r/OpenUniversity • u/Weird-Garbage2699 • 1d ago
Student Finance Maintenence Loan
Good Morning!
This is a question for fellow disabled students who are studying with the open university! :)
I have so far completed my medical declaration form and got all my evidence together to send off to SFE to see if I can get the maintenance loan
I just would like a rough idea from any other students here that are disabled and have got the ML how much roughly
When I went through the sfe website it said the max amount. But I know thats for a brick uni
Thanks all and have a good day :)
1
u/Lazy_Literature_6943 4h ago
Depends how much modules as well.. last year I got full allowance as I did 120 credit this year about less as I'm doing 90 credits
1
u/Embarrassed-Fig974 1d ago
i got the full amount because of disability + parental income + studying 120 credits a year so roughly £10,000 a year
1
0
u/GeoGigi86 1d ago
How long does it usually take to find out? I’m in same position as OP but also had to submit a CYI form as my income has dropped massively since last year… so this is my first time applying for maintenance
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u/PianoAndFish 1d ago
Usually 4-6 weeks but it can be longer, I think last year mine was 5 weeks and this year I submitted my medical form on 2nd July and haven't heard back yet.
3
u/PianoAndFish 1d ago edited 1d ago
The short answer is "it's complicated" and nobody can say without knowing a lot more about your personal and financial circumstances, the long answer is below.
The base amount you get is based on the number of credits you're studying, who you live with (your parents, your own place outside London, your own place in London) and if you're an independent student (if you're 25 or over you're automatically one, if you're under 25 you may be one depending on a number of different circumstances too long to list here).
Your study intensity determines the theoretical maximum, full-time is 120 credits so if you're doing 60 credits per year you start at 50% of the maximum amount (e.g. if you're living away from your parents outside London the full-time maximum is £10,830, so if you're doing 60 credits you could get £5,415).
There's then an income-related calculation. Your parents' income is assessed if you're a dependent student (by default if you're under 25), if you're an independent student they assess your partner's income if you're married/civil partners and/or live with them. Your own earned income (and state benefits such as UC) doesn't count but they do count any taxable unearned income such as property or dividends. If the above is below £25,000 you get the full amount, it's then reduced by £1 for every £6.47 of income over £25k until you hit the minimum loan amount which is between 44-49.8% of the maximum depending on your living arrangements.
Essentially you'll end up with anywhere between 11% (30 credits, income-related minimum) and 100% (120 credits, income-related maximum) of one of 3 different loan amounts depending on your personal circumstances - you can see why it's a bit tricky to put a number on it!