Stressed out with student finance

I started my course at the OU back in September 2023 I had my tuition fee al sorted and that is currently been paid! The reason behind me staying with the OU is I struggle with anxiety and panic attacks which after months and months I am finally been assessed for Complex PTSD anyway I was completely unaware that due to this I could infact be entitled to maintenance loan aswell because I’m unable to attend a brick uni so I applied for this back in January and after a few weeks from sending my evidence they sent me a medical declaration for my doctor to fill in so off I went to the doctors with a cost of £40 and a 30 day wait I finally got my form back it states on the form that once returned it will take a few weeks to process which is fine I can deal with a few more weeks but after speaking to student finance yesterday they advised me that it will take up to 15 working days for them to look at the form and then a further 2-3 weeks for them to do the relevant checks! How can this be when it didn’t even take this long to do my original application where all verification checks and everything needed to be done they are already aware of the circumstances and just needed proof from a doctor so I really don’t understand how this process takes so long especially now as it’s mid year I’m so confused and also relying on this money to survive as I’ve also had to quit my job which I loved and have 4 children to support

I started my course at the OU back in September 2023 I had my tuition fee al sorted and that is currently been paid! The reason behind me staying with the OU is I struggle with anxiety and panic attacks which after months and months I am finally been assessed for Complex PTSD anyway I was completely unaware that due to this I could infact be entitled to maintenance loan aswell because I’m unable to attend a brick uni so I applied for this back in January and after a few weeks from sending my evidence they sent me a medical declaration for my doctor to fill in so off I went to the doctors with a cost of £40 and a 30 day wait I finally got my form back it states on the form that once returned it will take a few weeks to process which is fine I can deal with a few more weeks but after speaking to student finance yesterday they advised me that it will take up to 15 working days for them to look at the form and then a further 2-3 weeks for them to do the relevant checks! How can this be when it didn’t even take this long to do my original application where all verification checks and everything needed to be done they are already aware of the circumstances and just needed proof from a doctor so I really don’t understand how this process takes so long especially now as it’s mid year I’m so confused and also relying on this money to survive as I’ve also had to quit my job which I loved and have 4 children to support

Hi there,

Can you please tell us on what date you uploaded this form to your student finance account?

Or, if you posted it, on what date you sent it?

Thanks, Graeme

Hi thanks for your reply it was sent back through my online account in the 19th February I believe but I never received an email confirming receipt also as this is an OU course I am studying 120 credits would this entitle me to a full time maintenance loan or would it still only be the part time loan? It’s all so confusing.
Thank you
Sarah

Hi there. It's around 8 working days to process this form. Our timescales are estimated and are subject to change, so it may take longer, but you will be emailed with the outcome once it has been processed.

Are you under 25 or living with a partner? Are you living in your own accommodation/housing? Thanks, Leah.

Thank. If you are studying at full time intensity, then you would be entitled to the higher rate. The maximum you could possibly get for 23/24 is £9,978. This will be estimated, as it is the assessors who do the calculation. Thanks, Leah.

You're welcome. If you have any more questions let us know 🙂

Hi Smcbride1711,

If your maintenance loan is approved then you should receive a Notification of Entitlement letter. Can you clarify what you mean by £0 has been requested?

Thanks,
Calum

Hi Smcbride1711,

This is because you have requested £0 for a maintenance loan. You should be able to change this through our online account by logging in to your online account and clicking 'Change your application' then 'Loan amount'.

Thanks,
Calum

Hi Smcbride1711,
I'm not able to see if the medical declaration has been processed without account access but we cannot award a maintenance loan for distance learning students without this being processed. If you can see your entitlement on your online account it must have been processed. You can also follow the steps I have outlined above to change your loan request. The Notification of Entitlement letter can take a few days to arrive by post once your entitlement has been approved.
Thanks,
Calum

Hi sorry I just need to ask another question regarding this as I have just provided medical evidence would I need to provide this again when I put in my application for next year which I think they open in May? I just want to get myself prepared as the wait time to receive it from my doctors is 6 weeks thank you

Hi there, what is the medical evidence regarding? Are you applying for DSA? Thanks, Jason

No it wasn’t for DSA it was from my doctor to say why I wasn’t able to attend a university and was studying through open university it was accepted on the 9th March
Thank you
Sarah

Hi Sarah,
If you have been awarded the Maintenance Loan due to not being able to attend a brick university you should not need to provide more evidence but if we did need further evidence we would contact you to request it.
Thanks, Drew