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Will changing universities affect my student finance if I don't change course?

I've been studying BSc Mathematics with a foundation year, and I've just finished the foundation year. I want to stay on the course, but my circumstances have given me great cause to move from Norwich to Birmingham. Birmingham also has a BSc Mathematics course (as well as one with a foundation year), but I realized SFE could take this one of two ways:

1) Different university but same course, so I'd still be eligible for funding as normal; I could take year 1 2 and 3 of my mathematics with a foundation year at that university without any problems.

2) New university makes it a new course no matter what and I'd have to make a fresh student finance application; I've used my 'gift year' already so it would be a whole new 3 year course, plus one 'gift year' minus two years previously studied, so I wouldn't be eligible for student finance funding for all the years of the course. Which of these would be the case, or is there a third possibility I didn't consider?

Reply 1

Rather_Cynical

The regulations SFE has to follow is The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011, which gets regularly updated by Amendments in later years. If there is no "gap year" and you've transitioned from Year 0 to Year 1, it should be deemed as a transfer - but it gets trickier if your new institution *doesn't* do Foundation entry.

You could always try for Compelling Personal Reasons depending on the nature of your circumstances, but it'd be a long shot if you've done well.

Reply 2

GeorgeDD

Original post by Rather_Cynical

I believe they do have a foundation year option in Birmingham too (although clicking any link for the course redirects to the same course, not sure if that's an error on the website or not). There'd be no gap year either, I'd be transferring to start in September.
http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/fd/index.aspxHowever, I'm not sure if that's the course with a foundation year like the UEA does, or a separate one year foundation course that doesn't count as part of a whole, but a necessity to move onto the course if you don't have the right qualifications etc.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 3

GeorgeDD

Rang SFE and they said it should be fine, if I fill out an extenuating circumstances form stating my reason for transferring (moving house), they should take it as me continuing my BSc Mathematics with Foundation year at Birmingham, as I've done the foundation year and would be doing the other three years elsewhere. Here's hoping that's correct!