Student in financial crisis

jon1965

You say she has numerous health problems, has she claimed PIP?

If she gets PIP then she will get Housing benefit

I strongly recommend she goes to the Students Union Welfare Advice team who will help her access any funds that are available. As she is a mature student there may be bursaries that the University pay

I do have to say though that on full student finance of about 7500 for outside London , rent of £600 a month seems a stretch.

You say she is a mature student but that covers anyone from 21 and over so it might be a very big ask to suggest a shared house.

Personally I think it is a disgrace that student loans do not cover the cost of a year at Uni and also unless you have children/partner or are disabled you can not get any other help.

Tell her to have a look at her Uni bursary page

GothicStirling

£600 a month for a 1 bed flat sounds a lot (unless its in London), and not sustainable on Student Loans. Is it impossible for her to move back in with her parents for a bit, or rent a room from someone? My university always used to advertise rooms for let, maybe she should start there.

kitkatt1982

Thanks everyone so much for your suggestions. Things are looking more positive- after spending a long time talking with her and making some of your suggestions, she thinks she may have secured some extra hours which means she can stay in her home and on her course. She has a beautiful home on an agreement that it's hers as long as she wants it which is very rare in our area and would have been a huge sacrifice to give it up when she thinks she'll be ok after the next couple of months. Unfortunately none of her family are local and the Uni haven't been helpful at all, but she's going to the citizens advice tomorrow for some debt advice and to enquire about her eligibility to apply for Pip. Her main issue is osteoarthritis which limits the jobs she can apply for along with a range of other things so fingers crossed she may be eligible.

seashore22

GothicStirling wrote: »

£600 a month for a 1 bed flat sounds a lot (unless its in London), and not sustainable on Student Loans. Is it impossible for her to move back in with her parents for a bit, or rent a room from someone? My university always used to advertise rooms for let, maybe she should start there.

I would say that it's fairly average for many parts of the country. My daughter pays £650 for a tiny 1 bed flat in Bristol and that's pretty cheap for the area.

A room would seem like a better bet for this friend, given her change in circumstances.