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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Applying for Uni 2019 Part 5: UCAS, offers and exam season looming

992 replies

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 19/03/2019 13:09

New thread started. Here's the previous one

OP posts:
blametheparents · 28/04/2019 18:27

Just checked and the deadline for applying for student finance is 7th June 2019. This is the date that guarantees the payment will be made by the start of term.
DS is going to do it after his exams finish.

Piggywaspushed · 28/04/2019 19:01

I have been on a few different websites : UCAS says 24/5 as does gov.uk . SFE is really vague and witters on about applying by May 31st 202!. LSE website says 25/5. I am working towards getting it done next weekend!

blametheparents · 28/04/2019 19:04

Ah - annoying!
Either way, DS’s exams finish on the 17th May so he can get a shift on with applying after that!

errorofjudgement · 28/04/2019 19:52

Presumably you can still apply after the deadlines but they don’t guarantee to have everything completed by start of term? Potentially DD could get offered a place off the reserve right up until September!

blametheparents · 29/04/2019 10:40

Yes, that's right. Applying by the deadline (afaik) means that the loan will be sorted by the start of term. You can apply later, but there is no guarantee when the loan will be paid.

DS's last day at school is this Wednesday! I am not ready for this. It is has just hit me how close the exams are. I am starting to feel pretty nervous for him.

Piggywaspushed · 29/04/2019 11:38

Phoned up Student Finance (15 mins on hold). Answer v complicated but essentially involves filling in forms estimating income for this year and then declaring actual figure when next get a P60. Thsi must be complicated for so many people!! They did warn me it cna lead to students having to pay back overpayment.

I have also realised I dodn't really know what my 'taxable income' is! Is that the big figure on the P60??

Decorhate · 29/04/2019 17:28

Yes it should be that figure piggy. If you pay into a pension scheme, the taxable figure will be lower than your actual gross salary

Piggywaspushed · 29/04/2019 17:40

I thought so. I just find it confusing because it doesn't have a gross salary on it anywhere!

Fazackerley · 29/04/2019 18:16

Hi all. Does anyone know how the maintenance loan is paid?is it one lump sum?

How do others with minimum maintenance loan handle paying for accommodation? I'd like dds 4k to go towards accommodation and we pay her living costs, just trying to work out a budget (depending on the cost of her accommodation and whether she has catering or not)

GoldenRuby · 29/04/2019 18:26

@Fazackerley we've decided to do it the other way round. We will pay accommodation as that will be more than DS's loan, he can live off the loan and get a job if it is too tight.

Shimy · 29/04/2019 18:31

Do parents have to input their gross income and produce p60s etc if they are applying for the minimum maintenance?DS did his finance application 2 weeks ago, and he never mentioned needing any of these docs and we haven't received any emails re; his loan app. Wondering if he has made a mistake somewhere.

MarchingFrogs · 29/04/2019 18:44

Do parents have to input their gross income and produce p60s etc if they are applying for the minimum maintenance?

No, if the applicant knows that the household income exceeds the limit, there is no need for them to apply for the means tested element.

Fazackerley · 29/04/2019 18:46

GoldenRuby that's what I was planning, but my friends ds has burnt through his 4k ! And now they have to pay his living as well as accommodation. I can't budget for that so I'd rather not take the risk

GoldenRuby · 29/04/2019 18:57

@Fazackerley yes that is a worry. I'd like to think mine is reasonably sensible, but there is a risk that he drinks a fair chunk of it - he is a hockey player and apparently they are known to prop up the bar in the student union! He has been working loads this year so has a bit of a reserve fund, but will keep that in a separate account as emergency money.

bigTillyMint · 29/04/2019 19:20

Fazakerley, we have also done the opposite for DD - we pay for her accommodation (and this year plus bills and insurance Shock) and she lives on the minimum loan. She seems to manage to do a lot of partying without going into the redWink
We will do the same for DS.

Does she currently get an allowance/have a bank account/budget at all? If yes, she will probably manage OK.

We also got her to choose a student account which allowed a big overdraft, although I don't think she's used it so far. She also has a savings account which is useful if a bank card gets lost - she has a spare, and she saves her wages into it.

Shimy · 29/04/2019 19:27

Thanks Marching Smile.

Coleoptera · 29/04/2019 20:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Piggywaspushed · 29/04/2019 20:54

I'm literally juts finishing up teaching in my subject : it's a tight squeeze! They are meant to have been practising essays at home...

Itscoldouthere · 29/04/2019 21:40

DS1 currently gets the minimum living allowance, it’s seems to be broken down into three lots. He’s had 2 so far, so expect he will get the next one soon.
We pay his accommodation (although he is only away 3 nights a week as it’s not a degree but a 1 year L4 course).

ErrolTheDragon · 29/04/2019 22:01

If self-employed income is usually over the limit for anything beyond the basic maintenance loan, is it more straightforward?

I think if you're over then just apply for the basic and so the parent doesn't have to do the complicated paperwork. Last year DH decided he was so close to the limit that it really wasn't worth the time for a small amount of extra loan

Fazackerley · 29/04/2019 22:17

Yes it makes.more sense to pay the accommodation and dd is very tight sensible with money so she should be ok but we just can't afford to bale her out.

The other complication will be if she goes to bath then some of the accommodation is catered, so if we pay that then she'll have food paid for as well.

Does the accommodation need paying in two or three chunks or does that vary from uni to uni?

Fazackerley · 29/04/2019 22:17

Yes it makes.more sense to pay the accommodation and dd is very tight sensible with money so she should be ok but we just can't afford to bale her out.

The other complication will be if she goes to bath then some of the accommodation is catered, so if we pay that then she'll have food paid for as well.

Does the accommodation need paying in two or three chunks or does that vary from uni to uni?

Fazackerley · 29/04/2019 22:18

Dd might end up in catered halls so I don't want to have to pay food as well as accommodation .

GoldenRuby · 29/04/2019 22:33

I guess @Fazackerley you could transfer money to your DD equivalent to accommodation without the catering, then she can pay for the whole lot with the extra coming out of her maintenance loan? At UEA you can pay in three instalments - I would assume this is a common approach but we didn't look at Bath so not sure about their approach.

errorofjudgement · 29/04/2019 23:31

Re paying for accommodation, our experience has been that university require the full term’s accommodation fee at the start of each term, this ties in with when the loan is received.