Money Doctors

Helping your Student Loan/Grant meet your Financial Commitments

Undergraduate students with the ‘Home’ Student Loan Finance package please note:
  ➢ At UCA the first 2 terms are longer with only short breaks (when
      vacation work may help top your monies up)
  ➢ Your loan monies are paid into your account in roughly 3 equal
      installments at the start of each term (subject to SFE approval           and satisfactory enrolment).
  ➢ You may struggle to meet all financial commitments from your
      termly loan/ grant instalments without:
                • careful budgeting of your monies
                • sensible use of your student bank overdraft facility
                  and/or savings
                • Part-time/Vacation work
                • Support from family/friends
  ➢ You may need to negotiate payment arrangements, where
      possible, with our accommodation dept / landlords etc.
  ➢ Eligible students may wish to apply for ALF Hardship monies (be
      aware it is a limited, discretionary fund and an assessment is
      made of your income/ necessary expenditure over the full
      academic year)

Further Suggestions:
  • Carefully budget your monies
  • Avoid unnecessary expenditure
  • Read our ‘Keeping a Balance Guide’ full of useful tips and advice
  • Refer to the Money Doctors section on the UCA website for more
    help with money management
  • Keep a spending diary for a week to see where your money is
    going
  • Check you have applied for all monies that you may be eligible for
    e.g. Student loan, grants, bursaries and, where appropriate,
    relevant benefits
  • Seek Part-time and/or vacation work, especially over the summer
    break
  • Check you are not paying tax unnecessarily; contact your local         tax office about repayments
  • Be aware of the ALF Hardship Fund; see the Student Advice
    Manager (SAM) if you think you may be eligible for support
  • Do not ignore demands for money but be aware of ‘priority debt’
    and seek help if you are unsure from your SAM, Citizen’s Advice
    Bureau (CAB) or National Debtline
  • Renting: information about renting property is available from our
    Campus Accommodation Offices; Shelter and, together with other
    valuable information, the CAB and The Community Legal Service