Applied for my loan....

Chalky87

Hello there,

I've applied for my student loan online with studentfinancedirect and that was ok took me a while to fill everything in online but anyway! Once finished it brought up a page which said that papers would be sent to me for my parents to fill in for proof of income etc. or something along those lines, however nothing has come through yet and we're talking at least 10 days ago now since I applied online.

Has anyone else had this problem or know of it and how long I should expect to wait for these other forms..

Thanks

Steven

stuwilky

Hi Steven

The forms have been taking a while to arrive by all accounts. I havnt had a approximate length of delivery, but Im sure Student Finance Direct on 08456 077577 could let you know roughly how long.

I think they are open till midnight

Savvy_Sue

Have worked my way through the bits of my son's application which I don't need him for, but left with a few questions. Hope Stu or some other kind soul will help.

1. He's applied for a 3 year BSc with the possibility of transferring to a 4 year MEng. Presumably he won't have any problem later if he does do the 4 year course? And he puts the 3 year course down now? Or should he say it may be 3 or 4 years?

2. I know it says to put N/A or NONE through the bits you don't need to answer, but what about the idiot questions where there's only a YES or NO box to tick? Like if you're over 50 are you intending to work after your studies?

3. It asks if he intends to work while he's studying, and if so how much he expects to earn. And then later it tells him to disregard any earnings from term-time or holiday work! Does the first question apply to people who are employed but sent off to Uni and not to him who's got a p/t job here and will probably get one at Uni and maybe work here in holidays if they want him?

4. I know he has to send his original birth certificate: do we have to send original of P60 or will a photocopy do?

I think that's it ...

thanks in advance!

pavlovs_dog

one of the best sources of advice i found was by emailing my LEA directly (if you go to studentfinancedirect.co.uk , contact, full list of leas, select yours, and voila!) they were a mine of info and could give you true expert advice.

as for documentary evidence - if you live near enough, why not deliver to the office by hand - they can copy your documents athere and then before handing them straight back to you.

hope thats helped a little!

Savvy_Sue

pavlovs_dog wrote:

one of the best sources of advice i found was by emailing my LEA directly (if you go to studentfinancedirect.co.uk , contact, full list of leas, select yours, and voila!) they were a mine of info and could give you true expert advice.

as for documentary evidence - if you live near enough, why not deliver to the office by hand - they can copy your documents athere and then before handing them straight back to you.

hope thats helped a little!

Yes it has thanks. Problem is I can't find my original P60, know I can get a photocopy at work, just wondered if that would be OK or if I'd need to send in my March payslip (which fortunately I CAN find!)

student100

AFAIK photocopies of P60s and payslips etc. are OK.

Looking over my brother's form a few weeks ago there seem to be a few inconsistencies e.g. you answer no to part of a question but they don't tell you to skip the rest of it etc. Write N/A by the side or whatever if you want, to be honest I don't think it matters too much. The forms are read by a human who hopefully has a little bit of common sense.

If you have any queries I think it's best to call the LEA directly rather than Student Support Direct or whatever they call themselves... also the LEA will probably have a normal geographic number rather than an 0845, and you won't spend forever in a queue...

stuwilky

Savvy_Sue wrote:

Have worked my way through the bits of my son's application which I don't need him for, but left with a few questions. Hope Stu or some other kind soul will help.

1. He's applied for a 3 year BSc with the possibility of transferring to a 4 year MEng. Presumably he won't have any problem later if he does do the 4 year course? And he puts the 3 year course down now? Or should he say it may be 3 or 4 years?

Hi Sue,
Im nto sure about this area and think you need to talk to your LEA about it, the problem being that a 4 year course that leads to an MEng should be fully funded, however a 3 year BSc course, followed by a one year MEng might not be. Postgrad courses are normally not funded in the same way and think you need proper advice on it!

2. I know it says to put N/A or NONE through the bits you don't need to answer, but what about the idiot questions where there's only a YES or NO box to tick? Like if you're over 50 are you intending to work after your studies?

Just ignore it.

3. It asks if he intends to work while he's studying, and if so how much he expects to earn. And then later it tells him to disregard any earnings from term-time or holiday work! Does the first question apply to people who are employed but sent off to Uni and not to him who's got a p/t job here and will probably get one at Uni and maybe work here in holidays if they want him?

They do actually just disregard it whatever the amount, Im not sure why they ask to be honest, just guess a number - they will ask for confirmation at the end of the tax year in some cases (like me!)

4. I know he has to send his original birth certificate: do we have to send original of P60 or will a photocopy do?

I think that's it ...

thanks in advance!

I have always done as a poster above has suggested, take the originals in personally, and get them to copy them. But its only convenient if you live near their offices. I have a feeling they need to see the originals rather than photocopies but am not entirely sure. They wanted my marriage certificate every sodding year!

jimclark1967

Savvy_Sue wrote:

1. He's applied for a 3 year BSc with the possibility of transferring to a 4 year MEng. Presumably he won't have any problem later if he does do the 4 year course? And he puts the 3 year course down now? Or should he say it may be 3 or 4 years?

Definitely put 4 years on the form - saves problems down the line.

What course is it he's applying for? (just wondering why it's 3 maybe 4 rather than 4 maybe 3)

Savvy_Sue

jimclark1967 wrote:

Definitely put 4 years on the form - saves problems down the line.

What course is it he's applying for? (just wondering why it's 3 maybe 4 rather than 4 maybe 3)

It's computing. And it's a common first year, possibly 2nd year as well (he can't remember!) They only let the brightest and best do the MEng and he wasn't sure which to apply for so went for the BSc, although I think they think he's going to be one of the brightest and best. To make things even more confusing, I think he also has the option of staying on the BSc but doing an 'intercalated' year in year 3, thus making it four years.

This is all in the section I've left for him - if I do all the work do you think I can have the money as well? I think his instructions are to use the UCAS code for the course he's actually been offered a place on, so we'll probably add a note. There must be lots of people in this situation.

Savvy_Sue

Just thought of something else I wanted to ask.

When you report your income for those blasted tax credit thingies, you can report any donations you make to charity through Gift Aid and they are disregarded. I see no space for this on the loan forms, so presumably they're using a different (and meaner!) set of assessment criteria?

stuwilky

Im afraid so Sue!

They are horrid with the disregards, very few things are disregarded for this assessment.

Re the course thing. I had a thought, the LEA have a "Transfer course" form that can be completed. It might be an idea for junior to complete one of those at the end of 2nd year when he decides which route to take. The University will transfer him on their records system (presumably) so there should be a different code for him.

Might help to bypass the funding problem (which after a little research I dont think will be an issue as long as he declares a 4 year course as early as possible). One person advised declaring four years now, and declaring downwards if necessary (if that makes sense?!)