does your maintenance loan cover accommodation costs?

tanyapotter

is it meant to?

I hope so?

Original post by tanyapotter

is it meant to?

It contributes to them but no, it isn't guaranteed to cover all of them.

Your loan is calculated on your household income. No account is taken of your actual costs.*

Reply 3

Frolicly

Noop. But it should give you enough time to find a job while covering your accommodation costs + necessities.

Reply 4

Jackieox

Mine does just about but i have barely anything left

Reply 5

Pinkberry_y

Well in other places yes maybe but in London, no. I'm given the absolute minimum and my rent for a year is nearly £8000 :frown:

Reply 6

Napp

Not in the slightest :lol:

Reply 7

ivybridge

No - my rent is over £3,000 more.

Reply 8

JustGeorgeJ

Original post by tanyapotter

is it meant to?

Hello

It's a difficult one - your maintenance loan, in definition, is there to 'help you pay for your accommodation'. It doesn't mean it will cover the entire cost, it just mean it could. For some people their maintenance loans do cover their entire cost of accommodation, e.g. mine did but however, some peoples do not and that's just the way it is. You can apply for bursaries and support from your university or it's a case of looking into a part time job to help you pay it or hopefully, for some, family support.

Best of luck :smile:

Reply 9

Alexion

falls about £2000 short in my case :lol:

Reply 10

democracyforum

Original post by Alexion

falls about £2000 short in my case :lol:

how do you make up the difference

Reply 11

Alexion

Original post by democracyforum

how do you make up the difference

fortunately I've got a relative who's contributed a large amount financially so I'm pretty much set :3

Reply 12

Laurasaur

Per week (London) for a 40 week stay...
£267.55 loan
£177.17 accommodation

Reply 13

Elastichedgehog

I have roughly £1.8k excess. It's not guaranteed to cover your rent. It's based on household income so the assumption is you'll have plenty of support and so will have a lower maintenance grant/loan the higher your household income is.

Reply 14

elysium11

Original post by democracyforum

how do you make up the difference

You get a job :biggrin:

a lot of undergraduates have part-time jobs (mainly in retail) throughout their degrees and it's perfectly doable, especially in first year. Or, if you're lucky... ask your parents.

Original post by tanyapotter

is it meant to?

It depends how much loan you get and where you'll be living. I went to university in York, and the rent I paid was about £320 - £350 a month. Getting the maximum student loan, combined with getting a bursary for low income from the university (£2k a year), was enough to take care of all of my accommodation needs. Heck, I had enough money to go Amsterdam and Barcelona in the summer of my first year because I didn't prioritise my spending on alcohol. I still managed to go out quite a lot though so it's not like you have to choose to have money only if you never drink.

If you aren't in the higher loan brackets and ineligible for university bursaries, I guess they are under the impression that you can ask your parents for help? Will this be the case?

The only financial problems I had were in summer because it's hard to make a payment from April last all the way to September. But a lot of people don't stay at university over summer (I did).

I think the best advice right now would be for you to make a budget for your first year factoring in accommodation costs (should be on the university website) and see whether you fall short or not. Only then can you see the answer in your specific case.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 15

username738914

Yes, and it's not always meant to. There's an expectation for parents to contribute and in the case where parents physically can't (e.g. not because they don't want to but because they have no access to the cash flow), then the student loan is there.

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