[feverdream]

I'm trying to apply for student finance. I'm a graduate with a place on a 5 year medicine course. I've ticked all the appropriate boxes on my student finance application and it's "estimating" that I'm entitled to £0 tuition fee loan (correct) and £0 maintenance loan (incorrect).

I know I should be entitled to the basic maintenance loan of £3575; for some reason the online form doesn't seem to have understood that I'm applying for funding for a medicine course, even though I've entered all the details of the course. It looks like it might offer me the basic maintenance loan if I apply based on my household income, but I know that I'll only be entitled to the basic £3575 anyway so I don't want to bother my parents with filling out all their financial info for no reason.

Has this happened to anyone else? Is there a box I've forgotten to check? I know I should probably ring them but I just cannot face waiting endlessly on hold to be put through to somebody inept who will not have a clue what I'm entitled to, unless I absolutely have to...

Thanks

[MusicNow]

I became so frustrated with the online form that I ended up requesting a paper one instead. And they still assessed my form incorrectly the first time and failed to grant me a maintenance loan, so I had to ring them up and ask for a reassessment (after which I was awarded one). They were at least quite quick with the reassessment, so perhaps consider requesting a paper form a do it that way? Still a pain I know, but unfortunately I'm not sure that there is a painless way of battling through the student loan company's ineptitude.

[Pkysam]

(Original post by feverdream)
I'm trying to apply for student finance. I'm a graduate with a place on a 5 year medicine course. I've ticked all the appropriate boxes on my student finance application and it's "estimating" that I'm entitled to £0 tuition fee loan (correct) and £0 maintenance loan (incorrect).

Has this happened to anyone else? Is there a box I've forgotten to check?

You know you have to pay 9k per year in tutition fees though right?! Crazy money. Are you loaded? :P Annnyways

Yes, this happens to everyone, because the student finance website/computer system is hilariously awful. If you try the "estimator" before you apply, it tells you that you can have a full tuition fee loan too. Fun times.

Don't worry about the fact it says £0, just apply regardless. Eventually a real person looks at it, and as long as they vaguely know what they're doing they spot that it's medicine and you should get a letter confirming that you're entitled to a maintenance loan. The computer doesn't assess you, and it's wrong, so don't panic and hit apply

[feverdream]

(Original post by MusicNow)
I became so frustrated with the online form that I ended up requesting a paper one instead. And they still assessed my form incorrectly the first time and failed to grant me a maintenance loan, so I had to ring them up and ask for a reassessment (after which I was awarded one). They were at least quite quick with the reassessment, so perhaps consider requesting a paper form a do it that way? Still a pain I know, but unfortunately I'm not sure that there is a painless way of battling through the student loan company's ineptitude.

(Original post by Pkysam)
You know you have to pay 9k per year in tutition fees though right?! Crazy money. Are you loaded? :P Annnyways

Yes, this happens to everyone, because the student finance website/computer system is hilariously awful. If you try the "estimator" before you apply, it tells you that you can have a full tuition fee loan too. Fun times.

Don't worry about the fact it says £0, just apply regardless. Eventually a real person looks at it, and as long as they vaguely know what they're doing they spot that it's medicine and you should get a letter confirming that you're entitled to a maintenance loan. The computer doesn't assess you, and it's wrong, so don't panic and hit apply

Thank you both for your replies. I rang up student finance and after about half an hour of them trying to convince me I was in fact eligible for a tuition fee loan, they rang head office and lo and behold... I was correct. Sigh.

Anyway, he pretty much advised that I do a paper application which is what I'll do. Also it means I can add a note explaining exactly what I should be entitled to (today's phone call has proven to me that they need this information!) so fingers crossed...

[othomas1]

Hello im also in same boat (graduade on 5 year course). How are people planning to pay the 9,000 a year? Anyone know of any professional loans around? Any other funding? Ive been offered a place at Keele but im afraid that I will not be able to fund it. I had been assured by student finance that I was elegible for a loan prior to applying....but apparently not.

Thanks

[MusicNow]

(Original post by othomas1)
Hello im also in same boat (graduade on 5 year course). How are people planning to pay the 9,000 a year? Anyone know of any professional loans around? Any other funding? Ive been offered a place at Keele but im afraid that I will not be able to fund it. I had been assured by student finance that I was elegible for a loan prior to applying....but apparently not.

Thanks

There's bits and pieces around, but nothing approaching the full cost. The BMA will give graduate students on five year courses a £3000 grant in years two and three (or three and four, I forget which), some universities have their own system of grants, and you can get a career development loan for £10000 from a couple of banks (if you can convince them to give you one). It's also important to remember that it is possible, though admittedly not easy, to do some part time work during a five year course, particularly during the summer holidays of pre clinical years. Finally there are a few charitable trusts and guilds which will give you bits and pieces and the NHS hardship fund if you get into trouble in the latter stages of the course. Oh and possibly armed forces sponsorship if that's a route you are willing to go down.

It's a depressing situation I know, I really hope you are able to find a way of affording it after having succeeded in earning a place.

*Just to add that I think that you can only get one career development loan, not one from each of the banks offering them.