Please Explain this for Student Finance?

[kmo0416]

For Student Finance funding, you get funding for the length of your course + a gift year. So, if hypothetically, someone used up that gift year on a foundation degree and then enrolled on a three year course at university, they would get funding for all three years. But, what if after one year at the new university they drop out and then start a brand new three year course elsewhere?

So, for example, someone did a foundation year at Cardiff (and was funded) then enrolled on a three year course at Newcastle (and was funded for the first year but then dropped out) and then enrolled on a three year course at Bristol? For how many years would they get funding at Bristol ie the third university course?

Also, if they did not get funding for all three years at the third university ie Bristol, in this case, would they be able to fund it privately? If so, how are they supposed to do that? How and where do they pay tuition fees - is it directly to the university; would the university know they are not getting SFE funding so their tuition fee payment would be different? How about the maintenance loan> Would that essentially just be a case of paying everything like rent and food out of hand?

You would have to pay the first year's tuition fees before you would get student finance for years 2 & 3 and it would be paid to the new university.
A gap year to decide on their future and to work and save money for their fees may be sensible given the false starts.

Why would they have to pay for year 1 as opposed to being funded years 1 and 2 and then having to pay year 3 when the funding actually runs out?

Maybe so students are able to finish the course, rather than getting two years in and not having the funds for the third year?

I know someone who did two years of one degree, dropped out and then after a few years did another degree. Her grandparents helped finance the first years tuition fees (friend also had some savings) while she worked to cover her living costs.

It stops students getting to the end of year 2 and then say 'ooops no money'.

Universities are heavily judged on their drop out rates, so ensuring that the missing year of funding is paid upfront reduces the likelihood of student dropping out before their 3rd year.

It also means that if the student can't raise the funds privately for the 1st year then the university don't take the risk of having a shortfall of income in Y3... they still have to pay salaries and overheads.

In terms of 'how' to fund it. Bank of Mum & Dad, or take a few years out and work to save up the cost of the fees and enough to live on.

Just wanted to add, students can apply for additional discretionary years of funding under what we refer to as 'compelling personal reasons'. Funding is not guaranteed though. More info here:

www.gov.uk/guidance/going-back-to-uni-or-repeating-a-year

They wouldn’t get another first year funded, so they’d be funded for Y2 and Y3 at Bristol but have to fund Y1 themselves.

They would fund it privately through help from families, bank loans, savings, bursaries…there’s a range of ways they could do it although it’s VERY hard to do so. They’d pay direct to the university, there’s usually an online payment portal. They wouldn’t have to do it in some sum but there would be payment dates across the year. The university would know they weren’t getting SFE funding when SFE didn’t pay them, and they’d then chase the student. Or if the student discloses in advance, they’d give them the info on dates and how to pay.

For the year they don’t get funding, they’d need to pay their living costs out of their own pocket as well.

It’s easier to imagine student finance as the length of your course plus a gift year - but you only get one go of each year, plus a gift year. Which is why you can’t just do first year four times - bad for the uni but also bad for the student. If you can’t fund your shortfall when you’ve had a gap to save up, you won’t have saved it while a student to cover your last year, and then could be prevented from graduation etc.