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Can I Get Student Finance to Support a Second Degree (Didn't Finish First Degree)

Edit: This is regarding tuition fees only. Not maintenance loans or grants.

Hi guys,

Sorry for the confusing title.

So, in 2008 I started University. I completed my first year, but mid way into my second I dropped out. Personal issues, family issues. 2 years later I reapplied to study, and was advised to start from year one. So I did.

6 months after starting I was arrested and sent to prison for 12 months (see my "ask me anything" thread for more information).

All in all I got about 3 years of funding. I probably have a year left. In that time I've also been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, depression, and anxiety. And since I was last on the forum some months back I spiralled out of control and ended up in a mental hospital. So I'm now stuck on "the sick" until further notice. Oh, and I had Testicle Cancer.

I only mention the above incase any of this goes for or against me in regards to Student Finance.

I would like to study a degree in Music. Although my previous degree was Software Engineering, as a mature student I do have years of experience in music that I feel would get me into University.

But, before I apply, I want to know if it's at all possible to get any sort of funding.

I'd love one more shot to do something that I actually want to do. Now that I have a name for my "mental" issues, and have learnt to deal with them in some way, I think University would be much easier for me this time around. Especially since it's a subject I thoroughly enjoy.

Any advice?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1

sunnydespair

I don't think its possible unfortunately, would do well to ring them up

Reply 2

cascadingstylez

Original post by sunnydespair

I don't think its possible unfortunately, would do well to ring them up

Going to give them a ring in the morning. Their site says the following:

You studied before
Generally, you’ll only get student finance if you’re doing your first higher education qualification. This is true even if your previous course was self-funded.

However, you may still get it if, for example:

* you change course
* you leave your course but decide to start again
* you’re ‘topping up’ a higher education qualification, eg you’ve finished an HNC, HND or foundation degree and now want to do an honours degree

I assume that when they say "doing your first higher education qualification" they mean whether you pass, fail or drop out it's all the same thing. But then it says if you leave, and start again, you may get funding.

So confusing.

Reply 3

sunnydespair

It is very confusing, I think because you've done 3 years already , they won't fund, but worth asking in case of any extenuating circumstance , sorry :/

Reply 4

scrotgrot

Original post by cascadingstylez

Going to give them a ring in the morning. Their site says the following:

I assume that when they say "doing your first higher education qualification" they mean whether you pass, fail or drop out it's all the same thing. But then it says if you leave, and start again, you may get funding.

So confusing.

I would interpret that as meaning that as long as you go back to the same course you were doing before (whether starting again or continuing where you left off) you will still receive funding up to your length of course plus 1 year limit. Depending on how they see your imprisonment that could mean you have 1 or 2 years' funding left.

But if you were to do this music degree that would count as being a whole new degree rather than just a continuation and thus you wouldn't be eligible at all.

Reply 5

River85

Original post by scrotgrot

But if you were to do this music degree that would count as being a whole new degree rather than just a continuation and thus you wouldn't be eligible at all.

Where do you get that from?

Reply 6

scrotgrot

Original post by River85

Where do you get that from?

Because it wouldn't in any way be his "first higher education qualification" - true, it does says you can "change courses" and still receive it regardless, as many students do during their university careers. But I think doing a course, dropping out, 2 years' hiatus, starting again, going to prison and coming back to do a whole different degree a couple of years after that would be stretching the definition a bit

Reply 7

River85

Original post by scrotgrot

No, this refers to the Equal and Lesser Qualification rules. You can't gain access to Student finance for a second BA or BSc, for example. But the OP didn't finish his degree.

Whatever qualification he received when he previously studied (as he completed a first year of what I assume is a Bachelors degree, this would have entitled him to a Certificate of Higher Education) is lesser than a full BA/BSc. So the fact that he's doing a new course doesn't automatically disqualify him.

However, his previous years of support do complicate matters and may mean that he's entitled to one year of support at most.

Moreoever, even if he is entitled to full student finance for one year, the year that would be covered would be the final year of the new degree. So he'd still need to partly, if not entirely, self-fund until then.

Compelling Personal Reasons is a possible route to go down in order to get funding extended.

Reply 8

balotelli12

Compelling personal reasons won't apply. They happened after he left!

Reply 9

Aula

If your initial course was 4 years, you many be entitled to another two years of funding. If 3, then it may only be one. If River says that you may be able to get an extension on funding, then that's definitely worth looking into as well.

Only way to know for sure what you can get is by contacting student finance. They were pretty helpful when I rang up the other day about the possibility of doing modules through OU to get my honours degree - I had 3 years of fee loans split over 4 years, but as I ended up with an ordinary degree, I should be entitled to a loan for a further year of study (or 2 part time through OU)

Good luck with it all :yy:

Reply 10

cascadingstylez

Going to give them a ring now and explain the situation to them. I'll update the thread incase anyone else has a similar issue in the future.

Fingers crossed :biggrin:

Reply 11

cascadingstylez

Can't get through to the. I press option 1 (full time application), then option 3 (to speak about "anything else"). Then it says hold for operator and the line goes dead. Tried 3 times. Bummer!

Reply 12

Klix88

The calculation for remaining Student Finance entitlement is:

Number of years of your new course (minus) Number of years of previous uni-level study (plus) One year = Remaining years of entitlement

For the purposes of this calculation, SF take partial years as complete. You have therefore had 3 years of funding. If you start a new 3 year course, the calculation gives you 3-3+1=1 year of SF funding. This would be given to you in your third year. In your first and second years, you would only get a Maintenance Loan - you would have to pay your own tuition fees and cover the rest of your living costs yourself.

You may be able to claim Compelling Personal Reasons for the first time that you dropped out of uni, but this would have to be supported by written evidence from a third party e.g. a GP who dealt with health issues, or a counsellor who helped with personal/emotional problems. However if successful, this would still only reinstate one year of funding entitlement and you would still have to largely self-fund your first year.

Reply 13

River85

Original post by balotelli12

Compelling personal reasons won't apply. They happened after he left!

Depends on what the nature of the "personal" issues (not to mention family issues) were. He was diagnosed with Aspergers, anxiety and depression after he left, yes. However, as I'm sure you know you don't just develop an autistic spectrum disorder. It could well have had an effect on his health during that first degree.

It's worth trying, depending on the reasons for leaving in the first place and medical evidence he can get.

Reply 14

username1221160

I would definitely go down the compelling personal reasons route. To do this, you would need to demonstrate to the person that looks at your case that your problems effected you enough that you were unable to continue studying. The helpful advice I was given about this was be specific about how your problems effected your studies (i.e. problem/symptom x stopped me from attending lectures because ...) and be specific about the dates. You will then need to provide independent evidence to verify this. The best person would be a GP or other healthcare worker you've seen over an extended period of time, who you have spoken to about these problems.

I went through this process last year. I was probably in a stronger position than you as I dropped out to spend a long period in hospital, all of which could easily be accounted for. Despite having a good case, the process was an absolute nightmare. I was given contradictory advice from student finance and had my application approved, rejected and the approved again (apparently down to a date entry error). It took around 3 months to complete. So be prepared to deal with a ineffective bureaucracy but you may get somewhere with persistence.