ALG/LSP/tuition fees support for 1st level 3 - help?

boldaslove

hi, i'm having a bit of a nightmare getting through to the guidance service at my college. nobody ever seems to be in the office! :mad: i just wondered if anyone's had experience of this as i'm starting to panic a bit.

i've been accepted onto a diploma to start in september. it's my first level 3 and i have little in the way of GCSEs so i've been told i'm entitled to have my tuition fees paid. in addition i'll get the adult learning grant and learner support fund. my question is, when and how do you apply for these? i've been told LSP gets done at enrolment in september but i can't find anything out about the others, i just get redirected back to the empty guidance office

any comments would be greatly appreciated. thanks

lilysgarden

I'm assuming your diploma is through a local college which can then be upgraded to a degree status after the first two years?! I've only ever completed an Access course at college for which your entitled to absolutely nothing, and then a degree at uni. But the adult learner grant is something I was able to receive so I'm guessing it must be very similar to what I had to do.

In which case, when you apply for student loans through your LEA (Local Education Authority), they automatically check your entitled to them and include it as part of your entitlement figure. Be careful though, if you have to apply for them with the same forms as the one's for student loans, you might have to tick a box to say your claiming for those grants as well! Read the form very carefully! The college should have given you all of this information a long time ago, and sadly coming to the end of semester for college and uni, means your lucky to get hold of people very easily. Have a look on your LEA website to see what your entitled to and what advice they can give!

Good luck! Nik xx

Oldernotwiser

Sorry lilysgarden, you're on a different wavelength from boldaslove, who's talking about a level 3 qualification, equivalent to A levels, so what you've posted isn't relevant.

Boldaslove, you really do need to speak to someone in the Guidance Centre at your college. There's usually someone there who deals specifically with the ALG and they'll have the application packs available. It might be worth emailing them if they're often out of the office, or leaving a message on their voicemail. You don't need to panic, you've got plenty of time to apply before September, it's not a complicated application and approval usually only takes a couple of weeks.

The Learning Support Grant is a less fixed amount and you'll need to show all your incomings and outgoings before a decision can be made. As you say, you can't do this until you enrol. You also need to be aware that funds have been greatly cut back in recent years in England for LSG as more money has gone into the ALG and the Level 2 and 3 entitlements.

Post again if you need more information on this; I used to be based in a Guidance Centre so may well be able to answer other questions. What are you hoping to get the LSG for?

mummytofour

I have just finished my Access course and i got ALG.
Google ALG you apply via manchester city council.

Oldernotwiser

mummytofour wrote: »

I have just finished my Access course and i got ALG.
Google ALG you apply via manchester city council.

Access courses are level 3; ALG is possible for some but not for others.

boldaslove

thanks for all your replies

just to clarify - it's a 1 year full time art and design diploma in foundation studies at a local college. i'm probably going to be doing an AS level alongside it too. it's acredited by 2 local universities and i intend to apply for a degree after.

i never thought of emailing - i'll try phoning again today and if i don't get through i'll try and get an email address or fax off reception or one of my tutors. it's the end of year show on friday which i'm going to so hopefully i'll get to speak to a tutor there (had just occured to me that they will be very busy now!). i know i'm getting sent info in july as there's an induction day before enrolment so i imagine a lot of the funding stuff is going to get done then.

i spoke to the general advice office a few weeks ago and the grants/funding i've listed are the ones he told me i'm entitled to after asking me some questions. i gather ALG is paid weekly term time to help with travel/materials, and LSG is to help with some exam fees and materials.... is that right? the tuition fees is the biggy really, that's the one i'm stressed about and want to get sorted in advance if possible.

i'll have another go at contacting them now.... when i rang last week i was told guidance were all off sick or on holiday so i gather they're not done for the year yet!

Oldernotwiser

Just a thought; if you think that there's any possibility that you might want to teach art in the future, don't ignore the possibility of doing GCSE in English and Maths rather than the A/S level as these would be requiired. Good luck.

mummytofour

If your going for primary you need science.
My dh is going to do an Art Access in sep with the long term aim of being an art teacher.

boldaslove

thanks, i don't really intend to teach in the future although i won't shelve the idea completely, if i do i want to teach overseas, and that tends to be voluntary in the regions i'm looking at. i actually have a very good level of english, i'm absoutely pants at maths but i'm going to get assessed as i suspect i may have a form of dyscalculia - it seems to be more than me just being bad at numbers, i have a terrible time just reading a sequence of numbers on paper, so i may well get support in improving my maths while i'm studying.

i'm planning to either do the AS in photography or textiles/fashion design, i haven't decided yet. i'd love to do both but as i have to work too i doubt i'll have the time (i think an AS is 9 hours a week). again this is something i'll get to discuss at the pre-enrolment day.

i just want september to roll around now, i'm so excited! been out of formal education for almost 10 years, i'm quite nervous but i know it's going to be great thanks for the words of encouragement.