income support eligibility and student finance

[emm1]

i am eligible to apply for student loan but have decided against this and prefer to carry on receiving income support whilst at university.

 

Social insist that as student loan is available i have to apply for this and hav stopped my income support.

 

Are they correct as i do not want a loan that i have to repay?

 

Any feed back would be appreciated

 

emm1

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

I'm moving your thread to the benefits forum here, where you should have help with your query. I know there are rules about full-time study and benefits.

 

My best, HB

[Nystagmite]

Any finance you're entitled to, will be taken into account whether you take it or not.

[DEBTadvisor]

Hi Emm1

 

I can see why you think income support would be a better option over a student loan but it's not necessarily the case. When you step into employment, let's say full time, you will only repay this back through your taxes anyway!

 

My personal opinion as I am not aware of all the facts is to research about student loans so you are aware of the repayment scheme once you graduate. You have to earn over a certain yearly salary before having to pay back, and even then it is only a small %, so it is fair. It doesn't work like other loans that banks give out for example.

 

Does this help in anyway?

[MIKEY DABODEE]

Thats correct, I.S is a means tested benefit, its for people who have no income or no entitlement to other benefits

 

A student loan is classed as an Income, and if you are entitled to it you must take it.

 

There are disregards on some parts of the Grant so, you still may be entitled to I.S after your claim is reassesed

[johnvernon74]

Yes, your student loan, and grant are classed as capital either if you take it or not.

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

I'm going to merge this thread with your one in the benefits forum, to avoid confusion. Please continue to post your queries there.

 

My best, HB

[Nystagmite]

Yes, your student loan, and grant are classed as capital either if you take it or not.

 

It depends on the grant. A special support grant is not counted; but a maintenance grant is.

[clairedcat]

Hi, You dont have to take your student loan, however it is classed as income, as Nystagmite said, whether you take it or not, because it is available they take it into account for things like benefits and housing/council tax benefit. Depending on the reason for you being on I.S you may be entitled to other financial support, Check with a benefits or finance officer at your Uni. If for example your I.S claim was because you are sick or disabled there as a lot of things you can apply for within uni. Just remember, it might be worth asking anyone who gives or refuses you anything I.E HB/CT benefit and other benefits for an explanation of how they came to their decision, Councils are terrible when dealing with students and often make mistakes when working stuff out

 

good luck

claire

[feelingsad]

Most students (full time) are not eligible for I.S. there are exceptions such as disabled students.

[Nystagmite]

Most students (full time) are not eligible for I.S. there are exceptions such as disabled students.

 

For many disabled people it's now ESA. You can only get ESA as a full-time student if you receive DLA.

[count orlok]

Is there still a disabled student allowance?

 

When I was at Uni I used to get DLA, Invalidity Benefit and a Disabled student allowance which payed for a PC (When they were pretty expensive), books, recording equipment, helper, etc.

[feelingsad]

diabled students allowance pays for equipment you might need while at uni, or a note-taker or signer - yes it is still there its is paid by the uni for the goods/services so you don't receive it yourself

[count orlok]

Yes, I had to get receipts for books, etc. and i was reimbursed. In theory books and PC are available for all to use on campus, in reality all students would need to buy Books and PCs, so there may not be extra money, but not having to buy the books and PCs frees up money that would have otherwise been spent.

[Nystagmite]

Some students (such as myself) had to get adapted PCs / laptops. Unfortunately, I had nothing but problems with the one I was given and had to buy my own.