The Student Room Group

Student Finance - Applying as an Independent, etc.?

My question for this, in a few parts, is:

a) Is there any way that I can tell Student Finance that I get nothing from my parents? Like by proving they give me nothing (due to debt repayments, etc. from a business we once had that drained their finances), I pretty much feed myself back at home, etc.?
b) Is there any way that I can get extra funding, etc. as they give me nothing? I know I will hear the words 'man up', 'make your own way in life', etc. but it's not as if my parents' incomes makes me eligible for the top amount of grant, etc.
c) Has anybody else had any experience of anything like my scenario (below)?

So, earlier today my parents said to me that I should fill out my Student Finance form as an independent. I told them that, as I keep contact with them and visit home from time to time (although everything I have, do and consume comes from my own funds - Student Finance, wages and some inheritance that my grandfather left for me for uni - although I get very little of that, £5-10/week).

They say that friends of their have kids who 'have done it from first year' and have had no problems (yeah, right, of course mother!) Although I know this to be untrue. However, as they live in single parent families with parents working 20-30hours a week on min wage, they get way more and, thus rely little on their parents (meaning that they have less of a gap in finances if they don't get anything from them).

Anyway, they are telling me to barefaced lie to SFE and say that, the month I spent not in uni accommodation, I bunked on friends' couches, etc. - just they don't understand that, by having had them listed as parents on SFE for the last three years and having not paid rent elsewhere beforehand (as well as having their house as my postal address), that there is no way that I can be classed as independent.
You can actually ring student finance and ask them about this yourself. With whatever UNI you're at they may provide you with a Bursary depending on living standards, or as you say completing the form independently. If your parents don't want to help you with student finance there is a way you can do it independently if you tell student finance the truth, I'm not sure how far it will go, and I'm certain you'll get annoyed whilst on hold to them !
Your parents are woefully misinformed.
It isn't that easy to defraud SFE.
Unless you are over 25 or have been supporting yourself on circa over £7500 a year or are married or are permanently estranged you cannot be classed as independent.
Reply 3
Thanks Lilly
I'll message a bloke I know (he's married to a teacher of mine who lives up the road & he's high up at SFE).
Balotelli, I've tried to explain this but it's no use. They don't realise that I can't just pretend I've lived independently after they've supported my last three applications.


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You will be wasting your time. The advice on here from others is as bad as your parents'
Reply 5
You have to be estranged or provide evidence that you've supported yourself from your earnings for 36 months. It doesn't have to be over £7500. Found this online when researching for myself, and I think that the guy on there used to be pretty high up in their organisation.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3741431
Reply 6
Thanks guys, I think my parents now realise the conditions needed.
My mam was telling me her friend's daughter had applied as independent so I messaged her (we've been friends for years too).
As I suspected, and had told my mam (as my dad doesn't like being involved in such hassle), she gets much more as her mam is a single mother earning less than £16k per annum. Whereas my mam forgets that both her and my dad work.
So thanks again for the advice guys :smile:


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