Is anyone a single parent and a full time student?

[Aimsmum]

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i started uni as a single parent, got working tax credit, housing benefit and student loan to live off. if you are the only adult in the house you dont have to pay council tax if you are a full time student. i was about £10 per week better off as a student than on income support, but of course part of that is loan which you have to pay back. i also got lots of help with childcare.

there is probably a finance advisor at uni who will be able to give advice, as can the working tax credit helpline

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i am starting on october. you get something called parents learning allowance and you can also get a childcare grant. and as a student you don't have to pay child tax credit. people on lower incomes also get something called a maintenance grant up £2700 which is to pay for your fees. you may or may not get working tax credit, housing benefit or income support as you are only allowed a certain amount in savings and all the other help and loan get counted first.

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just wondering what you have decided to do? i just re read what i wrote about a month ago i meant you don't have to pay council tax not child tax credit lol!!

oh and also i got it wrong about the maintenance grant. they pay your fees for you as part of a loan scheme (in addition to the normal student loan) which you have to pay back and they also give you £2700 as a grant for living expenses etc. what i have done is take £1200 (my fees amount as i am in wales) from the grant and put it in a separate bank account. i am hoping to not have to spend that so i can pay it back quickly , but we will see!

aimsmum, I did single parenthood and undergraduate student followed by post graduate student. It was too long ago to refer to what I lived off (I had a grant, it was that long ago!) but practically it is possible (although not a doddle). Think of the sense of satisfaction in completing your degree

I agree that you need to speak to an expert as financial assistance as a student changes all the time.

I would also suggest that you could apply for a grant from a local trust fund set up to aid people in particular need (your local CAB will know who they are).

Good luck

Hi

My friend at Uni is a single mum of 5 and doing fine on our degree. She gets grant, loann, a grant from the Assembly for being at a Welsh Uni on a low income, and in the hols calims the usual IS amount.

She says she is better off than if she was on IS all year.

At our Uni, it's also possible to get Uni based part time work- I have beena ccepted for mentoring, for example

You shouldn't have fees up here, Amismum.

Good luck. Think you should go for it if the money will work!