Gordon's grant giveaway
Dateline: 18/7/07
This month something’s happened that’s rarer than uncooked meat: the Government announced some good news on student finance. But before you get too excited, it’s hardly going to mean students are rolling in cash.
Top of the list of changes was a hike in the top bar for getting a full grant. At the moment, only students whose parents earn under £17,500 get the full whack giveaway of £2,765 a year plus a bursary of at least £300 from their university. From 2008, this will be going up to £25,000.
Meanwhile the cut-off point for any grant has also gone skyward, changing from £37,500 to £60,000.
The idea is that from next year a third of all students should end with a full grant, another third with some slice of the pie and the other third with sweet FA.
Student loans have also been tweaked so that graduates won’t have to pay back a penny for five years after leaving uni.
The announcement came within days of Gordon Brown taking over as Prime Minister and putting John Denham, in charge at the newly created DIUS (Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills).
As ever, there’s small print, so for more information on what you’re entitled to, check out Push’s guide to student finance.
And there’s more useful stuff about the new arrangements at these other sites:
For students in England: www.studentfinancedirect.co.uk
For students in Wales: www.studentfinancewales.co.uk
For students in Northern Ireland: www.studentfinanceni.co.uk
For Scottish students: www.saas.gov.uk
The EU lowdown: www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance-eu
Last updated on: 24 July 2007