The Student Room Group

SFE/SL year 1 tuition fee

Hey all,

I completed a certificate of higher education part time over two years and have just applied for a 3 year degree starting from year one.

I am mature student, with little to no savings (literally) and i thought the foundation certificate in business would be a nice entry into university etc.

I was shocked to learn that this counts as formal study as for my 3 year degree I am only entitled to 2 years tuition fee!

In secondary school i was on free school meals, single parent family and did well at my GCSEs and A levels, although I chose to go straight into work.

I literally cannot afford to pay the first year 9,250 for tuition, what are my options? a bank loan is out of the question. Is there anything the uni can do?

why the heck are SFE so tricky! God! all that talk about social mobility, most unis won't allow me to apply straight into second year, only ones which are not academically highly rated!

I'm stuck, help.

thanks in advance .... :smile:
(edited 3 years ago)
To be honest this is a problem caused by universities offering 2 year certHE courses that don’t offer second year entry on completion. Your university should have warmed you about the student finance implications before you started the CertHE.

If you’re at the same university I would suggest that you put in a formal complaint about the lack of information about the finance of this route and ask the university to waive your first year fees.
If you’re at a different university then it’s still worth talking to your university about your situation and asking if they’re able to help with fee waivers or hardship loans/bursaries to help make the fee affordable.
Original post by honestly
Hey all,

I completed a certificate of higher education part time over two years and have just applied for a 3 year degree starting from year one.

I am mature student, with little to no savings (literally) and i thought the foundation certificate in business would be a nice entry into university etc.

I was shocked to learn that this counts as formal study as for my 3 year degree I am only entitled to 2 years tuition fee!

In secondary school i was on free school meals, single parent family and did well at my GCSEs and A levels, although I chose to go straight into work.

I literally cannot afford to pay the first year 9,250 for tuition, what are my options? a bank loan is out of the question. Is there anything the uni can do?

why the heck are SFE so tricky! God! all that talk about social mobility, most unis won't allow me to apply straight into second year, only ones which are not academically highly rated!

I'm stuck, help.

thanks in advance .... :smile:

Hi!

I would contact SFE directly, as they might be able to sort something out for you.
Also, contact the uni that you're applying to. They should have a SF team that will be able to help you and may offer support for you, like a bursary or something.

I hope this helps and good luck!
Chloe - Official Student Rep :smile:

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