If you are going through the process of applying for Student Finance OR have applied for in the past you are certainly likely to recognise the logo above. For those who have no idea who/what this is let me just look up on the trusty Wikipedia exactly what they actually are. "Student Finance is a company which offers student loans. A student loan is designed to help students pay for university tuition, books, and living expenses."
So in summary its a company which will offer people who are going up to University a loan to pay for the course and your living costs, yes its a major help, seems pretty straight forward right? WRONG! Student finance is known for being a pain in the as with their application process, the application is very time consuming so applying early is key. Almost everyone applies for student finance and the media makes them out to be the devil but to be honest its something we need so if you need the money there is no way around it if you cant afford to pay a university course.
Getting back on track I of course applied for Student Finance in April 2014 its now July 2014 and i'm STILL applying. Being born outside the UK it has made it 20 times more difficult to apply, this year they have asked for evidence showing that I have been and stayed in the UK since April 2011.. not hard right? WRONG AGAIN! I tried bank statements, I tried college attendance sheets for the three years, child benefits sheets directed to my parents with my name on it. Every time I rang up I kept being told something different, I rang up one time and a woman told me I couldn't send it college letters because it could of proved I only came to the UK for education BUT THEN I was told to send the college attendance sheets so... The last time I rang everything I sent in wasn't enough so I needed to send a letter written by my college head master to stay that ive been attending, fair enough, sent that over a month ago I called last Friday they hadn't received it but called on Monday to ask for information and they had it in.
A loan alone is something crazy to go through but I don't think i'll be applying for a loan any time soon its stressful to think that the loan wont be accepted and I cant attend the University that has already accepted me or that I wont get the money in time to pay for my accommodation.
Here are some key point to keep in mind if you're applying
- Apply early in case of any delays
- Read all information available to you, check out their website
- Make sure you ring up if you have any queries (that's what their phone lines are there for)
- Keep an eye out on the online portal for any updates when you are completing your application
Hope this helped
Until later.. Goodbye my lovelies
Sincerely Ady xoxo
