Student finance, is there any way past this for my DD? She's devastated (sensitive content)

[SliverOfSiIver]

I'll keep this as brief as I can and will not go into certain details.

DD started uni doing the course of her dreams in 2021. She did really well in her first year and was told she was on track for a first.

In her second year (22-23) she started seeing a student from the same course. I knew something wasn't right as she became withdrawn and unhappy and we saw/heard much less from her. Towards the end of her second year she broke up with him, had a huge MH crisis, and attempted suicide. There is medical evidence of this and her GP sent her uni a letter at the time. She failed her second year then agreed a plan with the uni to re-take the year and applied for a third year of student finance. She then moved into student housing, but failed to attend uni at all for the following year (23-24), and moved back home out of student housing without updating the uni or SFE. The uni kicked her out (or whatever the technical term is!) in February after she failed to attend a meeting with them, which she only found out about later due to the letters going to her student house. She'd been spending the student loan payments they'd sent her to pay the rent on the student house because she's locked into a contract but couldn't stay there due to her MH.

Just after Christmas, it emerged that another student who had been studying on the same course had made allegations of serious sexual assault and life threatening injuries against the same man who had been arrested as a result. DD heard about this, had another MH crisis, and then disclosed that the same happened to her whilst she was seeing him. She went to the police. We now know that at least 2 further victims, all from the same uni, have come forward. The man is currently on remand awaiting trial on multiple charges against multiple victims.

For obvious reasons DD has moved back home and won't be returning to the same uni. She is doing well and wants to try and go back to a different uni in September but it seems her chances are screwed as she has taken 3 years of student finance. She is also now in immediate debt due to dropping out mid-way through the year, which she can't repay as she is still pretty delicate MH wise and only working part time. She's heard about some sort of statement of compelling reasons to try and get an extra years finance but that won't be enough for her to actually do a degree.

Is there any way at all out of this financial mess? We have the emotional mess covered, she is getting support from multiple avenues now which is really helping. But the finances are her biggest worry as it seems she may never now be able to finish uni. I have zero money to help her, I'm a lone parent with a disabled younger child. I also never went to uni myself so don't know how any of this works 😔

Advanced* sorry

Can she find a degree apprenticeship in the course? So working and studying.

Sounds like she’s had a terrible few years and I’m glad she’s coming through it.

Try the Open University, you can break down a degree into individual courses that you can pay for one at a time (or do more if you can afford and have the time) and work to cover the cost.

They may be able to take into account some of the courses she has taken depending how much she completed and got marked.

What subject is she interested in studying? You can now have another loan for tuition fees for a second degree if it's a STEM subject, could that work?

What is her field if study?
She should have two years credit
OUpart time may be better to complete degree while she gets back on her feet
She might be able to claim uc and do part time study

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/claiming-universal-credit-if-youre-student#:~:text=Certificate%20or%20Diploma-,Studying%20part%2Dtime,for%20you%20before%20that%20date.

She won't have 2 years credit as she failed her 2nd year.

I hadn't considered her claiming UC, we just assumed she wouldn't be entitled as she isn't signed off sick but also isn't well enough to work full time. So she'd just get sanctioned endlessly and it would be even worse for her MH!

Your poor Dd.

It seems 100% wrong that all this happened as a result of a crime committed against her.

Have a look at Victim Compensation.

https://criminalinjurysolicitor.co.uk/rape-and-sexual-assault-claim-cica/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2ODq7nThgMVtZVQBh1PyguaEAAYASACEgLBs_D_BwE

https://www.gov.uk/claim-compensation-criminal-injury

I'm on a payment plan of £5 a month until I'm about 156 to pay off a course that I left after a few weeks. She will have to ring up and arrange this though or they will send in debt collectors.

People are suggesting degree apprenticeships but they are ridiculously competitive and intense and I doubt they would select OP's DD because of her uni history.

OP - do you think uni is suitable for your DD now given how recent her MH crises have been?

Could she live at home, work, study, for a while? Maybe join the Civil Service in an entry level job and work her way up?

She's young and brave - no need to rush this next stage.

Why are you ignoring the question about what she's studying or what field she wants to enter? There may be multiple ways round the issue if you can be more specific.

Thanks, I guess this will only be possible once (if) he is convicted but we will definitely look into it then.

And no, it doesn't seem fair does it. The man got his fucking degree 😡

My best advice to you and your DD is: don't borrow trouble. Right now your DD's job, her only job, is to get mentally well again. You can worry about everything else, especially further study, later.

The student finance people can't take what she doesn't have. So don't stress about that. She should speak to them with your support and arrange a token, affordable level of repayment, say £10 a month. Then forget about everything else and focus on herself and building herself up. As and when she is ready to study again, there will be options. They may look different from being a FT in-person student for 3 years. Apprenticeships. Part-time, remote, and evening study. When she's ready, there will be a way. It's not worth worrying about until she is in a better place and has identified a higher education route forward that she wants and is ready for.

Bear in mind that the student finance people are most unlikely to speak to you about your daughter's situation.

I am so sorry, your poor dd.

Some degrees will be partially funded even if the student has had funding already.

Mostly stem but some others.

Because I don't want to give more information than strictly necessary, if that's ok with you? Also she doesn't want to continue in the same field she started in, she excelled in 2 subjects at school and initially chose to pursue the one with the better career prospects but after her experience doesn't feel she can study the subject again so is hoping to study the other which is very different.

To those saying perhaps she isn't ready, no maybe she isn't, but that's not up to me to decide for her. I'm just trying to get a clearer picture of her actual options now so I can advise/support her better.

She could take a chance at getting some compensation for being the victim of a crime from this man. It’s very hard to get, nothing is guaranteed and might not be too much but it could help if she wants to apply as she has clearly had sever mental health injury because of what he did.

https://www.gov.uk/claim-compensation-criminal-injury

Your poor daughter. I really feel for her as I’ve been in a very similar situation. I dropped out in my 2nd year due to an abusive relationship. I then did crap jobs for a couple of years while with awful bloke but I did go back to Uni. I was allowed into second year so I only needed 2 years of loans.
what she needs most right now is to rebuild her mental health and you sound so supportive of her which will help immensely.
If you can gather all the documentation from student loans and phone them they will be able to give you the most accurate information based on the full picture.
She doesn’t need to rush back, education will always be there. I’m now 20 years on and eventually got a PhD and a job I love.
Tell her to prioritise her MH and the rest will be more manageable.

I have a suggestion, and that is look for a masters course. She is likely to be able to get a loan for this, as she has only had a loan for a bachelors course to date, from what I understand in your op.

So find a master course and negotiate entrance requirements and apply for the loan.

Entrance requirements might be her first year grades, followed by an online course or units decreed by the masters provider, and it might take time to get there, and be tough, but it is a possible option.

She might need to look for quite a low ranking masters course with low entry requirements. But my son is doing one in a new field, with almost no entry requirements at all, so it can be done.

Then maybe explain that you don't want to give more (quite pertinent) information rather than ignoring posters who have taken the time to try and help.

Her not wanting to continue in the same field is also information that is "strictly necessary." People won't waste their time telling you she can transfer her credits and start year 3 elsewhere etc because it sounds like she wants to start a whole new subject, in which case she really is (potentially) looking at needing 5 years total funding, again this means she's got very reduced options.

The options you're trying to help her with would be made much more apparent if posters knew where she wanted to end up, even vaguely. For example, in my field there are better options than a degree although a degree is available.

I should have said in my OP that she does know what she wants to do next (something that has always been her real passion but that she felt wasn't the best career option initially, her perspective on that has changed now though) and has already applied and been accepted onto a very very different course, it starts in September but she was already in contact about deferring for a year. But now she has hit the wall with finance and it looks like she won't be able to do it at all.

My daughter received victim compensation last year and he was not convicted of anything. She received £11,000 and she did not suffer a physical injury. I don't wish to say more for privacy reasons and becomes it's not the point of the thread but do look into this

Many modern apprenticeships have a degree element fully funded. Depending on what she wants to do that might be worth looking into.

Thanks for your comments. As I said earlier I didn't go to uni myself so know fuck all about how it works. I'm not trying to waste anyone's time so if you feel it's wasting yours then feel free to go and help someone else on another thread. I can only apologise for not really knowing what is or isn't "pertinent information" when I'm actually quite distressed having to confront all of this and as I said don't really understand how any of this works.