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Independent v. Dependent on Parents

Heeeey all,

Been asked to supply information/evidence on whether I am dependent on my parents or self-supporting for the last three years. I was just wondering what the difference is, money wise, between the two if anybody knows?

Thanks for all your help! :smile:

Reply 1

Shani

The difference would depend on what your parents total income is.

It could be the difference between the minimum maintenance loan of £3575 or full support of just over £7k (or higher if youre going to study in London), including receiving grants that are not repayable, plus eligibility for bursaries on household income.

If your parents earn under £25k between them then the funding would be the same as if you were independent.

Reply 2

thismeans_war

Ahhh I see. It's just confusing because I'm semi-independent from my Mum and she earns 31k. I think. Not sure which way to apply.

Reply 3

alibee

If you qualify for independent status, it's never a financial disadvantage to you so if you do qualify, you might as well be assessed as such. Thing is they're not that bothered about semantics or your actual situation, they have specific hoops to jump through to qualify, are you sure you do?

Reply 4

Shani

There is no semi-independent really. You either have to:

1. Be 25 or over
2. Be a parent yourself
3. Be married
4. Have self supported yourself for 3 years with p60s for each of those years showing you earned over £7k- ish.

Reply 5

thismeans_war

Yeah but I am, haha. Been working since I left school and am now 22. The only problem is I decided to throw out my pay slips etc so I can't prove it. Hence the new title of 'semi-independent'. I'll just go with parental dependency. Thank you for your help!

Reply 6

Shani

You could call your tax office and ask them if they can provide copies of your old p60s. That way you would get a larger grant as an independent student, plus possibly a larger bursary and therefore pay less back in the long run.

Reply 7

thismeans_war

I never thought of that! Did you say the earnings have to be over 7k?

Reply 8

Shani

Yeah, I don't quite remember if it's 7 or 7.5k, but I know someone on the forum reported they were a couple of hundred short for one of the years and on this basis SF refused independent status (which was being appealed), so whatever they say is their "guideline" seems to be a fixed amount.

Are your earnings close to this amount?

7.5k

Haha, not at the moment as am obviously back in education. Do I just go for parental dependency then?

Reply 11

alibee

You find 3 tax years with income over £7.5k and it's a happy time. You can ring your local tax office and ask for a statement of earnings for any year you think might be a contender, sfe will accept these as evidence.