Hi, I just wonder if anyone can help me with this. I am a lone parent carer and I have been accepted for a fulltime 3 year degree starting in september. I have chosen this course as it is 5 minutes from home and only 1.5 days a week contact time which fits well around caring for my children. I have unfortunately now found out that I am only entitled to Years 2 and 3 tuition loan as a previous level course 4 I did ended up taking me 2 years instead of one as my child became seriously ill and I had to suspend part way though. The tuition fee is £6995 per year. The uni offer a £500 bursary for low income families which I will apply for.
I am trying to figure out if I can somehow pay for the first year myself via a combination of savings, maintenance loan and continuing to work part-time in my first year (I won't be able to work many hours due to my caring role). As a lone parent I need to weigh this up carefully. As far as I know, tuition loans are paid in 3 instalments of 1/3, 1/3, 2/3.
As part of my maintenance loan I will receive a Special Support Loan and Parent Learning Allowance of £6290 which will be disregarded by UC. Am I right in thinking that any part-time work I manage to do as a student will not affect the UC I will be entitled to? Can anyone offer any advice on anything else I could do as I really don't want to give up on doing this degree. Thank you
