So Taylor Swift just gifted £23,000 to prospective student Vitoria Mario!!
This is a Story Sweeter Than Fiction, apparently Vitoria set up a fundraising page where she was asking for help towards her expected living cost so she could attend her desired Maths undergraduate course.
Call It What You Want - but it's a very generous gesture on behalf of the Gorgeous Ms Swift. Everything Has Changed for Vitoria who initially probably thought it was a Hoax, but once confirmed she has likely just had the best August ever.
The story was that Vitoria wasn't eligible for living cost support in the form of the Maintenance Loan or Grants from Student Finance England. Without this Vitoria says she was worried she could not afford to go to university.
Read all about it here:-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53857694
So Today Was A Fairytale for Vitoria with a gesture going beyond her Wildest Dreams, but how has it left you feeling? Are you jealous, thinking how come she is The Lucky One? Are you having Mean thoughts? Well best to Shake it Off asap and get ready with Eyes Open to embark on your own higher education journey feeling Fearless regarding your own funding entitlement, understanding the loan repayment rules and with robust plans to cover your course and living costs. Are you ....Ready for It?
We are going to look here a little at the funding entitlement residency rules.
Residence Entitlement Rules
These rules are complex but in order for most school leaving undergraduate students to be entitled to help towards tuitions fee and living cost support from Student Finance England, they need to
- have no restrictions on their right to live in the UK (known as Settled Status) and
- normally live in England (known as Ordinary Residence)
- have lived in the UK and islands for 3 years before the course began
These students are eligible in the category of "Persons who are settled in the United Kingdom".
However the rules a lot more complicated and there are other residence categories a student may fall into that may make them eligible for some or all of the funding.
So why was Vitoria unable to get the help she needs towards her living costs?While we do not know all the details of Vitoria's case, the press story says she
- is from Portugal
- has lived in the UK for 4 years
- her mum still lives in Portugal
However as Vitoria is from Portugal she may not have satisfied the "Settled Status" criteria. She is likely to have fallen into the eligibility category of "EU National" The rules for EU Nationals includes the requirement that the student has been
"ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands throughout the five-year
period immediately preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course.."
Importantly for EU Nationals this currently only applies to the Maintenance Loan and other living cost support. So fortunately Vitoria is still likely to be eligible to receive the Tuition Fee Loan. However Brexit is going to bring to an end this entitlement to tuition fee help for EU National for academic year 21/22.
So because of these complex and changing rules linked to Brexit, Vitoria would have needed to commence her course in 20/21 ahead of having reached the 5 year residence that would have afforded her living cost support.
Top Tip Always seek advice about residency rules to make sure you have received the correct advice if you are refused funding.
So thanks to her fundraising effort and generous donations from sponsors including Taylor Swift, Vitoria has achieved a great result to support her study ambitions and easing her money worries. Well Done!!
Hey, sorry about the cheesy lyric references, Look What You Made Me Do Taylor Swift !!
Please read our next blog post which will explore what you should consider if you also have a sponsor with savings who is considering donating to your fees or living costs.
Useful References
Categories of Eligible Students
No comments:
Post a Comment