[jwells]

I applied for my student finance in march, but i have been given a maintenance loan of 3,500 the minimum. My accommodation is going to be about 5,500. Surely i should be able to get more money to cover this. Please help !!

[ameliaajane]

where are you going to be staying that your accommodation will be that high?! my maintenance loan is 3875 and my accommodation is roughly that .. have you applied for grant or looked for any additional bursarys from your uni?

[jwells]

I am going to bristol the prices are so high.
I have looked i cannot see anything at all the shows i have any entitlement to anything else

[ameliaajane]

how much roughly is it per month? you'll probably have to start applying for part time jobs to see you through then for bursarys you have to apply to the university directly!

[Shani]

You've got a the minimum maintenance loan. This means that either:
a) Your household income is above the threshold and therefore your parents are expected to help you financially
or
b) You applied to not to be means tested on your household income, and would be entitled to more if your household income is under ~£60k and you supplied financial evidence.

If it's option a) and your parents aren't going to help you financially then the only other option you have is to find a job and cheaper accommodation.

Bursaries are usually tied to the financial evidence you've supplied SF, and with the minimum maintenance loan you aren't usually entitled to much, if any bursary.

[LadyBunion]

There are plenty of places round the country where the standard student accommodation (taken up by most first years) cost is well over the minimum maintenance loan level. OK if parents help out but if they don't it can be tricky. As it is all a loan am not sure why the students can't borrow more.

[Shani]

(Original post by LadyBunion)
There are plenty of places round the country where the standard student accommodation (taken up by most first years) cost is well over the minimum maintenance loan level. OK if parents help out but if they don't it can be tricky. As it is all a loan am not sure why the students can't borrow more.

Because in reality the vast majority of it will never be fully repaid - it will be written off after 30 years, and it still leaves the problem of where to find the extra hundreds of millions right now, when we're in a double dip recession and having austerity measures thrust upon us left right and centre.

[LadyBunion]

(Original post by Shani)
Because in reality the vast majority of it will never be fully repaid - it will be written off after 30 years, and it still leaves the problem of where to find the extra hundreds of millions right now, when we're in a double dip recession and having austerity measures thrust upon us left right and centre.

Worry not! I've seen double dip recession / mortgage rate of 13% and all sorts of things - it'll sort out. Its all funny money anyway. I just feel that if the only money a kid can get is the minimum loan they ought to be able to borrow more to at least be on a par with those getting bursaries and grants etc - give them more of a chance to be independent.

[Tycho]

(Original post by Shani)
Because in reality the vast majority of it will never be fully repaid - it will be written off after 30 years, and it still leaves the problem of where to find the extra hundreds of millions right now, when we're in a double dip recession and having austerity measures thrust upon us left right and centre.

Tell you what:

1) Get rid of nuclear bombs, we don't need them.
2) Get our troops out of foreign countries, they don't need to be there anymore.
3) Prevent the rich bankers/businessmen from frauding the tax office.
4) Elect a government which prioritises health and education.
5) Spread austerity over a longer timeframe.

Students are the intellectual future of our country, and hence of our prosperity. We cannot afford for them to not get an education!

OP: I feel for you. The system is ridiculous. It's stupid that you can be a self-supporting student yet not get the help that other self-supporting students are getting simply because you are not at the arbitrary age of 25 or because your parents are not very good ones.

[Shani]

(Original post by LadyBunion)
Worry not! I've seen double dip recession / mortgage rate of 13% and all sorts of things - it'll sort out. Its all funny money anyway. I just feel that if the only money a kid can get is the minimum loan they ought to be able to borrow more to at least be on a par with those getting bursaries and grants etc - give them more of a chance to be independent.

Indeed it will sort out.

The thing is though, something would have to give, be it the NHS or the police etc, to fund it *right now*.

(Original post by Tycho)
Tell you what:

1) Get rid of nuclear bombs, we don't need them.
2) Get our troops out of foreign countries, they don't need to be there anymore.
3) Prevent the rich bankers/businessmen from frauding the tax office.
4) Elect a government which prioritises health and education.
5) Spread austerity over a longer timeframe.

Students are the intellectual future of our country, and hence of our prosperity. We cannot afford for them to not get an education!

OP: I feel for you. The system is ridiculous. It's stupid that you can be a self-supporting student yet not get the help that other self-supporting students are getting simply because you are not at the arbitrary age of 25 or because your parents are not very good ones.

1) Don't neg me and have a go as if I'm the one making the decisions you list in your points 1-5
2) The OP hasn't replied to my first post in this thread - you are making assumptions that the OP is a self-supporting student. It could be the OP has applied incorrectly and not provided financial evidence, or that the OP has a household income in excess of £60k. In order to suggest some help for the OP, the OP will need to reply to the thread.

[LadyBunion]

(Original post by Shani)
Indeed it will sort out.

The thing is though, something would have to give, be it the NHS or the police etc, to fund it *right now*.

very true... bit like when the equivalent of the annual education budget went on sorting out the banks (about 85 billion at the time) Could be said that they could manage to fund that but presumably not on a recurrent basis.
The trouble is that there is never the proper discussion about what we can really afford and want to pay for. I work for the NHS and sometimes feel we fund just too much and should look more carefully at what we do, though obviously not everyone would agree.

The Health budget is about 140 billion, education about 90 billion, social protection about 230 billion.

There are 1.9 million students at university if each had a further £3k a year loan then it would cost about 6 billion a year.

[Rhiannan94]

OP I know what you mean. I will only be getting the min amount to cover maintenance yet the unis I am looking at all their accomodation is more than the loan! I'm looking at getting a job now to help subsidise it.

[M4LLY]

I think you're parents are expected to make up the rest