Basically, today is the student finance deadline.
I've done what they have asked of me, by means of completing the online application, I sent my birthday certicate last week and they haven't acknowledged me.

I'm worried whats happens if it isnt in on time?
does anyone know what happened if you don't meet the deadline?

Well they've locked my account and said they'd get back to me...they haven't

Hideous.

have you totally finished with your application?



I was on hold on the phone for an hour and half last tuesday from the man on the other end to tell me 'just leave it, don't stress, do it some other time.'


My dad can't support my application either. It won't link us up.
urgh.

I'd be surprised if they just stop communicating with people, any applications that are on going they will deal with I reckon.

Student Finance is shambolic, I've been fortunate enough so far, with only one year left, to have no issues, but I know a lot of people who have to wait a long time to get their loans.

Just to warn future uni students.

But from what I gather, most uni's are flexible and understand that Student Finance aren't well organised.

haha, I don't wanna be a bitch but even after you've sorted everything out and know how much you are getting, they are still imbeciles. Glad this year was my last time dealing with them.


I had some issues as my uni changed the fee amount a few weeks before I was due to start (rude) so had to fanny about with forms but they didn't understand this and sent me the same amount confirmation letter, then they said I could do it online (why not say that before??) but no, actually I couldn't do it online because I'd applied for the max available based on the PREVIOUS years' mount (they didn't update) oh but then I spoke to a guy with a dreamy Irish accent and he did it over the phone for me in less than a minute... (again why couldn't they do this before???).... They are an imbecilic organisation.

I'm in the same dilemma, sent my birth certificate in last week but still have no confirmation & the site says they are waiting to recieve my evidence! Fingers crossed it all sorts itself out!

This happens to me every year! I apply exactly the way they want me to, then they fuck something up somewhere along the line. It'll take at least a month of phone calls till one person sorts it out in a matter of minutes. How do these imcompitent people keep their jobs? Bah.

In answer to the o.p's question it doesn't matter that you'll apply after the deadline, it will eventually get sorted just not in time for the very start of your course.

But apparently staffed by men with dreamy Irish accents who get things done. All is forgiven.

Likewise.

I finished the form online and submitted it on the 20th. They required evidence, and I sent that first class on Thursday, to ensure they'd get it before the 31st deadline.

I just checked online and nothing's been updated.

If I don't get my money before I start Uni then I'm fucked. I have to borrow £300 from the Uni itself to pay for Accommodation, and I'll have to pay that back within the first week I start. There's no way I can do that, or survive without having my loan in my bank account before I start.

How do they let you know they've received evidence and sorted it all out? I know someone who already has his first lot of loans and doesn't start till September.

Nope, nowhere near - they told my my number, password and secret answer were wrong when they weren't as I'd logged in perfectly fine with them many times before.

Update on mine - it has now changed to 'evidence submitted, you do not have to do anything else' WOOOOOOOO!

Where is everyone going anyway? I'll be at Cardiff University

I don't know if I'm going to uni again until the end of June, am I supposed to apply or what?!?!

I don't know. I suppose so, if you don't end up going back to university just cancel it. S'what I have to do if I don't get into uni. Be quick though, the deadlines passed and the paperwork is a headfuck.


I finally finished today, after spending one and half hours on the phone to a generally miserable welsh women. She passed me onto a scottish man who litterally fixed my problems within 5 minutes.
I just sent my official proper birth certificate in aswell, after tracking it down to somewhere miles away from home.


I'm heading to Teeside Uni! (providing I get in, with very disappointing AS level results and little hope for A2 fingers crossed)

Student finance can be a real pain in the backside, in my first year I never recieved a payement until the new year and recieved two together, it is quite stressful too as some staff members clearly have no idea what is going on.

One of the people said to me to fill the forms in via post rather than online and send any evidence away which is what I have done for the last two years and have recieved all payments on time.

I'm just not looking forward to paying them back

Yes - apply anyway based on where you think you might be going, if you don't get a place they just won't give you the money!

The 31 May deadline wasn't a proper deadline, it's just the date you have to apply by to (in theory) get your first payment on time. You can still apply after then (until next March, I believe) but the payments will come through a bit later.

Of course they've missed a lot of payment dates for people in the past few years anyway so it doesn't really matter either way!

my first year at uni the grant cheque was late, then got sent but the finance office 'forgot' to send me a memo- in the days before email/sms etc. (1988...) but my hall of residence were cool about me not paying until late in the term- uni's used to understand things like this- just hope they still do.

Of course best thing about 1988- the grant was a grant so didn't need repaying, dunno how you 'kids' today manage!

this student finance system needs a fucking overhaul, when i used it, it was such a nightmare!!!! i lost my Ids as i hadnt used it in a long time, so to reset it they wanted me to enter memorable q/answer which I hadnt entered when i first registered!! (they added this feature later on!) lol.. i rang them up, waited for an eternity and someone resetted my account password/id whatever..


bunch of morons!! wasting our money coming up with a shitty system like this!!

//rant over!

Same thing every year lies, delays, promises and more lies. At least I get to chat to some charming Northern Irish men once in a while. I'm not one for stereotypes, but the fact that they are the gatekeepers to the pot of money is ironic and very funny.

It has improve to be honest. It use to be handled by your Local authority and they tried to claim I had studied for a year already. Three trips, hard copies of proof and phone calls later they admitted mistake.

Having to keep calling a charming Northern Irishmen isn't half bad.

Apply defo, but make sure you cancel it if you don't go and don't attend even a day or you money obviously will be sent to you.

The dreamy northern irishman is overshadowed by the £1.50+ call cost and 20 minutes they have you on hold each time.



I agree. The government are seeming to me to pride themshelves on how 'easy and efficent' the process is. In reality, the process is complicated and stinks.


An overhaul is needed.


I dread having to do it next year.

I sent mine off, a month late. Woops!

And all northern irish men are dreamy!

I think I posted this before somewhere, but if you ever need to phone saas/the other student award agencies go on:

saynoto0870.com

Find a freefone number for it as the recorded messages where you choose your options are dragged out as long as possible, then you'll be on hold for ever, before getting passed around a couple of times. So probably a 20 min phone call at a premium rate. Hmph.

What are they playing at?

I sent my evidence on the 28th May I think, first class so it'd get there by the deadline.

Today I got sent back one piece of my evidence (the Birth Certificate) with nothing other than a bit of paper with "with compliments" on it.

I've not received back the Decree Absolute of my mums and nor has my application status changed online. They apparently still require evidence

Now what the fuck do I do? Will they be sending back the Divorce thing, cos my Mum needs that for future stuff?

Why can't things be simple with me?

I heard nothing. After sending my certificate of birth in.

6 Days ago they sent me urgent e-mail saying and I quote 'You have already missed the deadline of (whatever date it was) and we still require evidence to support your application.


I've sent it in, special delivery. Granted it must of missed the deadline by about 3 days.

They are doing my nuts in.

^^ Both of you should call them up I'd say.

sexyy1010 have you checked with Royal Mail that the special delivery has been delivered?

I'm waiting a bit to ring.

I'm just assuming they've sent mine back cos all they needed to see was my name and date of birth etc matched.

With my mum they have to check her finances and stuff as well, so they might be holding on to hers for a bit yet, and as the site hasn't updated the evidence even though they obviously received it, I'll wait, cos I'm not gonna waste time and money ringing them up when I needn't

They still haven't e-mailed me...

I feel like I'm the only person to have never had a problem getting student finance.
For the 2 years I've applied, I've missed the deadline and still received payment on time.

I rang the postal service.
they say its arrived.


oh jesus.

Ooh.

Got an email from them this morning informing me they've received my application.....

I submitted it a month today...

I don't think you need to panic.

There are about a half million peeps in your age cohort, most of whom will now be wishing to ge themselves on to this system. Then there are all the other older buggers who want to access higher education and need to get on the system as well. As you are submitting documents that need to be checked, the scope for simple machine reading of the forms is cut down - at some point you will need a human being to look at what you sent and key in the essential information which will then lead to electronic notification to you (and they appear to be scanning - see below - although I would have thought that to be a nightmare).

This should not come as a surprise to Student Finance England so one hopes they have staffed up to meet the challenge or have made sure their support contracts are suitably drawn up.

Mind you, on the other hand....

I did a quick google and came up with a report entitled "A review of the Student Loans Company [now known as Student Finance England] preparedness to implement planned changes and improvements to support the 10/11 Academic year cycle and the Customer First programme" made by Price Waterhouse Coopers to the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills at:

Here

From this it appears that they were bing urged to set up a Programme Management organisation - which is a bit like suggesting that a hospital may need to get in some doctors.... and that's only a year or so ago!

If it gets too bad, I'd write to your MP. That should guarantee your paperwork gets to the top of the pile!

Thanks for that advice. It just seems strange that only now do I receive the notification email when I've already sent and received back some evidence. They still have some though. I've just been asuming they're looking up my Mum's financial details.

I'm not really that worried as long as I get my money for when I start. My mum on the otherhand is panicing so much about me going to Uni and everything.

They sent my birth certificate back yesterday.

They haven't yet updated my account of anything.
So I have a feeling I'm not out of the woods yet.

They sent my birth certificate back like a week or two ago, they then sent back my mother's divorce papers on Saturday.

Yet I still get an email from them this morning saying it's urgent I send evidence.

So annoying.