Chichester Student Houses

At the start of the year, check your student finance assessment carefully and ask the University’s adviser if you need help. Student Finance need to be notified early if you believe your assessment is wrong. It is important to apply for funding well before the start of the year. If your funding is restricted due to your parent’s income it is reasonable for you to assume that they will step up and make up any shortfall. This could be a difficult conversation especially if they have other priorities or constraints. It can be very hard for them especially if they have two siblings at university at the same time. This can be made worse if your parents are separated. We would recommend a calm but frank discussion with them before you start university. Money Saving Expert have recently run a campaign on this and the following link may be helpful when you speak to parents.  https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2021/11/student-living-parental-contribution-win/

There is also more general student finance news to be found here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/tag/student-finance/

Once you know how much money you have for the year, take time to work out how you are going to spend it.

Work out your budget for each term and the year. Think first about what you will need to spend on your essentials, particularly your rent and any utilities, food, books and travel. Make sure you get student discount wherever possible. Look at getting the Totum app and card here. If you rely on rail travel to get around apply for a student railcard, but check first that it will be worthwhile.

If you find you do not have enough income then you will have to look at other sources. There are lots of job opportunities for students in Chichester, especially in shops, restaurants and pubs. There are also many seasonal jobs at Goodwood which can be fun for students. If you don’t want to travel too far there are a few jobs on campus with the university especially the student’s union.  

Universities usually have bursaries and scholarships to give out to their students who satisfy the criteria such as hitting high entry points or being particularly talented in music or sport so make sure you haven’t missed out. Separate Support Funds are also usually available but you will need to be in a priority group. 

There are always provisions for students who are struggling so if you find yourself in this situation, talk to someone within the university it’s worth a try.

It is important to remember that the rent on a private rented student house needs to be paid all year round and not just term time. This can be especially difficult for first year students when they finish their first year and then realise that the rent for their new student house will start in the summer before their student finance arrives the following September. Don’t bury your head in the sand and if you hit problems and you are not sure how to handle this or just need some support, talk to the University or Students’ Union adviser who will definitely be able to help with budgeting.

 

Further advise can be found UCAS website and money saving expert 

https://www.ucas.com/finance/managing-money/student-budgeting-tips

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-finance-need-to-knows/