Funding for Laptop at college
Hi, so this is my first time posting on tsr. Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place.
I'll first start by explaining who I am and my situation, I am 17 years old and have Aspergers Syndrome. I finished school in June 2015 with not many qualifications due to being out of school for 10 months during year 10. I came out with an equivalent of 5 GCSE's.
I got the following, E in English, D in Science, C in Maths(5 marks away from a B!!) and BTEC First Certificate with a grade of Double D*D.
Not happy with my results I decided to got to college for a progression year and have a fresh start. I have re done almost all of my GCSE's and I am now expecting a C in English, B in Maths, B in Science and B in Additional Science.
Having now completed the exams in all subjects I have now applied to a new college which is currently being built and I have been offered an unconditional place on a 2 year programme studying 4 A Levels in Computer Science, Maths, Engineering and Graphic/Product Design with an apprenticeship afterwards.
Having Aspergers I struggle with talking to people face to face and would need a job out of public sight. I am having a hard time finding a job locally where I can be working behind the scenes, there are plenty of jobs such as receptionists, waiters, shop assistants and factory workers but none are suitable.
The college I am wanting to go to has a bring your own device policy, with the courses I would be doing I would need a fairly powerful device which comes at an increased cost. The cheapest suitable laptop being around £700, obviously having no job that kind of cost is out of the question. I am wanting some kind of grant or or loan in order to get the laptop, the problem is that the grants and loans I have found don't come anywhere near to £700 and are mainly for university students.
I fear that If I do not get an adequate laptop for my courses that I will have to decline the offer.
I have already asked my parents if they will part fund a laptop for me and they have said they cannot afford it.
Does anyone know of any grants or student loans which I could be eligible for?
I have a small savings pot of £250 which I would put towards the laptop.
MysticKnight
I'll first start by explaining who I am and my situation, I am 17 years old and have Aspergers Syndrome. I finished school in June 2015 with not many qualifications due to being out of school for 10 months during year 10. I came out with an equivalent of 5 GCSE's.
I got the following, E in English, D in Science, C in Maths(5 marks away from a B!!) and BTEC First Certificate with a grade of Double D*D.
Not happy with my results I decided to got to college for a progression year and have a fresh start. I have re done almost all of my GCSE's and I am now expecting a C in English, B in Maths, B in Science and B in Additional Science.
Having now completed the exams in all subjects I have now applied to a new college which is currently being built and I have been offered an unconditional place on a 2 year programme studying 4 A Levels in Computer Science, Maths, Engineering and Graphic/Product Design with an apprenticeship afterwards.
Having Aspergers I struggle with talking to people face to face and would need a job out of public sight. I am having a hard time finding a job locally where I can be working behind the scenes, there are plenty of jobs such as receptionists, waiters, shop assistants and factory workers but none are suitable.
The college I am wanting to go to has a bring your own device policy, with the courses I would be doing I would need a fairly powerful device which comes at an increased cost. The cheapest suitable laptop being around £700, obviously having no job that kind of cost is out of the question. I am wanting some kind of grant or or loan in order to get the laptop, the problem is that the grants and loans I have found don't come anywhere near to £700 and are mainly for university students.
I fear that If I do not get an adequate laptop for my courses that I will have to decline the offer.
I have already asked my parents if they will part fund a laptop for me and they have said they cannot afford it.
Does anyone know of any grants or student loans which I could be eligible for?
I have a small savings pot of £250 which I would put towards the laptop.
MysticKnight
Original post by Tiger Rag
I doubt it. Is there a fund at your college for this type of thing?
Nope, the college I just left did have though which is weird.
Original post by ikhan94
You don't have to buy a laptop, doesn't your college have library resources you could use?
The college have told that there won't be any computers for about 2 weeks after opening as the college will still be being built, they have said that once IT systems are installed we can use any of the computers in the rooms not being used for lessons but there won't be many at the start as they are doing a staged build 1 floor at a time.
Contact Disability Services at your college.
PS. You do not need a £700 laptop. You might like one, but that is not the same thing.
PS. You do not need a £700 laptop. You might like one, but that is not the same thing.
(edited 7 years ago)
If you can't afford it, I'm afraid you'll have to make use of a public library whilst the computers at your college are being set up and then once they are you can use those 
I've been in a similar position all year; I have dyslexia and dyspraxia and am therefore eligible for the disabled student allowance so I could pay £100 for a laptop and have the rest paid for but unfortunately, I cannot get that until I go to university (I'm in second year at college)and my savings are about half of yours.
And I agree with the others about not needing a £700 laptop. You obviously know more about what specifications you need since you'll be taking Computer Science and Graphic/Product designs but I'm sure you can get one cheaper than that.
I've been in a similar position all year; I have dyslexia and dyspraxia and am therefore eligible for the disabled student allowance so I could pay £100 for a laptop and have the rest paid for but unfortunately, I cannot get that until I go to university (I'm in second year at college)and my savings are about half of yours.
And I agree with the others about not needing a £700 laptop. You obviously know more about what specifications you need since you'll be taking Computer Science and Graphic/Product designs but I'm sure you can get one cheaper than that.
Original post by MysticKnight
Hi, so this is my first time posting on tsr. Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place.
I'll first start by explaining who I am and my situation, I am 17 years old and have Aspergers Syndrome. I finished school in June 2015 with not many qualifications due to being out of school for 10 months during year 10. I came out with an equivalent of 5 GCSE's.
I got the following, E in English, D in Science, C in Maths(5 marks away from a B!!) and BTEC First Certificate with a grade of Double D*D.
Not happy with my results I decided to got to college for a progression year and have a fresh start. I have re done almost all of my GCSE's and I am now expecting a C in English, B in Maths, B in Science and B in Additional Science.
Having now completed the exams in all subjects I have now applied to a new college which is currently being built and I have been offered an unconditional place on a 2 year programme studying 4 A Levels in Computer Science, Maths, Engineering and Graphic/Product Design with an apprenticeship afterwards.
Having Aspergers I struggle with talking to people face to face and would need a job out of public sight. I am having a hard time finding a job locally where I can be working behind the scenes, there are plenty of jobs such as receptionists, waiters, shop assistants and factory workers but none are suitable.
The college I am wanting to go to has a bring your own device policy, with the courses I would be doing I would need a fairly powerful device which comes at an increased cost. The cheapest suitable laptop being around £700, obviously having no job that kind of cost is out of the question. I am wanting some kind of grant or or loan in order to get the laptop, the problem is that the grants and loans I have found don't come anywhere near to £700 and are mainly for university students.
I fear that If I do not get an adequate laptop for my courses that I will have to decline the offer.
I have already asked my parents if they will part fund a laptop for me and they have said they cannot afford it.
Does anyone know of any grants or student loans which I could be eligible for?
I have a small savings pot of £250 which I would put towards the laptop.
MysticKnight
I'll first start by explaining who I am and my situation, I am 17 years old and have Aspergers Syndrome. I finished school in June 2015 with not many qualifications due to being out of school for 10 months during year 10. I came out with an equivalent of 5 GCSE's.
I got the following, E in English, D in Science, C in Maths(5 marks away from a B!!) and BTEC First Certificate with a grade of Double D*D.
Not happy with my results I decided to got to college for a progression year and have a fresh start. I have re done almost all of my GCSE's and I am now expecting a C in English, B in Maths, B in Science and B in Additional Science.
Having now completed the exams in all subjects I have now applied to a new college which is currently being built and I have been offered an unconditional place on a 2 year programme studying 4 A Levels in Computer Science, Maths, Engineering and Graphic/Product Design with an apprenticeship afterwards.
Having Aspergers I struggle with talking to people face to face and would need a job out of public sight. I am having a hard time finding a job locally where I can be working behind the scenes, there are plenty of jobs such as receptionists, waiters, shop assistants and factory workers but none are suitable.
The college I am wanting to go to has a bring your own device policy, with the courses I would be doing I would need a fairly powerful device which comes at an increased cost. The cheapest suitable laptop being around £700, obviously having no job that kind of cost is out of the question. I am wanting some kind of grant or or loan in order to get the laptop, the problem is that the grants and loans I have found don't come anywhere near to £700 and are mainly for university students.
I fear that If I do not get an adequate laptop for my courses that I will have to decline the offer.
I have already asked my parents if they will part fund a laptop for me and they have said they cannot afford it.
Does anyone know of any grants or student loans which I could be eligible for?
I have a small savings pot of £250 which I would put towards the laptop.
MysticKnight
I promise you'll be able to get something good for less than that. I completed most of a computer science degree on a 12 inch netbook - computer science will never need anything special. I teach A level computer science with Atom based computers. It's not always fun, but it's possible. Your most intense subject will be graphics design but even photoshop can run on an Athlon with 1GB of RAM.
The college cannot have a BYOD policy and then expect you all to have brilliant unaffordable devices.
You will easily get something suitable for £350ish - it might take a bit more saving up, you may have to take a Saturday job but you do not need a super brilliant computer to complete those A levels. Something like an Acer Aspire would be more than enough. Once you get yourself to uni you'll have more options.
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