[CGardner5]

What is it all about?

Just received the prospectus and trying to read about it on my IPhone, but there website isin't too good on my IPhone!

So I'm asking what is the "advantage"?, and is it as good as they say?


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[Claire.northwest]

I have just graduated from UCLan and I have also been working for the university and with perspective students on Flying Start during the summer so have been told A LOT about The Advantage and how it should work - although I think it is important to remember that this is the first year it has been run so I think it is going to be a learning curve for everyone, especially for the next 2 years when there are advantage and ‘non-advantage’ students studying.

The Advantage does offer A LOT to new students for example;
- FREE gym membership (the gym is brand new – it opened last September)
- More support to find work experience or to study abroad
- Personal Advisors, which should contact you before you start uni and are a great contact point to have while you are at university
- M&M mentoring support, you have the opportunity to be paired up with a 2nd or 3rd year student on the same or similar course to offer you support / guidance
- Financial credits – depending on your household income you are given credits on your corporate card which can be spent on a number of different things around campus

Hope this helps

[Loucornall]

Hia,

I've just been reading my induction prospectus thing (official name lol) and I am slightly confused the financial credits. Is this on top of all my loans and grants?? If so I am in the catagory under 25k which according to what they have put is 3k in credits!! If this is right it is an amazing help as I am a single parent and will only be working 20 hours a week as of sept
from what i can see the credits can be used for accomodation (wont apply for me), food on campus, travel, printing etc, even the on campus dentist!

[laura_ann]

(Original post by Loucornall)
Hia,

I've just been reading my induction prospectus thing (official name lol) and I am slightly confused the financial credits. Is this on top of all my loans and grants?? If so I am in the catagory under 25k which according to what they have put is 3k in credits!! If this is right it is an amazing help as I am a single parent and will only be working 20 hours a week as of sept
from what i can see the credits can be used for accomodation (wont apply for me), food on campus, travel, printing etc, even the on campus dentist!

The financial credits as I'm aware are on top of the loans and grants! Everyone is entitled to £300 worth of financial credits but yep, you'll get £3k worth is your family income is under £25k. You won't get the whole amount of £3k credits in one go but in instalments across the academic year. If you don't use all the credits they can be carried over into the next year also.

[Loucornall]

(Original post by laura_ann)
The financial credits as I'm aware are on top of the loans and grants! Everyone is entitled to £300 worth of financial credits but yep, you'll get £3k worth is your family income is under £25k. You won't get the whole amount of £3k credits in one go but in instalments across the academic year. If you don't use all the credits they can be carried over into the next year also.

I'm really pleased about it, apparantly I can use it to buy my bus pass on site as well which is a big help, its good that its spread out over the term, will come in handy when we are nearly due the next loans installments lol.
Im hoping we can use them in the sho on campus that sells computers as I need to buy a printer

[laura_ann]

(Original post by Loucornall)
I'm really pleased about it, apparantly I can use it to buy my bus pass on site as well which is a big help, its good that its spread out over the term, will come in handy when we are nearly due the next loans installments lol.
Im hoping we can use them in the sho on campus that sells computers as I need to buy a printer

Hopefully you can use it to get a computer! I've not heard of a uni doing a credit scheme like this before. What course you studying on?

[Loucornall]

(Original post by laura_ann)
Hopefully you can use it to get a computer! I've not heard of a uni doing a credit scheme like this before. What course you studying on?

I'm doing foundation entry social care - policy and practice, what about you?

[Claire.northwest]

I'm not sure if you can buy a printer / computer from uni - but they do change things A LOT, the best place to ask would be in the library. If not I know the 'one stop' shop in the library rents laptops

[Loucornall]

I found a page online for a shop at uclan and they sell refurbished computers, webcams, memory sticks and other bits, will paste the link when I'm on my laptop, fingers crossed they have printers too


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[laura_ann]

(Original post by Loucornall)
I'm doing foundation entry social care - policy and practice, what about you?

Nice! I'm doing foundation entry Journalism.

[Paul285v]

(Original post by Claire.northwest)
I have just graduated from UCLan and I have also been working for the university and with perspective students on Flying Start during the summer so have been told A LOT about The Advantage and how it should work - although I think it is important to remember that this is the first year it has been run so I think it is going to be a learning curve for everyone, especially for the next 2 years when there are advantage and ‘non-advantage’ students studying.

The Advantage does offer A LOT to new students for example;
- FREE gym membership (the gym is brand new – it opened last September)
- More support to find work experience or to study abroad
- Personal Advisors, which should contact you before you start uni and are a great contact point to have while you are at university
- M&M mentoring support, you have the opportunity to be paired up with a 2nd or 3rd year student on the same or similar course to offer you support / guidance
- Financial credits – depending on your household income you are given credits on your corporate card which can be spent on a number of different things around campus

Hope this helps

Free gym membership ? I'm going into my second year and I paid £150 last year and just been told its going up to £180 so can you explain how its free ?

[Loucornall]

(Original post by Paul285v)
Free gym membership ? I'm going into my second year and I paid £150 last year and just been told its going up to £180 so can you explain how its free ?

its part of the initiavtive for new students this year to try counteract the possible fall in admissions because of the increase in fees (9000n grand :/),
apparantly they had been using the incentives to try and encourage students to join UClan however I only found out about this 3 days ago when receiving my induction pack so I don't feel it actually attracted me to choose this uni as I had already had my place confirmed etc before even being told about it

[Loucornall]

(Original post by Paul285v)
Free gym membership ? I'm going into my second year and I paid £150 last year and just been told its going up to £180 so can you explain how its free ?

p.s - if there was anyway to pass on the gym membership your welcome to mine lol

[Pranavian]

(Original post by Paul285v)
Free gym membership ? I'm going into my second year and I paid £150 last year and just been told its going up to £180 so can you explain how its free ?

Yup, I had it confirmed when I was up there in person, it'll be free to those paying the higher fees.

I did, however, hear about it on the open days, but I don't think it truly affected my choice of Uni!

[Paul285v]

(Original post by Loucornall)
p.s - if there was anyway to pass on the gym membership your welcome to mine lol

Haha thanks !

[Paul285v]

(Original post by Pranavian)
Yup, I had it confirmed when I was up there in person, it'll be free to those paying the higher fees.

I did, however, hear about it on the open days, but I don't think it truly affected my choice of Uni!

No it shouldn't because a lot of universities give free gym membership but uclan doesn't for some reason haha oh well guess I will have to pay again this year !

[northern-belle]

(Original post by Paul285v)
Free gym membership ? I'm going into my second year and I paid £150 last year and just been told its going up to £180 so can you explain how its free ?

Erm Ive just got the leaflet to renew mine and its only going to be 150 again...


And on the credit topic yes its my understanding from my ambassador training that the credits can be used anywhere which is uni owned so its worth going and asking about using them for the computer stuff

[ibby_1994]

hello

does anyone know whether the "credit" you get can be used to buy bus passes e.g unirider and train tickets?

someone plz help coz i need to order my unirider asap if i cant use the credit.

thx

[Loucornall]

Hi! It said on the website we can use it to buy bus tickets but I would ring them Monday to double check, I'm counting on us being able to really lol

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9300

[ibby_1994]

hello
yes i checked they said you can use it to buy megariders, gold rider from campus, and a railcard.