mature student advice please

mummytofour

Hello,
I hope i am in the right place...

Dh is looking at maybe going to uni in sep 2006.

I dont work and wont be as we have children, It looks like a mine field working out all the grants we maybe able to get, basically we need to know how much he might be able to get before we decide.. weather he can go or not, the course he would like to do is four years.

I have seen that fees will be going up to as much as 3k as from sep 2006, will unwaged student familes have to pay this too? I see that it is to be paid in way of a loan so im guessing yes, am I right?

Also do the grants and student loans count as income? as im wanting to work out how much we can get in tax credits, do i put a 0 figure into the calculater or the figure that is the total of grants and loan or just loan??

Also does anybody have any advice of places i should go with regard to any info, about going back to uni for mature student?


Any advise would be fabby.

TIA

VXX

chugalug

I don't know exactly what you can get as a couple where one is a student but can help on a couple of points. You can apply for a 25% discount on council tax as your OH won't be counted as a full time student. The other point is that student loans and grants aren't counted as income for tax credits but they are for most other benefits ie housing benefit. Don't know why but there it is. Anyway this means that if OH got a part time job as well as studying or you worked pt then your tax credits wouldnt be affected. If the work was over 16 hours a week then working tax credit kicks in. There have been other threads on where to to work out the amount of funding you may be entitled to so maybe someone else more computer savvy than me will be able to help with a link. I know there is a grant for having an adult dependant but don't know the amount off hand. HTH

mummytofour

Most useful info thank you.

From what you are saying then we would be able to claim max child tax credit if neither of us were working.
We also would get 25% on c/t fab.

I have found out some info with regard to the adult dep grant all looks ok, will ahve to do lots of research on this one i feel.

gizmoleeds

mummytofour wrote:

I have seen that fees will be going up to as much as 3k as from sep 2006, will unwaged student familes have to pay this too? I see that it is to be paid in way of a loan so im guessing yes, am I right?

The first £1,200-odd is income assessed, if your household income is below a threashold you will get some (or all) of this discounted. The remaining £1,800 (and any part of the £1,200 which you have to pay - probably none) will be paid back with the student loan at 9% of his income over £15,000 after graduation.

Not all univeristies will charge £3,000 BTW, they may only charge £1,200 - it is at the discretion of the university.

There is also now a grant of £1,000 available for those below a threashold. (These threasholds should be on this website: http://www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance/WhatWillItCost.htm - I will try find them for you).

There has been a lot of bad press about top-up fees, but for low income families it will actually be easier under the new system to go to university. There are grants now, the repayments are now lower (used to be 9% over £10,000) and any fees you do pay are all paid back afterwards - there is nothing upfront anymore.

gizmoleeds

HE Grants are at the following rates:
Houshold Income - Grant
£15,580 - £1,000
£16,000 - £933
£17,000 - £774
£18,000 - £615
£19,000 - £457
£20,000 - £298
£21,565 - £50

jr666

You could do a lot worse than going to see the citezens advice bureau. They should be able to clarify all things.

annettek3707

Hi - depends what course you are interested in, I have been told by th e L.E.A. this week that the goverment is paying the full £3,000 for the social work degree, which I have just accepted a place at uni. depending on the results of my access course - which is free! plus you get a non means tested maintainance grant of approx £4,000 +
check out this info for your area. Good luck dont let the finance put you off seeking higher education - theres lots of help out there. Good Luck!!!

SamMoffatt28

annettek3707 wrote:

........ which I have just accepted a place at uni. depending on the results of my access course QUOTE]

I've just accepted a social work place too! which uni will you be going to? I'll be at University of Central Lancashire

charlie007

i have a couple of months left on my social work course, i think the best thing to do would be to go to the university and talk with them, some of the students on muy course go money from a hardship fund. worth a try!!

robhammond

Hi,

I until very recently managed a Student Advice Centre & was an Education & Welfare Officer so I may be of help!

Firstly, the vast majority of Universities are charging the full £3000, there are a couple who chose not too (Leeds Met amongst others). You do not pay any tuition fees whilst at University upfront, instead you start to repay once you are earning a minimum of around £16k PA.

Secondly, the government, like already mentioned, are offering grants (not repayable) as mentioned already. These are assessed and rewarded at the beginning of the academic year.

Additionally some Universities offer additional grants & incentives on top of the Government. Some have opted for £500 cash back, some a free laptop for every student & the more serious ones have created thier own bursary schemes based on family income. it is seriously worth researching what incentives there are to go to your chosen Uni, Higher Education has almost become a business in that respect.

Thirdly! The 'hardship fund' was abolished over a year ago. Don't panic though as they were replaced with a scheme called the Access to Learning Fund (ALF) - some Universities may call it a different name. This scheme prioritises students with children or dependents & students with disabilities.
The maximum award, based on information regarding your income & expenditure, is £3,500 per year (none repayable). The money can be used to subsidise rent/mortgages, childcare costs, general living expenses & 'priority debts' (debts secured against your home or that may lead to an eviction, NOT credit cards etc). There is also a summer fund that pays on top of that for continuing students.

I would seriously recommend that every student with any form of commercial debt applies especially now because the Uni's are struggeling to give the money away - if they don't spend it they have to give it back the to the Department for Education & Skills (DfES) in July.

Like already mentioned there is the 25% Council Tax discount (or 100% if the entire household are students). In September 2006 the National Union of Students is launching an NUS extra card. It will cost £10 but gives futher discounts on top of the traditional NUS card including 10% off at Tescos, 25% at HMV, and many many more including Mothercare etc. The card will have a chip in it so the system cannot be abused apparently!

You will still be eligible for some Child related benefits but any general benefits will be suspended whilst in full-time education.

So as you can see there are many many schemes available to help students with children access higher education.

If there is anything more specific you would like help with either PM me or post a reply.

Best wishes,

Rob

debsley_pig

Hi

If you go to the website https://www.studentsupportdirect.co.uk they have all the facts and figures and also a calculator so you can work out your entitlement. My hubby started as a full-time student last October. The way we approached it was to apply and get him on to the course first, and then to work out the finances afterwards and only when we were over all the hurdles was the decision final that he could actually go.

You will need to fill in a student finance form a few months before the course starts, and so you will know exactly what you have to pay out for and what you will get quite a while before it all kicks off. Then, if he does actually become a student, you can then apply for the council tax discount and get the student card for all the lovely discounts, etc.

Hope it works out for you both.