Looking at studying as a disabled parent - advice please

[StudyingDisabled]

I am looking at doing a postgraduate degree with Kings College London. It would be remote but full time (two years) and I am wondering what financial support I would be eligible for. I am registered disabled for both physical and mental issues. I have had a look online but its all quite confusing, I can apply for a student loan through the student loans company and see no reason why I wouldn't be successful but this doesn't cover all the tuition fees. I can see there is also a grant given to disabled people in order to study but its confusing how much this actual is for and what the criteria are for claiming it (in full).

I am looking for anyone else who has chosen this course of action and what you were entitled to from the student loans company, as well as any additional help you might have received through bursaries or loans.

I won't have the energy to work alongside my degree so would need to know I would receive some funding towards life and books etc.

Thank you in advance for any advice

https://www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowance-dsa

I had read this but found it confusing. It states you can get up to £26k (ish) but doesn't really give any information as to what a basic payment is or a payment for someone in my particular situation, I was looking for examples from people who have done this who have received payments, what they have received and hopefully an overview of what disabilities they are getting payments for so I can have a more rough idea that simply 'up to £26k' which could cover anything from a single pound up. Its important because the student loan doesn't cover the full tuition fees so I would need to top them up with this add-on and would be keen to know what might be left over.

@StudyingDisabled

Which subject would you like to do?

That might have some bearing on what else is available re funding.

I thought that DSA is a grant to have things paid for (concrete e.g. laptop / software / upgrade in university accommodation necessitated by a medical condition etc), services such as mentoring, and extra transport costs incurred which wouldn't be incurred by someone without the disability? Not an actual payment of £x000 to pay rent, buy food etc.

The postgraduate loan is a fixed sum of money paid to the student direct and therefore can be used either to pay university fees or for living costs, if the fees can be covered e.g. from savings. But doesnt it normally have to cover the whole period of the course (that is, whatever the sum is now in its entirety over one year for full time, half each year for part time over two)? I don't know whether one can claim double fora course which is a whole two years full-time.

DSA does not top up your student loan or contribute towards tuition fees or living costs. You would have an assessment and they would decide what support they could offer in terms of your disability. It's often stuff like a lightweight laptop and printer. Possibly an allowance towards books. It depends what your disability is and how it is likely to impact your studies. I'm hearing impaired and they funded a device that links to my hearing aids and helps with hearing in lecture halls, a voice recorder so that I could listen back to lectures if I couldn't hear well the first time around and a support worker to help with note taking etc

DSA is not a payment directly made to the student, it is used to cover the additonal cost of study incurred due to disability. E.g assistive software to aid reading, mental health mentoring to develop study strategies around impact of diagnosis. So no money is paid to the student and the 26k is the max amount of support that can be used but generally it is very rare someone would use it all. What support you receive is determined in a Needs Assessment. Try speaking with student services where you hope to study. I work in this area and lots of what we do now is guiding new prospective students through this process.

Thanks all this is really helpful. It sounds like I will have to cover the top-up fees of the course myself which we are in no position to do. So thank you for explaining all that to me

@StudyingDisabled

Is it a course which could be done at other institutions apart from KCL?

Could Birkbeck be a possibility for you?

I think the most promising place to study would be the OU, simply because the courses are cheaper and would leave some wiggle room when it came to student finance as no maintenance loans are available for postgraduate study

Have you explored whether any charity linked to your disability have financial support for students?

That is the sort of thing I am looking at now but it doesn't pull up many options. I think the best thing is to work with the OU who's fees are less than brick uni's and just make it work

It’s extremely difficult as a disabled person to undertake postgrad study if you can’t work alongside to afford fee top ups etc. Or don’t have rich relatives to help you out. If you can work to save up that may be your best bet.

In very very limited circumstances you might be able to claim certain benefits while studying (although what form they take I don’t quite know and meeting eligibility criteria is like finding a golden unicorn) - the government have made this increasingly more difficult over the years so don’t rely on it and if you’re not already claiming then there’s probably it not much chance of that ever happening now.

There needs to be a change to allow disabled people the opportunity to undertake postgraduate study but you’ll find little sympathy from anyone for your plight because postgrad is difficult and expensive for everyone (what ableds don’t get is that it’s not just difficult and expensive it’s prohibitive for disabled people unable to work alongside without someone to help pay for it for you)

@StudyingDisabled

Birkbeck does offer some bursaries and studentships for which you might be able to apply.

Course fees can often be paid in instalments as well.

https://www.bbk.ac.uk/student-services/financial-support/pg-funding

I can, fully,wholeheartedly recommend the OU as a disabled student. I did my teaching qualification (which they no longer do), my masters degree and my PhD with them. They have been epic. Far superior to the two brick universities I attended prior to my OU studies!

This is why I expected there to be some maintenance 'top up' for disabled people. We are constantly told we must find jobs around our disability but there is no way a disabled person can work in a shop or bar or whatever to top up the income.

the OU is fairly accessible because the course fees are so much less than they are at brick uni but I need to be absolutely sure the fees I'm seeing are all I would need to pay, so I intend on phoning them in the morning to make sure. I would still very much like to get my teeth into some further education and there seems to be a lot more support at doctorate level, so I will continue to look into this despite it being very, very difficult financially.

It really is a shame the government make studying so very, very difficult for people. We need more skilled people in the UK and this stuff doesn't help at all.

Thank you, I did half my undergraduate degree with the OU and found it very good. The only issue I will have is trying to get to the monthly study days but I can probably apply for DSA to help with that as there is no way I can get to them without support

Maybe drop an email to the course leader and check that the monthly study days are a requirement and in person. Most of the study days associated with the last course I did (finished a few months ago) were simultaneously streamed online as well as in person and student could choose which was most appropriate for themselves. I suppose it depends on the nature of the specific course but their whole premise is that they are flexible and I've certainly found them to be.

Thank you, I completed my degree years ago with the OU, makes sense they would have streamlined the days so people don't have to be there in person, especially after covid. That would be ideal for me, as travel is expensive and difficult as a part-time wheelchair user

@StudyingDisabled

Travelling is one of the things the DSA does pay for.

If it helped you to be collected by a suitable taxi, taken to your course and then home again, that would be viable using the DSA.

That would make a huge difference. I will mention that when applying for help