[Uni] Student Finance England

It's a sharade, A COMPLETE JOKE IF ANYTHING. :@

For anybody whos going uni, hows your Student Finance application going? Because I've been waiting on mine pretty much since April/May time and it's taking the mickey. My old Change of circumstances went through at the end of July, which is not what I wanted at all. I sent one off at the start of August for Staffordshire University and by the rate they do it, I expect that to be all sorted by blummin October.

I can't even access University in less than 2 weeks time because they'll want to see a Student Finance Notification Letter HOW GREAT IS THAT? My friends are complaining that they can't go University despite they've got their loans, because they haven't got the grants yet (which they dont have to pay back). At least they have a notification letter and can actually get into flippin University!

I don't know why they changed the system which apparently worked well last year, they just had to go and be suckish about it. Now Student Finance is like the biggest worry for any student, THEN its actually getting the grades they need to get in. If you don't get the grades, then Student Finance is your enemy for the rest of the 3-4 weeks between you going to University and the time you get your results by.

Can anyone sympathize with me slightly, someone whos going University thsi year and has had a similiar experience with the jack-offs who are supported by the freakin government? ¬_¬

I could rip their heads off omg.

they are a SHAMBLES

ive been trying to ring them for the past 3 weeks and all i get is. "welcome to student finance england, all our advisors are currently busy......". No matter what time of the day you call you always get this.

its a joke. i start in 2 weeks!!! :L

Same, I'm gonna call my LEA tommorow and find out what they can do to help me because seriously its a joke.

Universities know they are **** so if you tell them they'll normally give you a loan to help you out.

I hope so yeah, its the hardship grant they call it, dont have to pay it back but I think you needed to have applied for everything you're valid for. >.> Idk.

Last year they overpaid me about 3 grand or something and I didn't even realise cos I'm the worst at checking my bank and paying attention to finances :P. I just got the confirmation for this year though :).

omg overpaid? Yes please, did you have to pay it back though?

Yeah, student finance is horrific. The website was created my monkeys, it's very difficult to navigate, the instructions on what to do were written by a 4 year old, sometimes it randomly doesn't work, sometimes it's really slow, then comes the time when it logs you out while you're in the middle of putting some details in :(. And some of the questions are so ridiculous like trying to prove you're not an immigrant or something.

Also, I found them really slow at processing my parent's data on what they earn. Then they started acting like they hadn't sent the data and they were going to give me the non means assessed load instead, then they decided they received my mums, and not my dad's. Grrrrrrrr.

Fortunately I did my application fairly early and it is all sorted now (as far as I can tell) so I should be getting the money some time during my first week.

Yeah I got letter around July saying so and the options I have to pay it back. I cbb phoning them up but I think I can just pay it off after my course the same as the rest of the finance. So it's basically just acting as an extended loan? :P

Still, I was annoyed that they happened to spot THEIR ERROR at the END of the year once I'd spent basically all my money :rolleyes:.

I avoid their website as much as possible and didn't even bother with my mum's income. I think I get the maximum finance anyway.

Sup I get all my fees paid for me without the need for a loan

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Originally Posted by FlyingJesus

Sup I get all my fees paid for me without the need for a loan

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How you manage that, lucky git! :P

I can sympthasise with you, and agree that student finance is ****e.

When I first applied the site kept crashing so I had to repeatedly go through all of the process several times until it finally worked. Then when i got the form through the post, and sent it with my signature they claimed they hadn't received it back in the post, so I had to do it all again and then send it off again in the post.

The site is awful to navigate through and doesn't really explain things really well, such as the difference between means and non-means tested. I had to read through everything to make sure i understood it and could at least get some loans. Anyway, turns out i'm getting the minimum loans 2500 for the tutition fees and 3500 maintenance per a year, because of my parents income. What i don't like about this is, the government assumes that if your parents have fairly high incomes then they are going to give you loads towards it etc, when mine won't and I wouldn't want them to as i'd like to pay it all back myself when earning above £15,000.

Open University, it all goes by my own income rather than parents or anything else and because I only do evening work my earnings are in the bracket that allow me free tuition and materials as well as a small grant :P it does mean I'll only have a couple of hundred to waste as opposed to all my friends at normal uni with their 3 grand but I pay nothing back everrrrrrr

All we have to do is make sure we never earn more than 15k (is it?) per year and neither do we :P.

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Originally Posted by Pyroka

It's a sharade, A COMPLETE JOKE IF ANYTHING. :@

For anybody whos going uni, hows your Student Finance application going? Because I've been waiting on mine pretty much since April/May time and it's taking the mickey. My old Change of circumstances went through at the end of July, which is not what I wanted at all. I sent one off at the start of August for Staffordshire University and by the rate they do it, I expect that to be all sorted by blummin October.

I can't even access University in less than 2 weeks time because they'll want to see a Student Finance Notification Letter HOW GREAT IS THAT? My friends are complaining that they can't go University despite they've got their loans, because they haven't got the grants yet (which they dont have to pay back). At least they have a notification letter and can actually get into flippin University!

I don't know why they changed the system which apparently worked well last year, they just had to go and be suckish about it. Now Student Finance is like the biggest worry for any student, THEN its actually getting the grades they need to get in. If you don't get the grades, then Student Finance is your enemy for the rest of the 3-4 weeks between you going to University and the time you get your results by.

Can anyone sympathize with me slightly, someone whos going University thsi year and has had a similiar experience with the jack-offs who are supported by the freakin government? ¬_¬

I could rip their heads off omg.

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I don't think there will be a problem - probably many others in the same boat.
Student Finance Wales were pretty damn good - all sorted in about a month. They don't pay the fees to the uni until October, I don't think, anyway. You enroling online, anyway?

I resubmitted my mine for my second year in Febuary, it only took like 3 months to get it all sorted out, got my schedule letter a month ago. The first time I submitted it was literally the same, I've never had a problem with it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FlyingJesus

Open University, it all goes by my own income rather than parents or anything else and because I only do evening work my earnings are in the bracket that allow me free tuition and materials as well as a small grant :P it does mean I'll only have a couple of hundred to waste as opposed to all my friends at normal uni with their 3 grand but I pay nothing back everrrrrrr

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Fair does, this shows the stupid loop holes though that they haven't covered. I'm assuming you live with your parents still. If not, then ignore that first sentence lol. Your going to miss out on the student lifestyle though, best years of your life. :D

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Originally Posted by Robald

All we have to do is make sure we never earn more than 15k (is it?) per year and neither do we :P.

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Yeah, but if your capable of earning more than 15,000 then you might aswell. At end of the day its a government loan paid back at a very low interest rate compared to the bank, and it will just be taken off a bit at a time at the bottom of your salary/wage slip, so just imagine it as a bit of extra insurance/tax that you never actually get to see as disposable income anyway.

The debt is actually written off completely after 25 years also. But i'm personally hoping i'll be earning more than 15,000 in 25 years and have paid it off lol.

Yeah living with parents but my friends have a student house in Brighton (about half hour from me) where I'll probably be staying most of the time this year if I can sort out work in the area so still living the student life :P and next year hopefully off to Cardiff for the same thing with other people woopwoop

Never had a problem with them actually, and I've had to change my circumstances twice! All I'm waiting for now is my payment schedule letter again because my entitlement decreased.