ALF question...don't want to clog up the big thread

mamabuddah

I'm posting this becaus OH doesn't understand either !!! I'm a little bit puzzled as to how this works...brief scenario

Daughter is post grad
applies for ALF
person helping her fill in form says...
FormFiller: "WHAT!!!...you only have £50 a week to live on"
Daughter says yes
FormFiller: "Thats not much use"
Daughter says, its all my parents can afford
FormFiller: How did you pay your rent and fees etc
Daughter says mum and dad on their credit cards, we're a low income family
FormFiller: we'll add on your rent of £84 a week as part of your income
Daughter says...mmmm...ok.
FormFiller: thats all you've got then
Daughter says yes

word comes back...because your income as a post grad is LESS THAN £145 a week ...you wont get any assistance at all...

now to me that means...if she had income of more than £145 a week she would have....can anyone explain this to me....

and yes its true...OH and I paid her fees and rent in halls on our CCs...and £50 a week is all we can give her for food, transport living etc...we're prepared to give her the chance to do this and we would rather struggle than put her into even more debt....so what's the ALF for then if not to help those that need it?

any advice more than welcome

bestpud

Ok, the point is, you are giving your daughter money and it is she who has claimed - based on her circumstances.

It matters not a jot to them how you are paying it - they just see that she is getting £50 a week and does not have to pay housing costs out of it, which is actually more than many students get.

To put it another way: if another student went along with no family support at all then they surely needs the limited money more than your daughter who is being supported, albeit via credit cards?

I don't understand why they have put 'less' on the form though.

Just my thoughts - someone else may have another explanation.

dmg24

That didn't make sense to me at first, but bestpud's explanation does make sense.

Are you sure it does not read 'is not less than ...'? x

Oldernotwiser

I think that Bestpud's is the only possible explanation. They only have her word that you're doing it on credit cards, for all they know you could be well off.

MrsManda

What's ALF?
If your daughter's a PG wouldn't she classify as an independent and thus your income wouldn't be taken into account?

bestpud

Mrsmanda wrote: »

What's ALF?
If your daughter's a PG wouldn't she classify as an independent and thus your income wouldn't be taken into account?

ALF is the Access to Learning Fund. It's a grant allocated by universities to students in need and is not given out lightly because it is limited to a set amouny annually.

They aren't taking the parents income into account.

They have simply looked at the students income and are not interested in where she is getting the money from, just that she is getting it.

littleemmie

Hi,

Basically, the Government claim that each postgrad student, before starting their course, must make provisions so that they have an income of £145.00 a week (or £115.00 a week if they have dependants). This figure is the notional postgraduate income and is set by the government. It can be made up from grants, scholarships, part-time work, parental or partner support or a career development loan but applications to the ALF cannot be considered without evidence that provisions have been made for an income of £145 a week.

I hope this makes sense! I'm taking this from a nice information sheet I was given when my application to the ALF was rejected!