Student Finance Nightmare

Perversia

Sorry but I really need to vent after weeks of being driven round the bend by student finance.

I am starting a PGCE in September. As soon as I knew I was accepted, I applied for finance (around 22nd June). As I'm getting married in December, I thought I would phone up and see if I could apply as an independent student as I don't live at home (and haven't for 3 years at least). They said yes, but when I tried to fill this info in online, it asked for P60s and such from employment which I don't have as I've been at uni the last four years and SLC and LEA have been giving me money. So it seemed a lot easier just to apply for income assessed based on my parents' income and contact the SLC in December once I am married. But as I live away from home now, my LEA has changed and the new one uses Darlington to process the applications. Anyway...everything was filled in and all mine and my parents' evidence sent away.

I didn't hear anything until the beginning of August when first, I was asked to send in my parents' P60s (impossible as my dad is self employed) and then I was sent a finacial assessment which was non-means tested. I phoned up SFD and they said someone would phone me back regarding sorting it. No one did and then my dad got an email asking for his P60 etc. He phoned SFD, they told him to ignore this and that everything was fine. But nothing has changed and I've been sent payment notifications with the non-means tested amounts. So I phoned up again to ask if anything was going to be sorted and the lady on the phone was really helpful and said that the info for my parents income was on the system and she couldn't see any reason why I wasn't incomed assessed. She's added a note on my account for Darlington to reassess me and send back my parents' evidence asap but I'm still worried this isn't going to get sorted anytime soon. I start in a few weeks time and the lack of means testing will leave me about £3000 short in loan, grant and 50% matching of the means tested bit of my grant by my uni. I'm not really sure how I'll cope in London without the money I was expected and I know I won't have time to get a part time job.

student_advisor

If you still haven't been reassessed properly, you can contact your uni's student advisor for finance/welfare as they will have a contact number for Darlington and will be able to talk to the team who deal with your assessment. They should be able to work out what the problem is and help get it sorted.

Also, if you're doing a PGCE, won't you also get the training bursary or are you part-time?

Perversia

I'll give then to the end of the week as I only just got some sanity out of SFD on Friday at about 7.50pm so Darlington won't get the message until tomorrow morning.

And yes, I will get the training bursary but I've already planned on saving most of it towards a deposit on a house for my future. I can live on my student loan and such without spending pretty much any of my bursary if I get the amount I should. I will end up digging into it if I don't get the full loan though, which I think is unfair as I shouldn't have to.

dmg24

Also, if you're doing a PGCE, won't you also get the training bursary or are you part-time?

You still get a bursary if you study for your PGCE part time, it is just paid at different intervals.

I will get the training bursary but I've already planned on saving most of it towards a deposit on a house for my future.

Surely you could use your bursary until the loan comes through, and then put the equivalent amount of the loan into savings when it comes through?

Perversia

It's not really about using my bursary to cover me until I get my loan...firstly, unless I had persisted with it, I don't think they were going to reassess me, even though I should never have been non-income assessed in the first place. Second, I don't get my bursary until October IF everyone on the course has sorted their bank details (according to uni). If people haven't provided them, I won't get it until later. 3rd, I'm not sure what will happen with uni matching part of my maintainence grant if I've not got it assessed at the beginning of term.

Also, does anyone know what will happen if they reassess it but not in time for my first payment? Will they just make the 2nd and 3rd ones higher?

dmg24

I'm not really sure how I'll cope in London without the money I was expected and I know I won't have time to get a part time job.

It's not really about using my bursary to cover me until I get my loan

The bursary is there for living expenses, so yes, it is about using your bursary for that purpose. Your first post implied that you would have nothing to live off, but clearly that is not the case.

The SLC have messed up, but until they get their act together, you do have the bursary to live off. People will have sorted their bank details by October, nobody is going to turn down the chance to get an income!

Perversia

Ok, so I exaggerated a little in not knowing how to cope but I have spent 4 years just living off student loan (no grant) so don't see why I can't continue that.

This was meant to be a rant at how annoying SFD have been, especially the Darlington processing centre, not you nit-picking and making a point about my bursary. You don't know any of my circumstances regarding if I have a halls bill to pay at the beginning of term or something else I was relying on having money before mid-Oct (when I should get my 1st installment, which, depending on people's subject, isn't a lot).

student_advisor

Perversia wrote: »

Also, does anyone know what will happen if they reassess it but not in time for my first payment? Will they just make the 2nd and 3rd ones higher?

It depends when the reassessment occurs. If you are reassessed near the beginning of term, you could reasonably expect an additional payment. If it is further on in the term, your second and third payments will be adjusted accordingly.

As regards to your rant about SLC/SFD, everyone needs to do this once in a while and my colleagues at work often have to put up with my shouting about the incompetency displayed by its workers, so you're by no means the only one.:rotfl:

Torby

blimey....

"Ok, so I exaggerated a little in not knowing how to cope but I have spent 4 years just living off student loan (no grant) so don't see why I can't continue that.

This was meant to be a rant at how annoying SFD have been, especially the Darlington processing centre, not you nit-picking and making a point about my bursary."

calm down...yes they have (apparently) made an error...yes it will probably get sorted...do you as a student have an overdraft facility?...finally just be thankful you can use some of what you get to put a deposit on your new home...not like some students in other posts, who have to fund everything for themselves....post grads....GDL students...LPC students...

just out of curiosity....what did you achieve living away from home at Uni for the last 4 years while the SLC and LEA funded you?