The Student Room Group

Drop out after a week, what about SF

Say I go to uni for a week, and decide its not for me, what will happen to student finance?

My first term tuition fee costs about £2k, the grant I will receive is £1100 the first term.

If I went university for say a few days, and drop out am I liable to pay anything?
Reply 1
You will have to immediately repay any monies you have received in grants or loans for maintenance.

You will not have to repay any tuition fee loans as these will go back to SF, provided you drop out before a certain date in (if I remember correctly) December
Original post by marcusfox
You will not have to repay any tuition fee loans as these will go back to SF, provided you drop out before a certain date in (if I remember correctly) December


That was the rule for pre-2012 loans.

From 2012, the tuition fee liability rule is 25% in term 1, 25% in term 2 and 50% in term 3. Any kind of attendance for the term, even a few days, incurs liability for the fees. Some universities will refund the fees anyway, but they are entitled to keep their 25% for term 1 if you start attending.
Reply 3
Original post by applicationa
That was the rule for pre-2012 loans.

From 2012, the tuition fee liability rule is 25% in term 1, 25% in term 2 and 50% in term 3. Any kind of attendance for the term, even a few days, incurs liability for the fees. Some universities will refund the fees anyway, but they are entitled to keep their 25% for term 1 if you start attending.


Well, I'm not surprised it has changed, I remember thinking that it seemed ever so unfair on the institution when I heard about it.

Is it still the case that the portion of the tution fee loan that the drop out is liable for will go on account and be repaid according to the normal salary rules (9% over £21K) or is it repayable immediately?
So if I go for a few days, drop out, I'm liable to pay for that term 1, which would be about 2k, that grant money will go back obviously, I wouldn't need that? Can someone confirm this?
Reply 5
Original post by PataynaRolaay
So if I go for a few days, drop out, I'm liable to pay for that term 1, which would be about 2k, that grant money will go back obviously, I wouldn't need that? Can someone confirm this?

Any money which you'd received or benefitted from, whether tuition fee, loan or a grant, would have to be paid back in full, immediately (tuition fee calculated as in the above). Even if some of it has already been spent on e.g. advance payment for accommodation.

Basically, you can't get student funding, decide not to be a student after you'd been given it, and then pay it back as though you were a student.
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 6
Original post by marcusfox
Well, I'm not surprised it has changed, I remember thinking that it seemed ever so unfair on the institution when I heard about it.

Is it still the case that the portion of the tution fee loan that the drop out is liable for will go on account and be repaid according to the normal salary rules (9% over £21K) or is it repayable immediately?


The overpayment, which will be most of it, will have to be paid back immediately. Your loan amount will be reassessed, and you'll be allowed to keep the amount you're entitled to for the time you've been there - but for such a small amount of time it will be a very small amount of money, and the SLC might not work in days (I have a feeling it's weeks) so it's likely you'll be entitled to nothing.
Original post by Juno
The overpayment, which will be most of it, will have to be paid back immediately. Your loan amount will be reassessed, and you'll be allowed to keep the amount you're entitled to for the time you've been there - but for such a small amount of time it will be a very small amount of money, and the SLC might not work in days (I have a feeling it's weeks) so it's likely you'll be entitled to nothing.


I don't get it still, say I get the grant, yeah they can take all of that back, and the 2k tuition fee that goes to the uni, I go uni for two or three days, do I have to pay 2k back, because I went uni for few days??
Original post by PataynaRolaay
I don't get it still, say I get the grant, yeah they can take all of that back, and the 2k tuition fee that goes to the uni, I go uni for two or three days, do I have to pay 2k back, because I went uni for few days??


The tuition fee you will pay back once you earn the threshold. It is the maintenance grant/loan overpayment you'll have to re-pay.

It also means you lose a year of student funding, so if you decided to go university later you might have a limit on your funding.
Reply 9
Original post by PataynaRolaay
I don't get it still, say I get the grant, yeah they can take all of that back, and the 2k tuition fee that goes to the uni, I go uni for two or three days, do I have to pay 2k back, because I went uni for few days??

Turn it round - why should you keep or benefit from any money which has been given to you to fund your university career, when you effectively haven't been to university?

That's like getting a mortgage to buy a house, then deciding not to buy a house but to keep the money. Granted it's not the same position (a mortgage is secured and SF isn't), but it's one way of thinking about it.
The grant they can take back straight away, that's understandable, but my question is would I have to pay back that 2k if I go uni for few days and drop out? I get it about the grants, yeah fair enough they can take that back, obviously, but I'm asking about the tuition fee because imagine I only go uni for 2 or 3 days and drop out, will I owe SF 2k??
Reply 11
Original post by PataynaRolaay
I'm asking about the tuition fee because imagine I only go uni for 2 or 3 days and drop out, will I owe SF 2k??

Yes. See Post #3 above. If you attend for even 2 or 3 days in Term 1, then you will be liable for 25% of the year's tuition fee. Assuming the fee is £9000 a year, that's £2250 that you'll owe.

Sounds like the university has the discretion to waive this. However if you've just dropped out for no particularly urgent reason (like someone just died), then I wouldn;t expect them to exercise their discretion.
Reply 12
Why are u thinking about dropping out already :s?
If I get into my first choice uni, then il go uni, with no intention of dropping out, because the uni is good, has job prospects, good placements, and is local, however my second choice the uni isn't so good, it's easy to get in, and I her it's full of dossers. So it depends on what grades I get now, I s not worth me going to the second choice uni, as it ain't worth the money
Original post by PataynaRolaay
The grant they can take back straight away, that's understandable, but my question is would I have to pay back that 2k if I go uni for few days and drop out? I get it about the grants, yeah fair enough they can take that back, obviously, but I'm asking about the tuition fee because imagine I only go uni for 2 or 3 days and drop out, will I owe SF 2k??


Yes, but they won't request that you pay it back instantly because it won't be an overpayment, you'll be entitled to it so it will enter standard repayment the April after you withdraw.
Reply 15
Original post by PataynaRolaay
If I get into my first choice uni, then il go uni, with no intention of dropping out, because the uni is good, has job prospects, good placements, and is local, however my second choice the uni isn't so good, it's easy to get in, and I her it's full of dossers. So it depends on what grades I get now, I s not worth me going to the second choice uni, as it ain't worth the money

The process gives you plenty of time to tell everyone that you won't be going to uni. So if you don't get into your first choice but you do get into your second choice, you can just turn the place down. That should happen well in advance of you actually getting as far as the first 2 or 3 days of term.

It's an easy way to avoid a £2k+ debt (even a benign SF one), especially as you'll never actually see any of that money or benefit from it. Seems pointless to incur it when some forward planning will avoid it.
Original post by Klix88
The process gives you plenty of time to tell everyone that you won't be going to uni. So if you don't get into your first choice but you do get into your second choice, you can just turn the place down. That should happen well in advance of you actually getting as far as the first 2 or 3 days of term.

It's an easy way to avoid a £2k+ debt (even a benign SF one), especially as you'll never actually see any of that money or benefit from it. Seems pointless to incur it when some forward planning will avoid it.



Yeah that's my plan, if I don't get in first choice, I'm not going to bother with second one, il inform them, or both of them that I'm not going in. There's no point starting second choice uni for a few days knowing I'm not bothered with it and getting in 2k debt when I will never see that money
Reply 17
I am planning droping out i was in uni for 2months. I am moving to other town live with my nana since she has only me and I legally have to take care of her. I'm gonna continue studies in same course just other uni.
Someone explain me will I have to return that 2k debt to uni or SF? And will they agree to do some kind of a repayment plan, since obviously I don't have 2k right now with me. And do I have to inform SF that I'm leaving or the uni will contact them and then I get mail by SF with further details?
Reply 18
Original post by pixels90
I am planning droping out i was in uni for 2months. I am moving to other town live with my nana since she has only me and I legally have to take care of her. I'm gonna continue studies in same course just other uni.
Someone explain me will I have to return that 2k debt to uni or SF? And will they agree to do some kind of a repayment plan, since obviously I don't have 2k right now with me. And do I have to inform SF that I'm leaving or the uni will contact them and then I get mail by SF with further details?


I'm in a similar position and I left in roughly November time . I just rang SF and they said that they already paid the university so I would have to repay the £2k after 2016 April to SF providing of course, I get a job with salary above £21k(sorry forgot to mention with repayment plan). About contacting them, I told my university about leaving and then I rang SF to confirm and they said that the university sorted everything out, it's best to ring SF just in case your university forgets to or something.
(edited 10 years ago)

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