Student Loan: is applying without Mum possible?

duchy

bestpud wrote: »

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure you can earn a lot more than £15,000 and your dd will still get the maximum EMA. I think it is closer to £20,000 actually. Plus EMA is based on last years income so even if your income rose considerably this year, it wouldn't affect her payments until next year .

£20,817 actually for maximum EMA

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/14To19/MoneyToLearn/EMA/DG_066951

Oldernotwiser

The_One_Who wrote: »

That's assuming that all students can become independent at 18, and that is simply not true. I still live at home due to not being able to afford to move out, and it was the same for most of my friends from school and the ones I made at university.

There's a difference between just leaving home at 18 and leaving home to go to university. Although more people stay living with their parents now than used to be the case (unfortunately), the majority still go away to study. The funding is there to allow people to do just that. Many people nowadays have unrealistic expectations of the money they want to live on whilst studying and aren't prepared to go without things to get the
broader experience of university life. Using the student loan just a "pocket money" (and working part time as well) doesn't seem to me to be what being a student is about!

The_One_Who

The funding isn't there for everyone. The maximum I could get is £4,500 per year (the maximum in Scotland) which would cover my rent and leave me with a little for bills and food and everything else. I would need to work just to afford to scrape by. Personally, I'd rather commute and not have to worry too much about finances. For me, being a student isn't about worrying about what I am going to eat next and trying to pick up more shifts just to afford to live and sacrificing my studying time.