Student poverty risesStudent unions are appealing for more financial support instead of fee waivers, providing that they pay these back along with the fees when they have finished university and are only working and earning over £21,00 annually.

The rising of university costs and the lack of assis-tance from the government with funding creating a struggle for those disadvantaged students and therefore making the pass rate for these students lower than average.. Research shows that stu-dents that do not have any financial support from a parents or guardian have to work a full time job with a minimum of 33 hours a week just to pay for all of the outgoings that they have. This cash flow is in the range of £8500. Whereas students who study in the capital city of london are entitled to an extra £2000 within the money that the NUS are giving them. This money is too uphold their living expenses due to the capital having a higher de-mand.

The nus say that more help with funding should be available to disadvantaged students though this is through scholarships and bursary. Not many students have a scholarship and most students do not get a bursary. Each university is different with how much bursary they give to their students. For example some universities give double or triple the amount of bursary than others, also some uni-versities give bursaries based on the grades that students get, this is an issue because research has shown that the more money issues that stu-dents have, the lower their grades will be, and the lower their grades the less likely some are to get their bursary money, though my univeristy only give £500 for attendance in february, once a year. Some students spend their money on travel to and from their lectures and this is also tough when they are running short on money. This would then affect their attendance and also then affect their bursary too.

Accommodation costs have doubled within the past decade, and the tuition fee in most universi-ties has tripled also, Universities are now expect-ing the students to pay for their extra expenses. research by the telegraph shows figures that the average weekly rent in halls owned by the uni-versities had increased massively from £59.17 in 2001 to £117.67 in 2012. The telegraph also states “Figures show that the most expensive university

flats in London cost £415 a week or around £1,800 a month – far higher than the averagemortgage in the capital.” They go on to say that the £5000 that students are getting for maintenance isn’t even covering the rent therefore getting into more debt with different people and companies.

After researching for calculations of what students would be left with after paying for household and utilities, students with families on an average household income will have £11.15 a week to live on left from their student support. Without consid-ering all of these calculations it has been brought to the news that the amount of scholarships and bursaries are going to go down by £21.8 million within the next three years. This will mean that students will have even less support.

At the moment there is so much money going into the university fees that the students do not see or touch. There are students that have come up with the idea of being given all of the money that they are entitled to. At the moment students are given a tuition fee that goes straight to the university. They also get a maintenance loan and some get a grant considering how much their household income calculates to. These students are asking for the tuition fee to be given to them and paid for them as if was a loan and them pay this money after the course when they are working and having to pay back the rest of the money that they have borrowed. This seems perfect in the short term but in the long time i don’t think that this is a very wise thing to do.

The pressure on the students who don’t get any financial help from their parents, and who are having to work a full time job along with their full

time studies are more likely to get less of a grade or dop out of uni compared to those who are unemployed and who are struggling with money. Currently students seem to be in a loose/ loose sit-uation. either be poor don’t eat and drink gravy, or fail your degree that you’ve already spent so much money on.

As a student myself I personally know about the issues that a student has with the amount of finan-cial support that we get throughout the three or four years of the course. The money that students get whilst studying is less than those who are living in a council paid house and getting money from the

job center considering we only have £12 a week to live on after bills and rent. There is the theory that all students do is go out and party but once freshers is over all the money is gone and there is none left for all of the bills, rent or food. The rent is extortionate and the price of bills does not fair for students. So how are the students with no financial support from their parents actually live? I know one student who copes by drinking gravy as he has no money for food. This shows a necessity for stu-dents to have extra funding for their living accom-modation if not for their health.

This picture is of a blog entry saying that their should only be necessary courses out there e.g maths technol-ogy and physics. Others feel that there should be a system where if you get below a 2.1 at the end of any given year of the course for yours and the universities benefit.Many university stu-dents know from ca-reers advisors that to get a good job you need to have a good education, all of the different variet of courses allow those students to do a course they enjoy and what they can get a good grade from.