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Does the Student Loans Company get an incentive for extra applications?

3 replies

fiftyodd · 05/04/2013 17:28

Because of household income, dd receives loans not a grant.

Next year she'll be abroad on a study year to a far-flung place with very expensive travel costs.

The student loans company is being very evasive about what level of household income would disqualify her from help with travel expenses, but are also very keen for her to submit the forms.

We don't want to go to the hassle of form-filling unless there's a realistic chance of her getting a grant, but neither I or dd have been able to access the table which they clearly have which makes this clearer (a table their call centre person was reading from) which effectively says 'if income is x, expenses are y, then grant eligibility is z'.

Dd reckons they're incentivised in some way to get more people applying.

Close friends had a similar experience when they were strongly encouraged to apply, but then found out their income disqualified their ds from any travel cost help.

We don't yet know what dd's full costs will be, but the initial return flight has been quite eye-watering!

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titchy · 05/04/2013 18:55

They are categorically NOT incentivised!!!! They just have the attitude that its better to apply sending in all the required information, and be turned down, than risk giving wrong info out on the phone.

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fiftyodd · 06/04/2013 09:36

Thanks. I've made a formal written request to see the table the call handler was referring to so I can decide myself if it's worth applying.

She wouldn't, or couldn't, send it to me, or tell me where I could find it online, which was somewhat perplexing, and frustrating.

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creamteas · 06/04/2013 10:12

Your DDs university is likely to have student finance advisrs who could tell her if she went to see them instead.

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