Changing course one year in and student loan

[LyTinWheedle]

DS1 has had a good think about his uni and decided he chose the wrong course when he applied/started last year. Talking with his tutor and uni he's chosen the course I thought he should pick last time something that he is much more likely to succeed in and they have gladly taken him on. He is staying in the same uni which he loves and has private accommodation with friends organised BUT he thinks that he just ticks a different course box and all maintenance grants and student loans just carry on the same. I on the other hand am fairly sure that he needs to find a way of at least covering tuition for the new first year of his course.

I've googled to the best of my abilities but if anyone actually can help I would really appreciate it. We will find the money somehow because I think that he has absolutely taken the right course of action but need to get sorting it if they are going to expect 9K straight up in a few weeks time. Never needed that camper van anyway. Honest.

[PearlHeart3]

From what I can remember when I applied for uni last year, the student finance company have provision for 4 years worth of study. This allows students to change their mind after the first year without having to find the money themselves, and some degrees are 4 years long, so it covers this scenario too. I believe he'll have to reapply for finance under the new course code on the .Gov website. His uni student support should help him with this. Can he email them?

I hope he enjoys the new course.

[LyTinWheedle]

Thank you so much for your reply. I half got that impression also from my googling but I wasn't sure. He has ASD/Dyspraxia so the fact that he thought it through and organised it all himself without asking for help has been brilliant so when I asked him about finance and he was very sure it was all covered I didn't want to push him and spoil his moment of adult organisation. So obviously I'm going behind his back and asking the internet . I will highly recommend he emails student support tomorrow just to be sure.

I think he's going to love the new course, thank you, it's much better suited to his skill set.

[titchy]

Have they accepted him into the second year of the new course? In which case yes it's a tick box.

If he's starting again in year 1 he needs to let SLC know so they can change his course end date.

All students are entitled to length of original course plus one year of fee and maintenance so he won't need to find £9k for fees.

[Wellandtrulyoutnumbered]

Yes up to four years student finance so this allows him to have one " false start" make sure student services support him to get correct course re-registered with student finance.

[PearlHeart3]

You're welcome. Out of interest, is the course similar to the first one or completely different? If the modules are similar they can sometimes move you into the second year of the new course rather than having to start from year 1 again. Worth a thought. But if not, he'll be covered for an extra years finance anyway.

[LyTinWheedle]

He's starting completely over in year 1 again, nothing transferable between the courses, don't think they could be more different!

Thank you so much for your replies, I'll stop crafting Ebay worthy selling pitches of my camper and enjoy the thought of an extra year to go up there visiting him in it as it's a gorgeous part of the world.

[SirTobyBelch]

Students can get funding for the number of years their course lasts +1. e.g. for a 5-year veterinary degree they can get up to 6 years' funding; for a 4-year integrated master's degree they can get 5 years, for a 3-year bachelor's they can get 4 years. If he starts year 1 of a new course after doing a year of a different one I think he'll have used up his extra year, so if he needs to repeat a year for any reason things will become complicated.