The Student Room Group

HELP! - Is there any financial support on top of student loans?

I'm living at Uni with my boyfriend currently - I have just finished my first year and he has just finished his second. We've been budgeting for next academic year, and as his loan only just covers rent payments, we've worked out that my boyfriend will be around £1200 out of pocket next year. He's been trying to get a job for 3 years, to no success (and yes, his CV is well written and we've gone down every avenue to receive help at Uni with employment) and he only receives the bare minimum maintenance loan due to his parents' high income. The problem is, although his household income is high (which causes his loan to be very low), all of that income is paid straight back out on bills and the mortgage. I find it really unfair that his student finance payments are assessed on household income, yet they do not take into account household expenditure! Obviously, this means his parents simply don't have the money to be able to help him finish his final year in order to get his degree classification. So far, I have been helping with around £1500 every year, but I don't have enough savings to get him through his final year (it would be a real shame for him to have . Does anybody know of any way he could receive some more finance? Any help at all would be much appreciated, thank you!
Reply 1
If he's counted as dependant on his parents income and therefore only get the minimum, there is nothing else unfortunately.
Be smart. Work the system :wink:
Reply 3
Original post by Illuminated_A
Be smart. Work the system :wink:


Not really possible when Student Finance want evidence if you want more money.
Reply 4
Just a weekend job in a shop would get you that sort of money... maybe you need to kick his ass into being a bit more proactive
Original post by Shani
Not really possible when Student Finance want evidence if you want more money.


Lol if you say so :rolleyes:
Reply 6
Original post by Illuminated_A
Lol if you say so :rolleyes:


Care to enlighten me?

You can't be an independent student without proof.

You can't fake HMRC records.

The only "fibbing" you can do is say you live with a lower earning parent, but that won't apply to everyone, and you need proof that said parent is single.

Unless you're suggesting they get married.
Reply 7
Original post by Shani
Care to enlighten me?

You can't be an independent student without proof.

You can't fake HMRC records.

The only "fibbing" you can do is say you live with a lower earning parent, but that won't apply to everyone, and you need proof that said parent is single.

Unless you're suggesting they get married.

Im not saying i know anything about how this sort of stuff works but if your boyfriend is indeed getting absolutely no financial aid from his parents then he could file to be an independent student and therefore receive some aid. He would have to provide evidence that he gets no money from them however, which if he doesn't shouldn't be too hard.
Reply 8
Original post by Amscared
Im not saying i know anything about how this sort of stuff works but if your boyfriend is indeed getting absolutely no financial aid from his parents then he could file to be an independent student and therefore receive some aid. He would have to provide evidence that he gets no money from them however, which if he doesn't shouldn't be too hard.


It doesn't work like that. He would have to professionally prove estrangement. This means having a professional - such as a doctor or social worker back him up, with evidence that he is estranged - that he doesn't have *ANY* contact at all with them, and that the relationship has broken down beyond fixing.

Just telling them he gets no financial support will do nothing.
Reply 9
Original post by sparki015
I'm living at Uni with my boyfriend currently - I have just finished my first year and he has just finished his second. We've been budgeting for next academic year, and as his loan only just covers rent payments, we've worked out that my boyfriend will be around £1200 out of pocket next year. He's been trying to get a job for 3 years, to no success (and yes, his CV is well written and we've gone down every avenue to receive help at Uni with employment) and he only receives the bare minimum maintenance loan due to his parents' high income. The problem is, although his household income is high (which causes his loan to be very low), all of that income is paid straight back out on bills and the mortgage. I find it really unfair that his student finance payments are assessed on household income, yet they do not take into account household expenditure! Obviously, this means his parents simply don't have the money to be able to help him finish his final year in order to get his degree classification. So far, I have been helping with around £1500 every year, but I don't have enough savings to get him through his final year (it would be a real shame for him to have . Does anybody know of any way he could receive some more finance? Any help at all would be much appreciated, thank you!



:confused::confused: ? Tell him to ask his parent to borrow £500 ish
What are Parents for? Surely they can give around £500 ish
Reply 10
Have you asked the uni about it? Mine gives out short term emergency loans (from the actual uni not the student loans company) to students in need and I'm sure we have something called a Hardship fund which is a grant or a loan for those whose lack of money might be stopping them from completing their course. Do some research into your uni and see what they might have.


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It might be worth talking to your landlord to see if there's any chance you could spread out the repayments for the remaining rent over a few more months. Or if you put a deposit down on the house before moving in, ask if they could use that as the last part of your rent instead of you paying it (assuming you've done nothing to the house).

I don't know if you already have an overdraft on a student account, but this could be a good way to get the money you need, as a lot of people have overdrafts while they're studying. Some Universities also do emergency loans or grants if he explains the situation to them.

Also try to cut back on how much you're spending at the moment. Things like nights out could be cut back on, and food bought more cheaply, every little helps.

With regards to the job, how picky is he being? I don't know where you live, but there are always advertisements for cleaners in my local area, usually paying around £7 per hour, he could do that over the summer to save the cash he needs. Or sell some of his belongings like old books/DVDs/do a car boot sale. There are plenty of ways he could raise the cash, it's all about being a bit inventive.

If he has a bit of spare time on his hands, and a bit of money to start off with, matched betting is a good way to get some free cash. It's risk free and using FixTheOdds.com shows you how to do everything so you shouldn't make a mistake. Read up about it and see if it's something you like the sound of. I managed to make £500 in my summer holiday last year so it's worth having a look at. Also whenever I post about matched betting people always attack me and post hate saying "how can gambling be risk free" etc etc well please read up about it before you quote me, thanks!

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