Funding for Mature Students / Students with Dependants

Student parents are being disadvantaged by the current Student Support System. The various dependants' grants which are available are a great idea in theory, but the reality is a different story. Student parents MUST take out their full student loan before they can receive any dependants' grants. This merely furthers debt and greatly disadvantages ALL student parents. STUDENTS WITH THEIR OWN CHILDREN are classed as individuals who are still DEPENDENT on their parents' income if they do not fit the criteria for "independent" student status: A student is INDEPENDENT if they are over 25 years old OR they ...  Read the complete review

Individual Learning Accounts were a brilliant idea by the government to provide funding for adult learners. This Government grant gave £150.00 to anyone who wanted to apply, to be used towards the cost of coursework. The Government have now suspended this scheme partly due to its amazing success. Over 2.5 million people have applied for an ILA which just goes to show how many people are interested in furthering their education. Without Government funding most people simply cannot afford to pay for extra learning. I did my ECDL (see other op) using an ILA scheme and have found it extremely useful. I would never have been able to afford to do this ...  Read the complete review

I'm a final year student here at UWE with two kids, one 10 one 2. Oh yeh having babies during your course is not recommended. Money-wise you are a lot better off than at home on Income Support and now even working unless you are really good paid job. The rules have changed again this year so correct me if I'm wrong.! Income Support: You can still get this whilst a student but your income has to be below a certain level but its always worthwhile trying. Health Care: Free prescriptions, opticians and dental treatment but make sure you get a Health Certificate available from your STudent Welfare Office. Housing Benefit: Roughly depends on ...  Read the complete review

There are many mature people who would like to go into higher education but are put off by the financial aspect of it. ?How can I manage on a student loan when I have a child to support?? or ?Can I survive in a shared flat with other students when I?ve been used to living on my own?? are questions they commonly ask themselves. I personally cannot comment on the latter, since I am not sharing with anyone, but am staying with my parents. I can, however give some hope to those parents who want to return to education. There is extra funding available for students with dependants!! OK, you won?t have as much money as you would in a good full time job, but I currently ...  Read the complete review