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Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I'm starting to think about my uni finances and stuff as I have to choose my accommodation asap and I'm just trying to work out how it will pan out......... I'm a bit concerned! As I understand I'm gonna get about £3000 student loan. Now for a start there is tuition fees to pay, and my halls are gonna be £3600, which is more than my loan before I even start on general living costs which will obviously run into 4 figures. It just don't add up, obviously you have an overdraft limit but in year one it's not that much is it? I'm a bit concerned about where all this money's gonna come from, I mean my parents won't let me struggle but I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to be self-sufficient and not wanting to have to ask people for money. Can anyone shed any light on things?
Post edited by JustV on
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That's a bit worrying, shouldn't they know how to deal with it if they have a 6th form?
http://www.studentsupportdirect.co.uk/portal/page?_pageid=34,31429&_dad=portal&_schema=PROTOCOL
I've found this link which should be of use, it explains the whole thing, looks like it's around now that we need to be applying but it's not too late at all, in fact the on-line application system doesn't start until April.
I haven't really got my head round this, is there anything else other than loans which need sorting out? Not being at school I'm kinda fending for myself with arrangements....
I suppose you probably need to think about getting a student bank account rather than a normal one, the overdraft can be intersest free that way, or so I've heard...
read your private msg.
I didn't get a PM
somehow quoted you! Sorry!
I suggest you get yourself working during the summer and save the money up. Also if you can get a part-time, saturday job whilst you are at uni to keep topping up your finances.
If things are still tight then there's normally a £500 bursary you can apply for.
Main thing is to be sensible and don't spend all the money on your first weekend.
Knowing only from people online, I have been told that catered halls are not that great as if you miss the food, then it's just too bad and sometimes the quality of it isn't that great.
Im living in catered halls, i didnt actually get a choice though is was the only accommodation offered. The food is crap-worse that school canteen food.
So if i were you i wouldnt go for the catered halls
In the long run you'll save money by doing your own food because i just end up paying extra because most of the time i just cant eat the food from here its made me sick before
most people i've talked to seem to think self-catering is the better option.
and if you shop wisely, you can live off £20 a week food easily.
Yeah I thought that, none of the self-catered accommodation places at Sheff have en-suite showers/toilets or anything(which appeals to me really, I know some people think in a strange way it's part of being a student having to share stuff, and I don't mind sharing a kitchen, but waiting for other people to shower and stuff must be a right nuisance). Hmm, this is so confusing..... I think self-catering is preferable, but I think after a while sharing a bathroom would be a complete pain. If I could get self-catered en-suite I would jump at it, but there's none available :mad:
Looking back over my 4 years as an undergrad, I don't know how I managed really - my loan of £3k was swiftly eaten up by fees and accomodation but I had an overdraft and I worked in the summer break (which is normally about 3 months). You'll get by if you don't try to live beyond your means. £20 a week is fine for food - don't pigeon hole yourself into a dining club scheme unless you're really lazy or frequently poison yourself. Cooking for yourself is something you'll need to learn one day and you'll be with similarly inept cooks at uni anyway
Look for the most basic room you can find - do you really need en-suite? You'll appreciate the finer things in life after a year or two in student halls but at least it's usually cheap.
I could go on for ages about all this stuff but if you have any specific concerns just PM me. I have as they say, been there and done that
Yeah I've looked at the thresholds for loans, in my opinion they are way too low!! In other words, yes I'll be getting the bare minimum by a long shot :-( The minimum is £3070 and then there's another grand on top of that which is the means tested bit. Cheers for the advice mate.