Student Money Tip 6 - Rebekah says.......

Down but not out...... a student's account of their first struggle with mental health problems.

National Student Money Week 2016 - Mental Health

I didn’t really notice it starting – the depression sort of crept up on me......

I had found my A’level year stressful, cramming, literally tearing my hair out at times (I realise there is a name for that now, trichotillomania but then I just did it to help calm the stresses).

Once it was all over I got my university place, scraping in through Clearing, but happy as the first girl in my family ever to achieve that. I was naive when going off to my city of study, but that sort of got me through all the changes. It was exciting and I was curious what this new life might hold. I covered my little bald patch and got stuck in :).

I left my long term boyfriend behind, he went to a different uni, we had been all grown up about that choice. We hoped we could make it work long distance.

I didn’t get a place in halls of residence so lived in private rented from year 1. By the February I had moved in to a little flat with my new found bestie from my course. Life was a laugh, we were learning life together & sometimes the hard way  how to be independent. Our accents, mine Northern hers Welsh would combine into the most delightful blend. Some nights we would laugh so hard it hurt and we didn’t even know why we were laughing. It was great being a student....

I didn’t get to go home much, I couldn’t afford it. My parents couldn't afford to help me with money so I was on a very tight budget. When I did make it home, there were sometimes troubles there that worried me. In the summer vacation after my first year my mum fell poorly and my dad struggled to cope and I seemed to suffer the brunt of his frustrations. Perhaps he didn’t like that his girl was grown up. There was a blow up fight and dad threw me out, my boyfriend came to rescue me and I spent the summer living with a relative. I didn’t realise it but I was slipping along that sliding scale into the grey zone....

My relationship didn’t make it through the summer. I was shouting at my boyfriend in the street about why it wasn’t working out for us, he didn’t understand, he thought it was, I wasn’t making sense. My arguments were going round and round, the ends not meeting to tie into a neat conclusion. Inside I wasn’t convinced by my own fervour, but something was making me sad and it had to be him right??

We split up and both headed back to university. I was numb, missed him but was convince it was for the best, the long distance had been stressing me. My housemate had split up with her long term boyfriend too – high five!! We are free, let’s have fun!!

Somehow though, I wasn’t feeling in the mood for fun. We started the year in a new rented place, not the best but it was cheap. We were heavily involved in a uni society and that kept us busy after lectures and some days were long, too long. Organising events around my study, living further out of town, cycling back and forth, I was exhausted.

At times I would feel like an observer....not involved in what was happening around me. Inside I was losing motivation, going to lectures was a chore, and I found it easy to persuade myself to not bother. I always seemed to be run down, getting viruses and infections so easily. I felt miserable.

Dad and I placed a fragile patch over our differences, I moved back in at home in theory, though I didn’t actually visit.  I started a new relationship with a lovely person, I felt sure all this would lift my chin. It felt good to be with him but it did nothing for my studies. I was still managing to keep on top of my course work so no one at uni seemed to notice. 

A student - model not author

All the Adrenalin that had driven me through my A’ levels seemed spent. When it came to exam time, I couldn’t find any drive or energy. I was on a mental go slow, what was I doing this course for anyway? It felt like a waste of time and money. In addition I was becoming fearful....of what I had no idea. Everything was making me anxious, I was frightened to be out on my own, and sometime to be in on my own. I went to the GP, who said I was down but didn’t really offer any solutions. I hadn’t reached out to anyone at the university to help; it was all inside me....what was wrong with me?!! I went on the fail nearly all my exams, a first for me, quite an achievement!

I know now what was wrong. My first taste of depression, sadly not my last, but with support, learning to understand it, seeing my depression for the illness it is, not taking it so personally, I found how to live with that sliding scale. I readily recognise the signs that were so unfamiliar to me then. I speak about it, I get help, I get better and I won’t be beaten by it.

If you struggle like I did at university then reach out to the support services. People are there at the university to help you. Speak to friends, they have probably spotted a change in you anyway, it’s okay to talk about it. If you notice a friend suffering then do them a favour, help them find support. It’s lonely on the inside of depression – don’t let mental health issues take your potential, battle depression and anxiety and win!!

Levitate Student: Starting Uni in September?

Freshers - Here are ten Money B's....

Be first - Apply for funding ASAP!

Millions of students apply for funding for university every year. It is important to apply early to get the job done and allow time for any issues to be sorted. The funders (SFE, SAAS, SFW, SFNI) will let you know on their websites when to apply. Make sure you are familiar with their website so when they say GO! you are ready to apply.

The application forms ask where you will be studying, what course etc. It is possible you do not know yet for certain – let’s face it A’ level results aren’t out till August! Don’t let this stop you applying, put down the most likely institution on the form. If it changes just let the funder know, it’s not a problem.

Be an empowered consumer

Remember you are a customer of the funding agencies. Expect good customer service and get into some good habits like noting down who you are speaking to if you call them. Most of the time you will get great service and help, but when things don’t go so well do not be afraid to complain formally.

Log on to your online accounts often to check for updates from the funder and to get used to using it. Always remember your log on details and passwords, the funder may not talk to you without them.

Also you are a customer of the university so check out their terms and conditions – usually these are usually found on the website as for example

Student Regulations/University Regulation/General Regulations......

These may be dull but are very important to know about as the intuitions will follow these rules when dealing with their students.

Also see if your university has Student Charter or other form of customer service agreement.

Get to know what support services the university offers such as well-being, advice, careers, help for disabled students etc.

Be on top - Keep the funder informed of changes of circumstance

This seems obvious but when you are busy it’s easy to forget. If you change address, email, bank account, university, course etc then the funder needs to know.

Be informed -Check out your universities of choice on OFFA

The Office for Fair Access work to ensure universities are reaching out to all potential students. Each Higher Education Institution submits an agreement about how they achieve this every year to OFFA for approval.

Read the agreements from universities of choice – there may be details of extra financial help that you may be eligible for.

Be wise - Understand your accommodation contract

Signing your accommodation contract may seem a big commitment and it is. Whether the accommodation provider is a university, private halls, landlord’s agent or private landlord, you should be signing a legal tenancy agreement.

It will be legally binding for the number of weeks outlined and is likely to require the student and a guarantor to sign it.

Know what you are signing for – the number of weeks (these can vary widely 42,44,52 for example); what is the deposit; are there administration fees; what is included in the rent; how many installments & when are they paid; what are the rules for terminating the contract......

Note that for halls of residence the installments may not be equal. For example it is possible for the institution to front load the plan so that you pay more in the first term. This can be tough to budget for but it’s best to be prepared.

If you are looking at private accommodation, then many universities offer services to check the tenancy agreement before you sign – worth doing to be safe.

You do not have to go into halls and if you choice private rented then understand your rights fully. Look on www.shelter.org.uk and www.unipol.org.uk for helpful information. Also learn about Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Remember, if you choose to live at home - consider how you will contribute to the household bills from your student finance.

Be prepared - Explore Student Bank Accounts & budgeting

Many high street accounts offer Student Bank Accounts. Many of these accounts have an interest free overdraft facility.

It’s right to be cautious about the temptations of an overdraft but that said if used correctly it can be a very useful budgeting tool. Students get their student income periodically and for some that is 3 termly installments. Unfortunately outgoings don’t align neatly to this and budgeting and planning can be difficult.

An interest free overdraft serves as a safety net on your account, allowing you to borrow money (within limits) without being charged interest. Used sensibly it can work for you, help you avoid bank charges and having payments such as direct debits refused just because they were set to debit the day before your loan arrives etc.

If you graduate with an overdraft then banks offer Graduate Accounts that allow you pay the overdraft of interest free within a set period of time.

Check your bank of choice for details – we like the comparison table on www.moneysavingexpert.com (scroll to bottom for tool).

Budgeting can seem dull for most of us but it is vital to keep track and really can set some good spending habits. If you are new to budgeting and managing your money then there are plenty of on-line tools and apps. This one is fun for starters to get your eye in. In the long term though it’s best to come up with a method that suits you so you stick with it.

Be ahead -Start your job search

Many students have to or choose to work alongside their courses. Academic staff often guide against too much employment in case it is detrimental to study (they sometimes recommend no more than 16 hours per week). That said though, for some, working is the only way to afford to manage financially as a student. There are great advantages to having that extra cash and work experience too.

So if you do plan to work, remember in university towns competition for part-time jobs is high among students. Most universities have Job Shops as part of the support services and can help you find work. The universities also employ student ambassadors for events or to support specific departments (such as those that work with schools in outreach).

If you work in your home town and the organisation you work for has outlets in the university town, then why not ask your manger to help you transfer?

Always keep safety in mind – if you have to work in evenings then ensure you know how to getting home safe and affordable. Taxis fares can take a huge slice of your earnings!

Also understand how Tax is worked out for students see also www.gov.uk/student-jobs-paying-tax

Be open – talk to family friends and supporters

It’s good to talk if possible to family, friends and other supporters about your transition to university. Certainly speak to those whose income will impact the funding you get (parents, partners etc) about what that means for you all. Do not assume that just because the government have decided that someone should be contributing to your income that the person can or will.  

Talking about money can be emotive so best done when there are no specific money problems that might affect a healthy conversation.

If family/friends are able to offer financial support, what form will it take? Help with rent, a regular sum, a one off lump sum, money for birthdays etc? Sit together and plan a budget – it can help for everyone to see what income you will have and costs you will have to plan for. This information from The National Union of Students might help you get an idea what students spend.

If family can’t help, how will you make up the financial shortfall? Work in summer before going, or alongside course, apply to charities, maximise your interest free overdraft?

Build it all into your budget plans.

Be cautious – don’t overspend before you start

It’s easy to get carried away buying things for university that in the end you never use and didn’t need. How many toasted sandwich makers and stack of six mugs gather dust in student rooms each year?

Perhaps wait before buying some items and see if you really need them.

Also what can you get for free? – think second hand books, www.freegle.org.uk  www.freecycle.org  and charity shops all have amazing "like new" items.

Be comfy with Clearing

Clearing is a very exciting period in the academic calendar. Exam result can throw a sudden change of plan into the mix and a bit of quick thinking is required.

Universities plan their strategies well in advance and have an army of staff on hand to deal with their customer queries and help with new offers and to hopefully win your custom.

Yet so many students just hope it won’t happen and don’t want to think about it. It is really important to consider what you would do if results day means a change of plan. It’s not failing it is just shifting stance and that is fine.

Sometimes between picking courses and results day you have changed your mind anyway about second and third choices, or perhaps the institution has changed their mind about you – for better or worse. You may have received offers from universities but no longer want to accept them and want to look elsewhere – that’s what Clearing is for.

It’s okay – it’s exciting but it’s good to have thought about where else you might want to study, have thought about the financial impact and have planned for those changes.

Clearing might turn out to be the best day ever when you look back – so embrace it.

Levitate Student: NHS Bursaries

NHS Bursaries - changes ahead

In the Autumn Statement Mr Osborne proposed changes to how higher education students on NHS courses are to be funded.

On www.gov.uk the government provide more detail in this Policy Paper.

There has been quite a mixed reaction to the proposals from across the sector from the Bursary or Bust campaign, protests from the NUS, to the Chief executive of RCN calling the proposal “not helpful”, to organisations such a Universities UK welcoming the change.

At face value it seems does seem detrimental to the student to replace a system which pays for tuition and provides a non repayable bursary for maintenance with a system of student loans to cover the both these costs.

But as ever with Student Money matters is not as straightforward as the headlines imply.

Here at Levitate Student we like to keep things simple, but also help students make informed choices. So here is our perspective with information and links to help.

Bursaries

Bursaries and grants are forms of funding for study that in general don’t need to be repaid. This is great especially if those grants and bursaries are sufficient to cover all the costs associated with a course. The problem with bursaries is they often have to be limited for them to be affordable to the provider and rarely cover all the costs, so other funding is needed to supplement them.

Some students may be in the fortunate position to be able manage on any awarded living cost bursary (or even without one) perhaps with the support of parents, partner, family, saving, working etc. Such students will benefit, under the currents system of funding for NHS courses, from a debt free higher education.

Prospective students like these may well be aggrieved by the system changing. They may not much like that to afford to pay the tuition fees themselves, they will have no choice but to take out a Tuition Fee Loan and be indebted to the government according to the repayment terms.

What about students who don’t have financial back up from family/saving?

Well let’s start with how NHS courses are currently funded for students who ordinarily live in England. We will include links so you know where to look for information yourself.

What subjects are considered to be NHS Courses?

Start with www.gov.uk information on eligibility – the courses are listed there.

Also there are details of the current package of funding for NHS students.

Funding for NHS students is administered by different two funding agencies and potentially could include

·        fees paid,

·        a bursary

·        a £1,000 grant

·        support for placement costs

·        help for student parents and disabled students

and

·        a reduced Maintenance Loan (if eligible).

     This is “reduced” as it is less than the loans

     a mainstream funded student might be able

     to claim (see below).

So let’s start with a simple example of a single student Ben. He is aged under 25, he has no dependents and is not disabled. This student started his Dietetics degree in Sheffield in September 2015. At the same time, his friend Liam from his home town of Birmingham is starting and Events Management degree in Leeds. Liam is also single, no dependents, and is not disabled. Neither Ben nor Liam has studied at Higher Education level before.

Both Ben and Liam come from homes where the household income is assessed by the above funding agencies to be under £25,000. So let’s compare side by side what they are eligible to receive.

Table A

Academic Year 2015/16
Student	Ben – Dietetics Degree	Liam – Events Management
Fee	Paid by NHS	£9k Tuition Fee Loan
Living Cost Support	Bursary               £2,643 Grant                  £1,000 Reduce Loan        £3,263	Maintenance Grant  £3,387 Maintenance Loan   £4,047
Total for Living Costs	£7,906	£7,434

In 2016 the government intend to make changes to the funding for mainstream funded students, removing from the package the Maintenance Grant. Liam will be okay though as these changes will just impact students who start courses after 1^st September 2016.

So now lets imagine Ben and Liam are both starting their courses in September 2017. All their personal information is the same (under 25, no dependents, etc).

How might their funding compare?

These assumptions are based on figures currently available for academic year 2016/17 but which could be adjusted before 2016/17.

Table B

Academic Year 2017/18
Student	Ben – Dietetics Degree	Liam – Events Management
Fee	£9k Tuition Fee Loan	£9k Tuition Fee Loan
Living Cost Support	Maintenance Loan   £8,200	Maintenance Loan   £8,200
Total for Living Costs	£8,200	£8,200

So under the NHS Bursary Scheme in 2015

·        Ben will borrow for a 3 year course £9,789

·        Liam in 2015 would borrow £49,302

In the 2017/18 academic year example they will both borrow £51,600

Some might argue that the increase student loan debt will put potential NHS students off – it’s true, it might.

Some might argue that making the funding the same means that students will choose courses based on the content, and suitability to their goals etc rather than funding package. Fair point as many students who are funded by the the Secretary of State for Health do not end up working in the NHS.

There seems to be debate around whether or not it’s a positive consequence that the changes will mean many more students will be able to apply for NHS funded courses.

There are lots of articles available for you to read on the debate to help shape your view. For our blog we will steer away from that and focus on the student income and repayment.

The pay back

It’s not easy to work out what a graduate might pay back to the government over the potential 30 year student loan repayment term.

It’s key to remember that what students pay back into the public purse is linked to earnings beyond graduation (or the end of the course) and not to what they borrowed.

There is a lack of calculators to help students explore the repayment matter. Caution is needed not to be too reliant on the accuracy of them. Also only use calculators from trusted sources.

That said they can be useful tools for indication purposes at least – so let’s use an on-line calculator to look at what Ben and Liam might pay back under the current and proposed systems.

Let's use the one provided by Martin Lewis at www.moneysavingexpert.com

We recommend you read the whole article on this site so you understand the assumptions built into the calculator.

This time let's assume the course start date for Ben and Liam is September 2016. So the changes for Liam will be in place but Ben will be on the current system of funding for NHS students.

Table C

Academic Year 2016/17
Student	Ben – Dietetics Degree	Liam – Events Management
Fee	Paid by NHS	£9k Tuition Fee Loan
Living Cost Support	Bursary               £2,643 Grant                  £1,000 Reduce Loan        £3,263	Maintenance Loan   £8,200
Total for Living Costs	£7,906	£8,200

For the NHS bursary in the above table we have had to use the 2015/16 figures which could be slightly higher in 16/17.

Remember by the end of a three year course this is what the chums will have borrowed

•     Ben will borrow for a 3 year course £9,789
•    Liam will borrow for a 3 year course £51,600

If you look at the calculator you can use the slide bars to enter the annual fee and Maintenance Loan borrowed each year (or manually enter the figure which we found easier). The calculator has some in built assumption which you can play with too.

So for Liam select the £9,000 fee tab then

Tuition Fee – slide to £9,000

Maintenance Loan – slide to £8,200

For starting salary let's pick - £21,000

Results

The calculator shows a total borrowing over the course of £51,600

amount paid back by Liam in 30 yrs £20,750

Now let’s try in for Ben, who thinks he is lucky on an NHS course as he had his fees paid and didn’t have to borrow anywhere near as much as Liam.

Tuition Fee – slide to £0

Maintenance Loan – slide to £3,263

For starting salary let’s pick - £21,000

The calculator shows for a total borrowing over the course of £9,789

amount paid back by Ben in 30 yrs - £20,750

So Ben who borrowed £41,811 less than Liam is no better off than his chum.

Interesting eh? 

In addition.....

Another thing that impacts NHS students is the way their funding can affect welfare benefits. Most full-time Higher Education students are not eligible to receive welfare benefits. However there are exceptions such as lone parents, student couples with children, disabled students.

Where a student is eligible for benefits, more of an NHS student’s income counts for means-tested benefits than their mainstream funded peers. So for example, imagine two students with identical circumstance renting a property, the NHS student would qualify for less housing benefits and have to make much higher contributions towards their rent. 

Also the bursary counts as income against means-tested benefits over 52 weeks of the year. In comparison, mainstream funded students only have their student income count for 42/43 benefit weeks between 1^st September and 1^st July, so in summer often receive more housing benefit, income support/job seekers allowance/universal credit etc than their NHS funded peers.

Remember Refer to the Right People - always seek advice from the funders or from a University/College Adviser.