Student Finance for delayed year

Hi, I couldn't think of a proper title!

Basically,

I have been self-funding my university fees for the past 3 years without taking out any student finance. Unfortunately over the last year my circumstances have changed and this meant that I haven't been able to pay my tuition and thus have an outstanding debt to the university of 9250 pounds.

To add to this, I am also resitting modules and have not yet graduated and am thus registered as an external student. There are no fees for this year, but I still owe fees for the previous year.

Is it possible for me to apply for Student Finance for a loan to cover the final year's finance considering I am still registered as a student?

Thanks!

Hi there,
In order to determine your eligibility, please confirm:

1. Which university and course you are looking to start your studies with?
2. How old you are.
3. Your nationality, current status and time spent within the UK.
4. Any previous study and qualifications you may hold.

Thanks, Isaac

1. University of Leeds - BA History
2. 23
3. EU citizen/pre settled/ here since 2016
4. 3 years FT study (no award) - it is pending and I owe money for the final year - I have already paid for 2.

Amazing thanks for your help! I’m actually currently self employed, would I qualify for EEA worker status? Would that allow me to apply for a maintenance Loan for the final year?

If you were in the UK prior to the first day of the first academic year of your course then yes you can send the evidence here http://ow.ly/2x0230oL92f

The Migrant Worker application can take a long time because it takes 8 weeks to process evidence, so if your first batch of evidence is rejected or they need more then it's a further 8 weeks so please be aware. Sometimes it can be better to apply for the EU funding first to get the tuition fee paid and then apply for MW funding afterwards.
Thanks, Isaac

Hello again,

I am currently filling out the EU funding form. Since the academic year I am owing money for is 2019/2020 and I am only currently enrolled as an external student for 2020/2021 and not liable for fees for this fourth year. Should I select 2019/2020 or 2020/2021 for academic year? Because it says something about if there are 9 months passed from the first day of the academic year or something.

Thanks again!

The 2019/20 academic year deadline has passed. You can apply but you will need to attach a cover letter to explain why you are applying after the deadline and it will be up to our assessor to decide if they think your reason is valid.
Thanks, Isaac

Hi again Isaac,

I did as you said and sent off my form to sfe. I found out today that they have found me to be ineligible for Student Finance as I applied after the deadline.

Is there any recourse? I haven't ever received any funding from student finance as I funded it myself, but now I won't be able to graduate from my course. There is no way that i will be able to afford to pay my fees as a result fo the impact of COVID 19.

Is there an appeals process or anything I can do?

Thanks for your help

Good morning, what reason did you provide in your cover letter? Was it detailed?
Thanks, Isaac

Hi Isaac,

I wrote a letter outlining how I had been lucky enough to have had financial support through my time at university, and had not used any student finance thus far. I said how the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic has meant that my financial situation has changed drastically and my parents and myself are now no longer able to pay for university. I said that I will not be able to graduate and have no way to pay it. There was no acknowledgment of the email and was just a generic ineligible because applied after deadline letter I received.

I didn't mention that my parents split up and my father lost his job (in March) and no longer has the means to support me though.

Perhaps I could have gone into more detail, is there any way that I could do this even now?

Thanks again.