Considering applying to university and taking the kids along for the ride? Find out what funding is available and the extra support you can get to make uni accessible to you and your family.
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The prospect of applying to university can be daunting to anyone, let alone if you've got children or dependants to consider.
Not only have you got the usual worries every prospective student has of which university to choose, where to live and how to pay for it, you need to think for your children too.
Whether you're a parent applying to uni or you're already at university and expecting a child, we've got all the info you need to help you get through and graduate.
What's in this guide?
Funding for student parents
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If you're heading to university with kids, you'll be very happy to hear there's a host of further financial support available to you and your family
On top of the Maintenance Loan and Tuition Fee Loans available to all students, there are further grants and bursaries available to those studying with children. We've outlined some of the different types of student funding available below.
The loans and grants available will depend on which part of the UK you're from and where you're studying.
Funding for student parents in England
These are the different types of funding available if you're from England and applying to university.
Maintenance Loans
If you're applying to university as a parent, you will automatically be considered an independent student. This means Student Finance won't take your parents' income into consideration when working out what Maintenance Loan is available to you.
However, if you are married, in a civil partnership or over 25 and living with your partner, you'll need to provide details of your partner's income to Student Finance England. Their income will then be taken into consideration as part of your household income in the same way that your parents' income would be if you were a dependent student.
Student Finance will take off an allowance of £1,130 for each child that is financially dependent on your partner before calculating the Maintenance Loan available to you. A further £1,130 will be taken off your partner's residual income if they are also a student themselves.
They will then use this figure to decide how much Maintenance Loan you'll be offered and how much they feel your partner should be contributing towards your time at university. For more details on exactly how much may be available to you, you can see our full guide to Maintenance Loans.
Tuition Fee Loans are not affected by any household income, so you will be entitled to a Tuition Fee Loan to cover the full cost of your tuition at university. Most universities charge the maximum tuition fee of £9,250 per year.
Parents' Learning Allowance
If you're a full-time student at uni with a child, you should be eligible for Parents Learning Allowance to help with your study costs. This doesn't have to be paid back.
The amount you receive will again depend on your household income, but £50 – £1,963 is available to those with a household income of less than £18,835.98.
To receive the maximum grant of £1,963, you must have a household income of less than £14,910.
The money will be paid in three instalments directly into your student bank account. This is in addition to your other student finance and won't affect any benefits you're receiving.
Childcare Grant
If your child is under 15, or under 17 with special educational needs, you should be entitled to a childcare grant of 85% of your childcare costs or a fixed maximum amount – whichever is less.
If you have just one child, the fixed maximum amount is £193.62 a week. If you have more than one child, you can receive a maximum of £351.95 to help towards the costs of childcare while you're studying.
This grant is paid into a Childcare Grant Payments Service (CCGPS) account. Your childcare provider will then request the payments directly from the account which you can approve.
The childcare grant is also dependent on your household income. This must be below £19,795.23 if you're applying for one child and £28,379.39 if you're applying for two or more children.
source https://www.savethestudent.org/student-finance/being-a-parent-at-university.html