Student Loan: Should I provide my financial info for my son's application?

JamieBadman

Hi

My son has applied for a student loan and I've received an email asking for my financial information in order for them to determine what he should receive.

My yearly income is in excess of 90K.

If I fill in the financial information they require, is it possible that he will receive LESS than the amount he'd receive if I don't provide any information at all?

I'm concerned that providing my info may actually prove to be detrimental.

Anyone know the situation here?

I'd also love to understand why I, as a parent, am assessed for this at all - his course is 5 years - he'll be 23 when he finished - yet his eligibility for a loan is based on his parents income. Why is this?

Ebe_Scrooge

It won't make a difference in your situation. If you don't supply details of your income, he'll be awarded the non-means-tested portion of the entitlements (which is what everyone is entitled to). If you supply your details, he'll be assessed to see what additional funding he's entitled to, based on household income - which will be nothing based on your income. So the net result will be the same.

The reason you're being asked for your income is because part of the loan/grant entitlement is means-tested - parents on incomes above a certain level are expected (rightly or wrongly) to contribute to their children's university costs.

JamieBadman

Thanks - so there's no possible way that by providing my info he'll receive less than if I don't provide it at all?

Will it slow down his application if I don't provide? Just trying to figure out if there's any reason to complete the forms.

JGB1955

Student Maintenance Loans are means tested. If you don't provide the information (which is cross-checked with HMRC records) how can a decision be made?

JamieBadman

So if I don't provide any info my son will receive nothing at all? Are you sure about this?

Pretty sure this is wrong.

My question though is whether I can actually do harm by providing info (seems I can't) and whether if I don't comply if this slows his application down (why should I share financial data if it makes no difference?).

Ebe_Scrooge

If you don't supply the information it will slow down his application. The process goes something like this :

1. Application received
2. Evidence of income is requested
3. When evidence is received and reviewed, the application is assessed and the award is calculated.
4. If no evidence is received, several more attempts are made to ask for evidence, before the application is reviewed by a supervisor - at which point the applicant is given the option of cancelling their application or receiving the non-means-tested portion only.

That's a simplified version, but the bottom line is yes, you'll slow down his application by not providing the evidence requested. He could, of course, just apply for the non-means-tested portion in the first place, then there'd be no need for you to send in anything.

northwest1965

JGB1955 wrote: »

Student Maintenance Loans are means tested. If you don't provide the information (which is cross-checked with HMRC records) how can a decision be made?

If you are earning over £62212.00 the amounts for Maintenance Loan are £3414 if at home, £4168 outside London and £7103 London..

Have I got that correct??

https://www.savethestudent.org/student-finance/the-big-fat-guide-to-student-finance-2012.html#maintenancefunds

silvercar

It was a few years ago (but only a few years), there was a box to tick somewhere to only apply for the non means tested element. That made the application much quicker.

For a non- means tested (or high income home) the amount in England for a student studying away and outside London is £4168.


https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator/y/2019-2020/uk-full-time/9250.0/away-outside-london/65000.0/no/none-of-the-above

w06

If you decide not to provide the information, tell them and him that you're not providing it, rather than just ignore the request, because it will slow the approval down and at this time of year he only has a couple of months to get it sorted

Spendless

silvercar wrote: »

It was a few years ago (but only a few years), there was a box to tick somewhere to only apply for the non means tested element. That made the application much quicker.

It was there last year, we ticked it. Son started Uni Sept 18. Don't know about this year, I lost my job and we were wondering (hoping!) that this made a difference to son's loan, - it didn't!

OP- Does your son live with you? You haven't made that clear.

silvercar

Spendless wrote: »

It was there last year, we ticked it. Son started Uni Sept 18. Don't know about this year, I lost my job and we were wondering (hoping!) that this made a difference to son's loan, - it didn't!

OP- Does your son live with you? You haven't made that clear.

You can ask to be assessed on this year rather than last if your income has dropped significantly.