The Student Room Group

Need Help: SFE Mistake with Tuition Loan After Moving Unis and Repeating a Year

Hi everyone,

I’m in a really difficult situation and could use some advice or if anyone has had a similar experience.

I was originally at one university, but I failed my foundation year. After that, I transferred to a different university, where I repeated my second year. In September, Student Finance England (SFE) approved my tuition loan, and I started the year thinking everything was fine.

However, in June, SFE contacted me to say that because I transferred universities and repeated a year, I’m no longer eligible for a tuition loan. This came as a huge shock, especially since all the tuition payments for the year had already been made.

I spent over an hour on the phone with SFE, and they admitted that they made a mistake but said there’s nothing they can do about it now. The only option they suggested was to apply for a loan under "Compelling Personal Reasons" (CPR) because I was dealing with dyslexia and mental health challenges at the time.

Now, I’m stuck with a £9,250 tuition fee that I can’t afford, and it feels incredibly unfair to be in this situation due to their error.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? How do I go about getting the necessary proof for a CPR application? Any advice on handling this situation would be really appreciated, as I’m feeling quite lost right now.

Thanks so much in advance!
Original post by Kizza25
Hi everyone,
I’m in a really difficult situation and could use some advice or if anyone has had a similar experience.
I was originally at one university, but I failed my foundation year. After that, I transferred to a different university, where I repeated my second year. In September, Student Finance England (SFE) approved my tuition loan, and I started the year thinking everything was fine.
However, in June, SFE contacted me to say that because I transferred universities and repeated a year, I’m no longer eligible for a tuition loan. This came as a huge shock, especially since all the tuition payments for the year had already been made.
I spent over an hour on the phone with SFE, and they admitted that they made a mistake but said there’s nothing they can do about it now. The only option they suggested was to apply for a loan under "Compelling Personal Reasons" (CPR) because I was dealing with dyslexia and mental health challenges at the time.
Now, I’m stuck with a £9,250 tuition fee that I can’t afford, and it feels incredibly unfair to be in this situation due to their error.
Has anyone else experienced something like this? How do I go about getting the necessary proof for a CPR application? Any advice on handling this situation would be really appreciated, as I’m feeling quite lost right now.
Thanks so much in advance!

Hi there. For CPR cases, there is not a list of exact evidence we require. In these cases, we ask that you send as much evidence as you can along with a cover letter that goes into as much detail as possible about the situation and why you had to repeat your study. These are worked on a case by case basis by our assessment team who will then reach out to you with a decision. If this is rejected, you are allowed to send more evidence/letters to explain your situation again if required. Thanks, David

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