Student and Universal Credit Woes

[Kefte123]

I'm currently a full-time university student and a single mum with two children. I ended up splitting up with my partner of over a decade, partly because he didn't want to move closer to university with us.

So I found my own house to rent and I sorted my student finance and applied for universal credit. I thought I'd be okay, because I had someone do an assessment of my entitlements from a charity prior to moving in and I've had single friends who have done the same and I spoke to them about finances (they were on tax credits). I really felt I'd be okay.

Today after several weeks of waiting I got my Universal credits award of £88. If my eldest child wasn't disabled it would have been £0.

Basically, I'm now living on student finance, child benefit and £88....and my son's DLA. I don't get much more than a single mother out of work or student without dependents, except I have books, transport (fuel, parking, insurance, upkeep), school dinners and 15% childcare costs (approx £500 per month , that's if my car doesn't need major repairs). So I'm worse off than them. I've searched for help with bursaries and financial aid, and I don't know where to turn.

It doesn't help that student finance isn't paid in a regular sum. It is paid in smaller increments at the start of the two semesters (get just over half in that period), then a larger sum towards the end of the second semester. Which means my actual time at university for 9 months is only about £700 month. How is a mother with 2 children supposed to live off that?

So now I feel terrible: I've broken my relationship down, I've moved my children into a different home and new schools and I'm now just poor and verging on quitting everything. I don't think I have enough money to survive over the course of the Christmas period, I have just around £600 - that's for rent/car payments/fuel/food/electricity. On top of that my house was rented with no carpets or flooring. I have barely any furniture. This is poverty.

I have a very intensive degree on a foundation programme for medicine, which means there is no time to work around the degree as a single parent and I could only work Sundays (and I would have to rely on my partner for childcare). My ex-partner does give some support, but it's not enough to fill that gap as he doesn't earn much more than minimum wage himself and has a mortgage to pay.

I'm desperately trying all avenues for help, checking if the universal credits is correct. The helpline was unsympathetic and saying I should just budget and how I get £10,000 a year in student finance and anyone can survive fine on just that. I keep breaking down my basic outgoings and how they don't cover my income, they don't care. I'm losing the will to live and I have two summative essays of 2000 words to hand in by Thursday and I can't concentrate. I'm so close to failure.

OP won't have a higher income on graduating.

No but it won't be forever, and she has already stated she'd otherwise be on UC in a zero hours job. And has also explained she has a child with SEN who might benefit from her increased income over time.

But hey, let's just tell her to suck it up rather than become a person who could spend the next 30+ years helping the public.

Let me repeat. This is not my fault. I HAD made calculations before embarking on this route to university and I could afford this path on tax credits

So you’re not getting as much free money to do what the hell you liked while others work to fulfil their obligations to their families as you thought you would get, right?

Sorry I appreciate you are chasing your dreams but it doesn’t sound like you can afford to be a student right now especially not medicine ,you are talking another 5 years or so in poverty . Is that worth making your kids live like that . I’d love to study medicine but I can’t as I have bills and children to finance .Studying is a luxury you need to fund yourself .

I had 3 jobs a student nurse I couldn’t do it nowad I have children , it sucks but it’s what it is .

@Shepherdspieisminging

Brilliant insightful post

This probably sounds nosy but it might be helpful to know what age category you are in. You have children of the ages 11 and 12, if you are say under 40 then I have no reason to say you can't achieve your dreams but when you hit 35 ish, considering you are only doing a foundation year, it might take its toll on you, and you probably won't qualify till over and hit 45 when you're earning enough money to survive but by then the kids will have experienced poverty and hopefully escaped by either earning money themselves or studying without any commitments.

It'll be a tough old road for you OP and I wish you all the best but it will be hard for you to juggle studying and looking after your children plus getting into med school.

you are talking another 5 years or so in poverty . Is that worth making your kids live like that .

And if she doesn't study she will be in a zero hours min wage job so still in poverty, and likely then too old to study medicine. So what does that achieve? Someone likely to remain in poverty forever v. not.

I'm a higher rate taxpayer. Given what's going on with Brexit and the number of vacancies in the healthcare professions, including medicine, rising, I'm happy to support those looking to better themselves long-term and eventually become higher-rate taxpayers like me. Bravo!

All this 'medicine is the preserve of the children of the wealthy' is a huge disservice to the field as a whole, mature students have so much to give.

Funny how we have so much 'free money' to throw at the wealthy but God forbid a woman seek to enter a profession of care long-term.

I really think you need to formalise the money your ex pays. Regardless of his broken down van, mortgage and low wage he has to support his children. You need regular payments from him not random amounts when he can afford it. They are his responsibility too not just yours.

Caselgarcia you're right they are his responsibility TOO. i.e. his and hers. Not his and the tax payers.

Unbelievable comments that op is selfish for pursuing something for herself. Just ridiculous. With that attitude the country won't have doctors, teachers, nurses as clearly isn't worth the time or commitment. Her kids are not babies, and finance is the issue for which there is a likely resolve.

Check with university for help with housing cost/furniture. Also hardship fund and any other help available.

Don't give up, keep going.

From what you gave said I am wondering if UC have taken too much of your student income into account. They are supposed to disregard in full any child care element and parental support grant.

They should only take into account the student loan amount not additional grants or loans for being a parent.

You can ask for a mandatory reconsideration for your student income. This will take about 6 weeks tho. I am sure they should only be taking about 400 a month off for a student loan.

If you have a levels why doing a foundation course ?

I can't actually believe thAt a woman would even attempt to work really hard to be a medic once she had children. I mean how dare she be so stupid and selfish? Having a disabled child too for goodness sake, what a stupid idea to forge a career, help others, contribute to society, save lives, pay taxes and be an upstanding citizen. How dare she be such a bad person

(SARCASTIC)

Op- get all the support you can, as others have said. Keep going, don't let it stop you and grind you down. There will be away. Your kids will remember maybe being poor but they was also remember that you tried to better yourself and do something about it.

Whoever said the future in one won't. We fit her SEN child in future- what planet are you on???

You chose to have a family, you should choose to support that family

Is to to op or to the violent father ?

Dontgoman.. Yes, I said both of them.

The same violent father who she left because he wouldn't move closer to her uni... Then Drip fed he's violent. But he looks after kids, so Drip fed that he's never actually been violent physically.. And so on

Without financial support from ex partner, I don't see the OPs situation improving. I can't see that you can rent a house, tax, insure and run a car, pay childcare, feed and cloth two children and be a full time medicine student. I just don't think you can do it without substantial financial support from the ex.

So if ex does pay maintenance this won't affect her benefits? If so, I think it would be wise to persue it.

You chose to have a family, you should choose to support that family. Not rely on benefits to raise your children whilst chasing your dreams. People's sense of entitlement never ceases to amaze me

This ^^

You couldn't afford this path without benefits and know your wants appear to be priority over supporting your children. Children you chose to have without the means to support them. They have to live with that and can't change it. They will see for themselves though as adults the choices you made for you.

Let me repeat. This is not my fault

At least own your choices, you made them no one else did.

It's not " medicine or benefits". If, if, OP gets into medschool, she could get in to another allied career instead, with quicker training.

Medicine is an expensive career. OP can't change that on her own. Believing it shouldn't be true doesn't mean it's not true. Yes, eventually, it pays for itself. But not necessarily in time for her kids to benefit much, to compensate for poverty through their teenage years.

Why medicine, OP?

How are you going to find childcare for your children when you are working night shifts and weekends op?
I really don’t think you have thought this through.