A STUDENT heading back to university has revealed a loan application error left her with just £3 to last the year.
Shadna Ismail was surprised to find the £3,000 maintenance loan she applied for had not come through ready for the start of the term.
Instead, the University of Roehampton student was even more shocked to find she would be getting just £3 to get her through the year.
The 19-year-old shared the error on social media where it went viral.
She included a picture of the payment schedule which showed she could expect the money in three instalments: 99p in September, another 99p in January and £1.02 for the last term in April.
Shadna, who lives in West London, tweeted: “Not me applying for £3 instead of 3k”.
The post gained more then 67,000 likes and nearly 6,000 retweets.
The biomedical science student said: “On my application when it asks you how much you would like to take I wrote ‘3k’ thinking it was applicable and that they would understand, but clearly they didn’t."
She added that here heart stopped when she realised her mistake and that she went through "every emotion" inducing shock and laughter.
She said: "It was lowkey my fault I should have written 3,000.
“They didn’t even email me to confirm if it was correct, they just went ahead and approved it.
“It was only because they said I would get my first payment on the 21st and I said that I didn’t, I went to check and then I saw it.
“At first I thought my eyes were going crazy and I sent it to my friend to see if that’s what I was seeing then when she said ‘yeah it’s £3’ I genuinely screamed, as in my heart stopped.
“I’ve spoken to Student Finance and they have told me what to do now.”
The maintenance loan helps students pay for living costs and is worth up to £12,010. this year.
The teen, who is in her second year of studies, applied for the lower amount as she is living at home while studying.
She is now in touch with Student Finance England to rectify the error but is still waiting for the correct amount.
A spokeswoman for the Student Loans Company said: “We appreciate that there is a lot for students to think about as they return to study at this time and, of course, it’s easy for them to make a mistake.
“We process almost 2million applications per year, many of which are processed automatically and the Student Loans Company can only award funding based on the information provided by the applicant.
“If we are made aware of a student error, we try and resolve it for them quickly. We encourage all students to complete their applications carefully, read their entitlement letters carefully, and get in touch with us if there is anything that doesn’t seem right.”
Boris Johnson has promised to give every adult without an A-level free college courses and flexible loans to help people who lose their job due to the coronavirus.
Downing Street has vowed to get all university students back home for Christmas amid a national revolt over campus lockdowns.
Hundreds of students have been filmed gathering at a late-night party flouting social distancing rules despite a spike in coronavirus cases.
Source: Read Full Article