Tips for staying calm when applying for student finance

Applying to student finance can be a stressful event but there are some ways you can make life easier for yourself.

1. Start your application in plenty of time

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   • If your dealine is in May, then starting as soon as it opens wouldn’t be a bad idea. Give yourself plenty of time before the deadline. For a start, the deadline day is likely to have lots of people trying to submit the application at the last minute and this can increase the chance that a site can freeze or go down altogether. Also when you sit down to fill it out, don’t do it 10 minutes before you have to go somewhere. If you that the chances are your mind won’t be on it and you will likely not get anywhere, thus wasting 10 minutes. Wait until you have at least an hour.
2. Take it step by step
   • Don’t look at the whole thing at once and get intimidated by it. Yes the form can seem extensive but it has to be. Student finance are lending out a huge amount of money so they are not going to just ask for a name and bank details. However, if you take it one step at a time and fill in each section concentrating only on the section you are on then it will seem a lot more manageable.
3. Don’t get overwhelmed
   • Similar to the point above, take it all one step at a time and if you feel overwhelmed with it, take breaks, chill out, go for a walk and clear your head if thats what you need.

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4. Ask for help when you need it
   • This is really important, you have likely never filled out one of these before so it is ok not to know what to do on some or all of it. Don’t mess up your finance to get you through university because you didnt want to ask for help. Everyone understands and anyone who is going to or at university has been through the same thing.
5. Warn your parents well in advance that they will need to give some information to student finance to support your application
   • Once your part of the application is filled in your parents will be sent an email asking for some details related to their income. This can affect how much you are entitled to and without this information, your money is not going to be paid
6. Once the application is completed be sure to look at the to do list and make sure it is done
7. If the amount of money you will get stresses you out then look at making a budget so you know what you are working with