Extra help - Disabled Students' Allowances

Hello, sorry if this a bit longer than other's posts,

I was accepted to a university a couple years back, starting 2013, and withdrew in my second year, around May 2015, after having transferred degree at the end of my first year due to disabilities and personal circumstances.
As such I think I'm counted as having studied two full years, during which I was financed by student finance England.
I did not receive any qualifications.

However, I'm looking into returning to university, hopefully Open University, or if possible if finance is able to work out alright, a campus based university in/around London.

Please could you let me know whether in my circumstances, I could apply for finance to study with OU, or whether there are any ways for me to apply to campus based uni.

Additionally, I'm working full time at minimum wage and living away from family without any financial support, if this is a factor at all.

Thanks so much for any and all help, I've not been able to find information that fits my situation anywhere I've looked.

Hi
I'm a mature student with a dependant child, I have a disability which has meant for the last year i have been in receipt of disability benefits as i have been unable to work.
How will my income be assessed for my maitenance loan etc?
Kind regards
Hannah

Hi, what extra help is available if I am disabled, sigle parent student.
Where and how to apply for if I am eligiable.
I am currently doing first year uni
Regards

Hello,

I posted this before, but it seems to have been mistakenly deleted. I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

In September 2013, I enrolled on a 3 year University course.

In October 2013, I left University due to my deteriorating mental health, and spent one month in a Mental Health Hospital.

In November 2013, my University advised me to take a break in study. I did take a break, although I did not formally sign a 'take a break in study' form because had I done this, I would have had to pay student finance the £3000 I received in September. However, I paid my accommodation provider most of this, so I could not afford to pay it back to SFE.

To avoid having to repay SFE, I remained enrolled on my course while not engaging with my studies, meaning that I failed my first year modules due to non-submissions.

I then returned to University in September 2014, and had to pay £9000 tuition fees a second time to repeat my first year.

I remained at University until January 2015 when my dad died.

From January to July 2015, I did not engage with my course due to my deteriorating mental health made worse by my dad's death. I missed three exams in May as they were on the same day as his funeral, which I attended.

I submitted an extenuating circumstances form to my University, who have accepted it. They said I could return to my course in September 2016 after a one year break in study.

They also said I won't have to pay tuition fees, as the fees I paid last year will fund it. I will be going back to my first year as deferral with attendance, meaning I can complete my non-submissions and gain credit, allowing me to progress onto my second year in September 2017. However, they said that I can only return provided I attend a needs assessment for disabled student allowances DSA.

Throughout this time, I was seeing a mental health support worker, a CBT therapist and was taking anti-depressants. I have a severe stammer, anxiety and depression.

I am claiming ESA and disability living allowance PIP.

My question to SFE is this:

How do I go about submitting a CPR, and given my circumstances, what is the possibility of it being accepted? To my understanding, I have 2 years of funding left - for my third year, second year BUT no funding for my first year from SFE. As my University will be paying my first year tuition fees themselves, would I be able to apply for a maintenance loan/grant, or does this depend on whether SFE accept my CPR?

There is a lot more to my circumstances (sleeping homeless for one month due to my poor mental health in July 2015, during which time I was reported to the police as a missing person - suicidal attempts etc).

My mental health has improved considerably since then. I have mountains of evidence to support my claims.

Advice welcomed.

Kind Regards

I recieved a letter from SFE saying my DSA (disabled student allowance) has been accepted... that i need to book an appointment. It says how to find my nearest centre... but doesn't say who I contact to book the appointment! Do i contact the centre? or do I contact SFE?
It also says "bring all medical evidence with you" .... they have all my evidence, i sent it to them - because they asked for it. I can't pay another £25 for another medical report off my gp... that's ridiculous to pay once (being a student) let alone twice. Will they have my evidence still (the ones i sent!) ??
This is so confusing.

Hi Amy and Emma,

As a very general question for those that may find it useful - what are the most common DSA related questions you get asked? (and thir answers!)

If someone is having real difficulty, what support is available to them?

Thanks

Hello,

In 2014, I suffered with an illness which I had to go into hospital for, due to this, I couldn't keep up with the work in uni and I was withdrew from the course due to illness. Me and my lecturer agreed for me to take the year out and to get better and agreed for me to come back on to the course from Sept 2015 without need for interview and such.

Does anybody know if this makes me eligible to claim the special support grant? I'm currently on DSA due to my illness but I'm breezing through Uni this time as I'm in better health than last year.

Thanks.

p.s. I've phoned SFE and they said I'd need to apply but can't tell me if I'm eligible until I've applied, it's frustrating!

I am hoping to start university in 2017. I was wondering what support there is available for my dyspraxia.

I struggle to take notes and I find organisation and time management to be major problems. I can't write for more than about two minutes without suffering from severe cramp in my hand.

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I have heard you can get discounts on laptops when claiming DSA - is this true? Can you get discounts on anything else?

I am hoping to start university in 2017. I was wondering what support there is available for my dyspraxia.

I struggle to take notes and I find organisation and time management to be major problems. I can't write for more than about two minutes without suffering from severe cramp in my hand.

Posted from TSR Mobile