single parent due to start uni pls help

jkay_3

Hi
I am a single parent, 8 year old son who is registered disabled, he gets DLA,
I have been getting income support for past 2 years, whilst studying pt time at college. Due to start uni on monday, starting to freak out that I wont be able to cover housing, food ( severe allergies )utilities etc. Can anyone advise as to what financial help I would be entitled 2, right now I'm thinking I cant afford to come off income support and will have to forget the whole idea of going to uni. Also does anyone know if I would qualify for child tax credits, if so how much. I have my tuition fees covered and maint. award of
if I calculated correctly approx £100 per week plus £18 child benefit, my sons dla award gets eaten up with his dietry needs. Im studying art so lots of materials/ equipment etc to buy. appreciate any feed back
jay














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bestpud

I struggle to comprehend how people wait until the start of a course to fully assess the financial implications. Perhaps I'm odd but this is the kind of info I wanted to know before I even applied. Sorry, that's not much help to you - it's just something that crops up time and again on here and I find amazing.

Anyway on a more constructive note, you can apply for the access to learning grant once you have started. As a single parent you will be high on the list of priority students. You can get up to £3500 (there is a thread further down about it). That is well worth you looking into I'd have thought.

Also, how many weeks have you calculated your grant over? I think I'm correct in saying it should only cover the uni year and you will be able to claim income support during the summer. That obviously means you would not need to divide it by 52, but 40ish (something like that) weeks. It may be worth having a chat with the student welfare advisor at your uni as they will fill you in.

Do you have a student loan as well as the grant? You haven't mentioned it but I'm assuming you get the full loan?

The only other thing I can think of is to approach the equal opps dept at uni and ask if they employ student note takers - basically taking notes and maybe dictating exam questions (that kind of thing) for students with disabilities. They pay quite well at my uni.

My uni library also employ students for a few hours a week (returning books to the shelves and manning the help desk) but I think they may be more likely to want people out of hours which is probably no good for you?

I hope that helps a bit! And good luck, I hope it all works out for you,

Bestpud

jules1213

Assuming you are do a normal degree and entitled to a student loan etc.

As a single parent with underlying entitlement to IS -
You should get full students loan
Special support (maintenance) grant where you get the full amount and nothing is taken off your student loan
This should then entitle you to the core bursary (from your uni)
You can also apply to the Uni for an access to learning fund grant

Student income is ignored for tax credit purposes so you should be entiled to the max child tax credit - which should included an amount for disability. If you were getting Child Tax creidt along side your IS - the amount should remain the same.
DLA and child ben should continue.

In terms of benefits - you student loan etc is to pay for aprox 42 weeks of the year - the long summer break is excluded from student funding.

It is very likely that your income will be too high for IS or housing benefit during the 42 or so weeks (but get this checked out), but you may be entitled to HB during the summer break if you pay rent/or probably IS.

I would strongly advise you seek advise from the University Advice Centre - usually based in the student union. They may also be able to advise if you are eligible for other grants such as "first in the family", "hillsborough trust" etc.

Yes - I have to agree with PP - I see alot of students who do not consider the financial implications of study before they start. However, most single parents, esp those without childcare costs are usually better off on student income - BUT YOU WILL LEAVE UNI WITH DEBT, SO REMEMEBR THAT YOU ARE BORROWING FROM FUTURE INCOME TO SUBSIDISE YOUR CURRENT INCOME. WHEREAS IS/HB DOES NOT HAVE TO BE REPAID.

Good luck with your studies.

gustiwahle

My daughter and I receive housing benefits. She would like to go away to university but what does this mean for her and her home. Is she still entitled to receive housing benefit so that I can keep a room for her at home? Not sure where to go and find this information. Any help much appreciated.

Voyager2002

gustiwahle wrote: »

My daughter and I receive housing benefits. She would like to go away to university but what does this mean for her and her home. Is she still entitled to receive housing benefit so that I can keep a room for her at home? Not sure where to go and find this information. Any help much appreciated.

I suggest you start your own thread. Anyway, see if you can speak to anyone at your local Housing Benefit office

bestpud

gustiwahle wrote: »

My daughter and I receive housing benefits. She would like to go away to university but what does this mean for her and her home. Is she still entitled to receive housing benefit so that I can keep a room for her at home? Not sure where to go and find this information. Any help much appreciated.

It's always best to start your own thread - you'll get more replies.

Re your question - students cannot normally receive HB unless they are a parent or (I think) have a disability. Her student finance would have to cover it. Does she fit either of those categories?