Benefits whilst at University

redmel1621

Hi,
This is my first post so apologies if I seem to ramble a bit!
I am married with two young children and I work part time, I am also a student with the OU. My husband is also a student with the OU and not currently working. At the moment we receive CB,HB,WTC,CTC, and my wages form a 16hr a week job. All of this allows us as a family to survive until my husband and I complete our studies enabling us to find decently paid employment.
I will finish my degree next year and need to undertake a year postgraduate course at a brick University where I will then be classed as a Full Time student, the hours I will need to attend will mean I will have to give up my job and I am extremely worried as to how we will live, I do not want to get loans etc... For attending my degree I will receive a £6000 Bursury but ecause I will not be working I will lose my WTC. Does anybody know what I will be entitled to and what I will lose or if there is anywhere I can find out this info, I have been looking on Net but seems to be a jungle....
Thanks in advance Mel.

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bubblegum2

On the old loan/money system I could have answered this but the new system is a nightmare and almost impossible to work out your entitlements yourself

I would phone the university student finance department and make an appointment to speak to a finace advisor (I went to see them before I started university - I'm a single parent)

They are great they will sit down with you look at your personal situation and work out what you are entitled to

bestpud

Could your dh get a part time job?

dmg24

bestpud wrote: »

Could your dh get a part time job?

Or a full time job?!!

Is the postgrad course a PGCE? If so, then there is additional funding available. Look at the https://www.teach.gov.uk website.

LilMissEmmylou

ok if you have HB, CB and CTC + a £6000 bursary thats loads! Get over to the old style forum to learn how to save money. thats £600 a month for every month your on the course, are you really loosing over £600 a month between 16 hour job and WTC?

continentalgal

Wouldn't the DirectGov website be a good place to start finding out more?

the_devil_made_me_do_it

How haved you managed to remain claiming hb and cb?? Not sure what the other benefits are you say you are claiming, but it's interesting to know how you have managed to stay claiming whilst going to uni.

LilMissEmmylou

you would still get CB and CTC the devil, at least i will, but no help with housing or income support

student_advisor

Firstly, it depends on what course you're doing, as mentioned previously, if it's a PGCE, then, you can apply for a student loan and maintenance grant (and tuition fee loan). You might be wary of loans in general, but student loans are special and about the best terms you'll get.

If you're not doing a PGCE, any additional funding available to you will come from the appropriate research council or directly from the university.

In either case, you will be able to apply for the Access to Learning Fund for additional help in the form of a grant; however, you need to be aware that if you are doing the PGCE, you would have to apply for the student loan first.

Could your dh fit 16 hrs/week around his course to keep your WTC?

You will not be able to retain all of HB as your student income will be taken into account. As a full-time student, you will not be able to claim HB & CTB, so you will need to switch your claim into your dh's name (if it's in yours at the mo) as he is still a part-time student and eligible to claim.

I would definitely recommend making an appointment with a student advisor at your uni. They will be able to help you search for relevant funding, including any charitable funding you might be eligible for.

Good luck and don't lose sight of why you're doing it. If you are finding it too tough financially, is there a part-time option to help you keep your part-time work?

One final note: if you are entitled to statutory funding such as a student loan for a PGCE, it will be included in any benefit calculations EVEN if you choose not to take it, so you're better off grabbing whatever is available to you.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

student_advisor wrote: »

Firstly, it depends on what course you're doing, as mentioned previously, if it's a PGCE, then, you can apply for a student loan and maintenance grant (and tuition fee loan). You might be wary of loans in general, but student loans are special and about the best terms you'll get.

If you're not doing a PGCE, any additional funding available to you will come from the appropriate research council or directly from the university.

In either case, you will be able to apply for the Access to Learning Fund for additional help in the form of a grant; however, you need to be aware that if you are doing the PGCE, you would have to apply for the student loan first.

Could your dh fit 16 hrs/week around his course to keep your WTC?

You will not be able to retain all of HB as your student income will be taken into account. As a full-time student, you will not be able to claim HB & CTB, so you will need to switch your claim into your dh's name (if it's in yours at the mo) as he is still a part-time student and eligible to claim.

I would definitely recommend making an appointment with a student advisor at your uni. They will be able to help you search for relevant funding, including any charitable funding you might be eligible for.

Good luck and don't lose sight of why you're doing it. If you are finding it too tough financially, is there a part-time option to help you keep your part-time work?

One final note: if you are entitled to statutory funding such as a student loan for a PGCE, it will be included in any benefit calculations EVEN if you choose not to take it, so you're better off grabbing whatever is available to you.

wouldn't they take dh and posters' income ect into consideration if she put the claim in his name?? can't see what difference it would make. Surely they'd still loose benefits?

dmg24

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

wouldn't they take dh and posters' income ect into consideration if she put the claim in his name?? can't see what difference it would make. Surely they'd still loose benefits?

A full time student cannot claim for Housing Benefit, irrespective of income. However, a part time student, with a full time student partner, can. Another anomaly of our fantastic benefits system! x