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 I knew something wasn't right as she became withdrawn and unhappy and we saw/heard much less from her.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 😔

Hi OP, you've being given lots of conflicting advice!

1. Firstly get a UC claim going for your daughter now. If she can't work due to MH you need to complete a UC50 questionnaire and if she meets the requirements, she won't be expected to look for work and will receive a little extra money (until she decides what she's going to do).
2. If she did complete the first year of uni she will have credits to transfer, even if its not quite the same subject. (If she's looking at a completely different subject I think you need to have a conversation).
3. SF allow multiple extra study years if you can prove the years in question were failed due to illness - which would be easy to prove with GP letters and letters from the Police liaison office detailing what caused the mental health issue. You apply for SF in the normal way and when they decline funding, you just provide the evidence and they will allow funding.

Good luck!

She'd have to sue the guy maybe? Only way I could think it might be possible, but a tall order obviously.

@Anonym00se makes a great suggestion re: Victim Support - they'll know.

You should absolutely write a very strong worded letter to the Vice Chancellor of the university that she was studying at. It should outline what happened while she was a student, that she wasn’t able to complete her studies as a result, and ask for a refund of fees. It’s worth a shot, universities absolutely have the power to refund fees. The VC won’t want any bad press and so will respond at the very least.

Why would they complain to the university and not the police? And liable for what?

@SliverOfSiIver that's a good starting point, but please also speak to the student union advice service at the uni.
I used to be a student advisor at a university. Happy to talk to your via private message.

Ok here’s what DD should do (apologies for being so matter of fact):

• contact the academic dean of students to get a calculation of course credits and letter for extenuating circumstance (to take to new uni)
• send that letter + gp letter to SFE (regs state everyone gets course length plus a year finance BUT where there is ill health like this you can appeal to SFE for an additional year of finance ( so 2 years total to come)
• At the new uni- contact student services for help applying to the hardship fund.
• if not already done, it would help if there is a crime reference number to add weight to appeal for extra funding from SFE.
• if she is not living with mum and mum cannot contribute financially, DD can also become an independent to get full fees ( needs evidence of any council discounts and benefits).

DD will get through this and will graduate. Sending positivity in this very stressful time !!

She may not get funding for the course that she wants but she might still be able to get a degree.
The allied health courses, so speech and language, occupational therapy, physio, radiographer etc all totally disregard previous study. She'd still have the debt but if she wanted to go into this field she'd still be able to and get 3 years funding plus maintenance loan

She should contact student finance to ask to set up a repayment plan for the part that has become immediately repayable.

As she progresses through work she may find an employer is willing to help fund some form of professional exams. What field does she hope to work in? For example there are Legal Executive exams, accountancy exams and CIPD exams that are stand alone.

It sounds as though she has had a tough time of things and has proven despite these issues that she is resilient. Hopefully the path forward will be easier and she will find a way.

That seems wrong. I've never had that type of support but when I quit teaching I was able to use the careers service of the uni where I got my PGCE. Given in your daughter's case the crime happened while both the victim and perpetrator were enrolled there, they have a strong duty of care.

@titchy I manage a student recruitment team who go out to schools delivering student finance talks! We are in contact with SFE almost every day.

I’m actually correct in this situation and you aren’t and you’re making false promises that can’t be delivered on which isn’t helpful to OP or her daughter.

Come back when you’ve learnt your stuff

I’m actually correct in this situation and you aren’t and you’re making false promises that can’t be delivered on which isn’t helpful to OP or her daughter.

How is the above wrong? OP has confirmed her dd has only had two years of funding not three, has arranged a repayment plan for the overpayment, and can apply for CPR for the final year she needs to start over at a new uni.

She could consider the Open University. She would probably qualify for funding with a job. I think you can earn up to 25k.

I do wonder if full time uni is best for her right now. Maybe some time at home and the focus of work would be better.

If she passed first year she can carry in 120 credit points.

Different circumstances, but I left university after three years (having only passed one and failed second year twice) due to mental health issues. I completed some courses with the Open University (two units over a year) and used those, together with my passed first year, to start in the second year at a different university a few years later. I was able to get funding from the student loan company for my entire second degree, but I believe I had to speak to them and give medical evidence.

I wish your daughter the best. Going back to uni is the best thing I ever did.

I also think she might not need to start again from scratch. Find the course/s she wants to do then speak to the uni to see if anything can be done

What subject is the degree in and what career does she want from it? If you are able to post this people on here might come up with alternatives to explore, such as degree apprenticeships.

Sounds like she's had an awful time, I really hope things improve for you all

If there was a loss of income, then yes, but that only really applies if someone is a victim of violent crime while they are already working, and the injuries from the crime then prevent them from working for a period of time.

The compensation is a payment is from a statutory scheme which is made to any victim of violent crime to compensate them for the injury arising from the crime. There are set amounts payable for rape and sexual assault. If your daughter has been diagnosed with a psychiatric injury like PTSD, sometimes additional payments are made to cover those. You have to provide medical documents to prove the injury.

Her ISVA should be able to talk it all through with her/you. I’m probably making it sound more complex than it is. But if you look at the website I posted earlier, it goes through everything in very clear detail. And you can also call them; I’ve been told their phone advisors are pretty good.

Also, you can, of course, use a solicitor if you prefer and it would take the pressure off. My point was really that it’s a genuinely straightforward process in most cases and if your daughter is worrying about money then she might want to take control of the process herself, if she feels able to.

OU might be an option.

I have a friend who dropped out after her first year due to pregnancy, eventually went back to her degree via OU, did a masters and then a doctorate - she is now a university lecturer and author.

I needed to repeat and take time out of a 3-year degree due to MH issues - it took me six years in the end. I think I must have had at least one year of funding for repeating a year, and one year where I didn't attend but I resat the exams. I'm not sure if I managed to get funding for the other repeat year, or if that was taken as a year out, it was a while ago now so the specifics aren't useful. I remember I used extenuating circumstances almost every year, and I was able to apply for compelling personal reasons with evidence from my medical consultants. It wasn't particularly difficult from an admin pov (I say that as a parent carer of a disabled child). So there definitely is hope.

One thing that could be useful for gathering evidence is getting a subject access request for medical, police and other records. I would still make a request for letters too, but it's an easy way to get official records to help back up your evidence.

I would try to get advice on your DDs position from a student advice service (possibly from the uni she wants to apply to, it's a shame her old uni isn't willing to help). I'd be a bit cautious on relying on information from SFE, as some of your DDs circumstances are more exceptional so they may just tell you that something isn't likely to be granted (but in reality would be with strong enough evidence).

I was able to get extra support with Disabled Students Allowance and hardship funds throughout my time at uni - definitely look into these

The OU is a great opportunity (I have studied with them) but it may not offer your DDs preferred subject, and/or your DDs preferred uni may have a better reputation for their subject. For a lot of courses it won't matter, but for some subjects it would be a shame to have to take the OU option and not the uni she wants, just for funding reasons. I have also found it harder to stay motivated with distance learning with my MH issues, compared to attending a brick uni.

Ds dropped out after failing 2 years and is now doing a Degree apprenticeship He didnt go through usual route. He got a temp job at a company they liked him and took hom on permintly and after a couple of years offered him a degree apprenticeship