Nowhere NEAR enough money to live on. (Student Loans Co.)

Member Name: Froggerella

Product:	Student Loans Co.
Date:	12/10/08 (140 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: At least we get SOME money...

Disadvantages: The amount they give is ridiculously low. And the new regulations are unfair to previous students.

It's helpful to have money, but if they think that the money given is enough to live on, they are sorely mistaken.

My situation at the moment: I've just had my semester's rent taken from me by the university accommodation services. It's only October. How much do I have left now? Less than £20. For the rest of term, I'm having to rely on my overdraft while still desperately seeking a job (and believe me, I've been trying since August - no luck yet.)

My problem with them is that I entered university last year, and then had some sort of emotional/personal crisis, resulting in me leaving university and taking an interruption of study. I've returned this year, starting my first year again, and - although I'm in no different position to the rest of my classmates - I'm on last year's system for the loans. Some of you may be aware that they changed the system this year, and the amount of grant each student can get has raised dramatically. I worked it out, and if I was on the new system (like I believe I should be, since I'm in first year like everyone else, and like I believe EVERY current student should be - not just brand new 2008 entrants), I would be getting DOUBLE the grant I am now. This would mean that I would right now have considerably more than £20 to my name. However, I'm on the old system, and the company have decided that only new entrants can get more money... The increase in money that PREVIOUS students have campaigned for.

Is this fair? No. Will it change? Probably not. But I see no reason why only new entrants should benefit from the new rules regarding grants, when it's the current (ones who entered before 2008) students who campaigned for this change. What's the difference between them all?

And now I'm down to one meal a day because I simply can't afford anything more. Well done, Student Loans Company, well done.

Summary: They need to get their act together, if 'lower class' students are to be encouraged to study.