoken to the student financial advice people in university and they pretty much just shrugged their shoulders and went "Yeah that's their rules, sucks."...

Thanks,
Jamie.

Unfortunately if you are classed as a dependent student (i.e. aged under 25) unless you are estranged from your parents (to student finance this means having had no contact whatsoever for a number of years and would be very hard to prove), it goes off your parents' income (regardless of who you live with). The only exception is if your parents are divorced in which case it goes off the parent (and their partner if applicable) that you normally live with. In your case, with your mum passing away, it defaults to your other parent's income. There's really not much you can do. The system isn't perfect but that's how it works.

JayJH

silvercar wrote: »

Sorry for your loss.

It does seem unfair if that is indeed the system. Does your university offer bursaries to those from low income families? Maybe the university can offer you some advice.

The other option is to have a conversation with your father, he may be willing to help in the circumstances.

Thanks SilverCar, yes my university does offer bursaries, however they only offer them to those who get Maintenance Grants from Student Finance which I do not, so I lose out on that too. They did offer me a special support grant of money that the university has for students who are like me or for disabled students. So I did get £500 but that's for the whole academic year. That £500 was about 2 months of bills.

Taiko

The rule used to be that, if the parents were split and one died, the student would become independent. It does seem though that the regulations have been changed and this no longer applies.

The only alternative is to prove self support I'm afraid (or at least, that's the only legal one). Appreciate it's not the news you wanted, but there isn't actually a loophole in this.