Budget 2015: Maintenance Grant Cuts

Conservative Budget 2015

(The aim of this budget is to clear the UK deficit.)

          Recently, it was announced that:

• Conservatives are cutting the maintenance grant - starting in 2016/17. 
• However, students from the poorest families, students with disabilities and students with children will still be eligible for a grant. 
• Also, the money that some students would have received from a maintenance grant is to be replaced by increasing the maximum maintenance loan amount to £8,200 per year.

After the budget and plans to reduce the deficit were announced, I witnessed many Facebook statuses and shared stories voicing concerns surrounding the cuts about to be introduced in the UK. As the majority of my social circle are people around my own age, and attend or plan to attend university, the moaning statuses were primarily based on the cuts to student maintenance grants.

 The difference between loans, grants, bursaries and scholarships

• Put simply, loans can be defined as money borrowed which has to be paid back, whereas the grants, bursaries and scholarships offered to some students do not require repayment.
• Loans (for both tuition fees and maintenance) and grants (for maintenance) are currently offered by the government and are usually administered through Student Finance England.
• Whereas, bursaries and scholarships can be offered to students by specific higher education institutions (universities), either to support students that come from low-income families or to reward students for outstanding grades, such as A Levels.

Not all students are eligible for a maintenance grant

• Students that come from low-income families - a household income of £25,000 or less per year - qualify to receive a maintenance grant of £3,387 per year.
• Students from families that earn up to £42,620 are also eligible for a grant but receive less.
• Students from families that earn £42,620+ are not eligible to receive a maintenance grant. 

Grant to Loan

     To the people moaning about the grant being replaced by a loan:

     What makes you think you're entitled to a handout of money?

Surely if you're willing to take money then you should also be willing to pay it back.

There are many people attending university now, it is costing a fortune to provide students with grants that I don't really think we're entitled to - students' total income from employment doesn't usually meet the amount that means we have to pay tax (personal allowance); you can't really say we've contributed to society financially yet. So why should taxpayers - a lot of whom wont ever earn as much as graduates - fund maintenance grants? They shouldn't.

Just for the record, I am entitled to the maximum loan and grant amount from SFE and would have been eligible for a bursary from my university had I entered at first year, but transferring and entering in second year meant I was no longer eligible for this. Yes, I struggle to pay my rent and buy food - the only reason I can afford to do this is by being well, well into my overdraft and because I have 3 jobs. I would never expect someone else or an institution to pay for any aspect of my degree because it is my responsibility.

Borrow as much money as you need (overdrafts, loans, extra help from your uni or student finance etc.); being a student is a struggle.
However, you should have the intent to pay it back at some point. 

If you are at university you are an adult, don't expect someone else to pay your way and be debt free.

'People will stop applying for universities because they can't afford to go now'

Bullshit.

   Don't let someone tell you you can't afford to go to university! Do your own research.

Since students in 2016 may be entitled to more money, I'm assuming the worry is about being able to pay back the money after graduating.

How does anyone have any idea how much they will earn when getting a job after graduating?

How could you possibly know you wont be able to afford to pay the extra £3000 (in replace of the grant) back?

Nobody knows the answers to these questions so don't claim you will not be able to afford to go to university just because of the increased amount of loans.

Yes it has been announced that universities will be able to increase tuition fees starting from 2017/18, but we have no idea what to or which universities will increase the amount they charge so I wont discuss this at the moment; I am focusing on the people purely complaining about the grant cuts.

Repayments

Obviously we have no idea how much we'll be earning in the future, but uni repayments are done at an affordable rate. You do not pay anything back until you start earning over £21,000, which if you do attend university, you are probably aiming to do. But if you're income drops to below this amount, then you stop paying. 

Below £21,000 = £0 per month

£25,000 = £30 per month

£30,000 = £67 per month

£50,000 = £217 per month

Interest is inflation plus up to 3%

So essentially you're paying the amount of a phone bill per month.

Feel free to voice your opinions in the comments

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