What to do when your Student Money’s Tight: 5 Solutions

Running into financial difficulties is an inevitable part of being a student. Even if you are working and have good support from your parents, the process of learning to handle money has its pitfalls. So, what do you do when your bank balance is heading towards double figures and help is far away?

Get a job

This is easier said than done these days because employers want more for their money: more time, more work, more of you and all of this can have a detrimental effect on your studies. If you do take a part time job, be sure to agree your hours in advance. Don’t take the loose approach of agreeing to the “whenever you need me” kind of job because you leave yourself open to being needed at the most inconvenient times.

Medical Trials

Signing up as a Volunteer Participant for clinical trials can earn you some good money without eating in to your valuable study time. Sites like GSK trials will pay its Volunteer Participants between £200 and £2000 to take part in drug trials. You have to attend an information talk and then give consent before beginning the trial. Many drug companies won’t pay if you don’t complete the trial, so bare that in mind before you sign your consent form.

Seek Financial Support from the University

Every university and college has a hardship fund for those who are in genuine need. If you find yourself in this situation, make an appointment with the student services office and explain your problems. There’s no shame in running out of money, it happens. If you speak up, you should get help.

Sell Stuff

Recycling your old mobile phone could net you up to £150. Putting your CD collection on Amazon could also make you some tidy money. Just make sure you’ve copied the lot onto an external hard drive before you send it all off to the new owners.

Cut back on Premium Products

Student life is all about having fun, but unfortunately fun is expensive, even if you’re in a student bar. How do you have fun without heading for bankruptcy? Set yourself a weekly budget and stick to it. Don’t buy premium products such as Coca-Cola, or Grey Goose Vodka.

Make use of every single offer available to you as a student. Sign up to websites that offer 2-for-1 at Wagamama and Pizza Express.

Throw a “Bring Your Own” party at your house in which everyone brings a bottle and a dish – hopefully of something they have cooked. There’s always a surplus of food a drink, just remember to refrigerate anything you plan to eat.

About the Author: This post was contributed by Sally S.

Working While You Study in Australia

International students studying in Australia who were granted their student visa after 26th April 2008 can receive permission to work up to 20 hours a week during their studying. So after booking your flight to Australia these are the things that you will have to take into account.

For anyone whose student visa was granted before this date, it’s still possible to work part time, but to do so, you’ll need to apply to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) after you’ve begun your course of study.

For any student who has permission to work, it allows you to work for up to 20 hours each week while your course is running. You aren’t allowed to begin working until after you have begun your course in Australia however. If you have family that you are bringing with you, any dependants can also work for up to 20 hours per week – again after you have begun your course. There is an exception to this – if you’ve begun a Masters or Doctorate level course, then any dependants living with you, are not limited to 20 hours, but may work unlimited hours. Breaking the work restriction rules can mean that your visas may be cancelled.

When you go looking for work under the above rules, you do not require a visa label in your passport to show your employer that you’re entitled to work. All your visa information is stored electronically by DIAC and can be looked at using the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system. This can be checked by Employers, banks and government services as long as they’ve received your consent to look at this information.

Many international students studying in Australia find work in areas such as retail or hospitality, or administration. You could expect to earn around Au$6-15 depending on such things as age, experience and the type of work you’re employed to do. Sundays and public holidays are generally paid on a more generous scale.

Another good way to earn money can be by tutoring younger students who are studying the same field as you, or offering language tutoring. Doing this you can often earn around AUD $40 per hour.

If you’re going to be working while you study, then you’ll need to obtain a Tax File Number (TFN) from the Australian tax office. You will need to supply your name, current address, date of birth, and usually the date you arrived in the country, your passport and proof of student enrolment. Your TFN may also be needed if you wish to open a bank account, and should be kept secure and not shared with friends or given on the internet when you’re searching/applying for jobs.

For the most up to date information on student visas and their requirements, it is always advisable to check the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website.

Student Broadband: Get Connected Simply

It’s difficult for students. In the UK getting a regular home Internet account is difficult enough, having to provide bank statements and other information as it is, but once you add to that the complexity of not having a fixed mailing address and the bills that are associated with it, which applies to most students studying away from home, the issues just get even more complicated.

Simply doing without broadband is not really an option however – aside from the social aspects the Internet is currently one of the best research tools available and those that do not have access to the plethora of information there are severely disadvantaged versus their peers.

There actually is an option for students though – namely Mobile Broadband. Now this is different to simple Internet on a mobile phone (although the name does seem somewhat similar) – rather it is utilizing an Internet dongle to provide mobile Internet access on your laptop or tablet PC (iPad or equivalent).

Choosing the company and the type of plan does need some research and I’d suggest Broadband Genie (http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/mobilebroadband/student) as a good starting point in your selection process. Here you will get assistance in a simple easy to understand fashion of the current dongle deals available in your area and the extra features and freebies that might be available to you, from great dongle deals to brand new laptops!

How it works

Simply put, sign up for a contract (pay monthly or pay as you go) with one of the major UK mobile phone providers, get a dongle from them which you plug into the USB port of your laptop or tablet computer, install the software and away you go.

In addition to having access to the Internet, the other advantage to Mobile Broadband is that you can take it with you – you’re not tied to a specific address or location and can browse in the library or coffee shop if that better suits your style & with some of the dongle deals available, you can actually share your broadband connection with up to five other devices at the same time!

Remember – with some of the dongle deals currently available in the market it is possible to not only get an extremely competitive price for your monthly contract and usage (even greater discounts are available if you choose to combine your broadband deal with your current mobile phone provider), but you could also acquire or obtain a new laptop (or other freebies) for your use too!

Why UniRoute?

UniRoute is dedicated to helping students prepare for entrance into UK and Australian universities.

To that end, UniRoute offers a broad array of services including online assistance with university applications, admissions, accommodations – in short, everything necessary for successful completion of a tertiary degree, a virtual necessity for candidates seeking professional careers and advancement today.

At the core of UniRoute’s offerings is a carefully integrated set of online courses geared not only to admission to the international university of your choice but also to successful academic performance in your chosen area of specialisation. Our time- and classroom-tested courses now online  include a complete, entirely original up-to-date Online IELTS Preparation Course. You won’t find any of this excellent material elsewhere.

Offering a complete guide to the IELTS examination in all four major English skills areas – Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking – it teaches both fundamentals and the less-obvious (some call them “Tricky”) elements of the exam you need to know to get the highest possible IELTS band score. Satisfaction guaranteed!

To make sure that your current level of English skill is adequate for meaningful study of its online IELTS course, UniRoute offers a quick qualifying examination, giving you an immediate “go-ahead” if your skills measure up. UniRoute also offers a unique, more thorough online test that allows you – and, if you wish, university officials — an nearly instantaneous assessment of your current, approximate IELTS band-score status.

UniRoute operates in the conviction that online e-learning is as effective as traditional classroom instruction. It is determined to make top-quality, career-targeted coursework available to candidates whose work or study schedules makes external class schedules problematic – and professionally guided self-learning the best of all options, both financially and time-wise.

UK Visa Update

Message from the BC – 4 June 2009

The PBS Tier 4 visa application system was launched at the end of March. We have worked closely with the visa section in providing the new information and guidelines to agents and students, but we are unfortunately faced with a disproportionately high rejection rate for visa applications.

We have dealt with this case as promptly as possible with the visa section at the British Embassy. Here are the immediate first steps we are taking to try and solve this problem:

1. Checklist for a visa letter

As the main reason given for visa rejection is the visa letter itself, the visa section has prepared for us a checklist for the provision of a visa letter with information on specific errors which have occurred. Please see the two files attached for further information. The key message from the visa section is that documents all need to be in order and meet the clear criteria. The Embassy is no longer allowed to use discretion in making decisions. If the documents do not provide the exact information needed then the application will be rejected.

2. Pre-sessional courses

For Thai students going to study for a pre-sessional course and who have had their visas rejected due to the wrong visa letter being submitted by UK institutions, we understand that it will be too late for them to re-apply and wait for another two weeks for the visa.

On discussion with the visa section, it is recommended that the students re-apply immediately. The visa section has agreed with the British Council in Thailand to process these applications quickly if the students mention to the VFS the dates for the beginning of the course, and ask VFS to attach a note to their second application stating the immediacy of the course date.

UK immigration process for student Visas

These notes are provided for information only

The new rules will apply to any application for a student visa or student visa extension which is received on or after 31 March 2009.

New rules for Adult Student visas (for applications on/after 31 March 2009)

Accreditation [=checking that the quality of the education and facilities provided by a school is above a minimum standard] You can only study at a school, college or university whose quality has been accredited by one of these approved agencies: - British Council (through Accreditation UK): accredits English language schools. See: http://www.britishcouncil.org/it/accreditation-az-list.htm - BAC (the British Accreditation Council): accredits private schools which do not mainly teach English language courses. See: http://www.the-bac.org/colleges/directory/ukdirectc.pl - ASIC (the Accreditation Service for International Colleges): accredits private schools. See: http://www.asic.org.uk - Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills): accredits mainly schools which are paid for using UK government money (where many British students will also be studying). See: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk The school also needs to have a UK Border Agency Sponsors’ Licence. If the Home Office takes away this licence from a school it will not be able to recruit any new international students from outside the EU (so it may close). A list of licensed schools will be published on the website of the Home Office’s UK Border Agency: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/points/sponsoringmigrants/registerofsponsors [previously it was possible to obtain a visa for a school which was not accredited but which appeared on The Register of Education and Training Providers, a list maintained by the DIUS]

Course level and type Your course must be at a certain level (for lower level courses you can only apply for a Student Visitor visa): - For English courses it must be at least at “pre-intermediate” level (the easiest of the 5 Cambridge ESOL exams, the Key English Test (KET), is at this level) [The formal requirement is that it is at Level A2 or above in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: http://www.coe.int/T/DG4/Portfolio/?L=E&M=/main_pages/levels.html] - For non-English courses it must be at least at the level studied at British schools after the age of 16 (for example: A Levels, AS Levels, Scottish Highers, NVQs, university level). [The formal requirement is that it is at Level 3 or above in the National Qualifications Framework: http://www.qca.org.uk/14-19/qualifications/116_brief-guides-level-3.htm] - If a course includes job placements, at least 50% of the course must be study, and a maximum 50% can be work [previously it was possible to get a student visa even for low level courses, or for courses that were mainly work-based]

Money You will need to show that you have enough money available to cover either the full length of the course (for courses which last under 9 months) or which cover the first 9 months of a course which is for more than 9 months. The minimum amount of money you need is enough for: - any unpaid tuition/course fees for the first year of study, plus the following maintenance funds (this is the money you need for your living expenses): - if you are studying in London: maintenance funds of £800 per month [£7,200 for a course of 9 months or more], plus maintenance funds of £535 per month [£4,815 for a course of 9 months or more] for each dependent (usually a husband, wife or child) you bring with you to the UK. You are studying in “London” if at least half of your study time is in one of these boroughs (the white area in the map below): Camden, City of London, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Westminster. - if you are studying outside London: maintenance funds of £600 per month [£5,400 for a course of 9 months or more], plus maintenance funds of about £400 per month [£3,600 for a course of 9 months or more] for each dependent (usually a husband, wife or child) you bring with you to the UK You will need to show that you have the necessary amount of money in your account during the 28 days before you make your application. Your account balance must have been above the necessary level on every single day during that period [previously minimum amount of money was not fixed, although it needed to be enough to support yourself without any help from the UK government]

Visa application process You will be able to check for yourself if you have enough “points” to be able to get a student visa (to avoid wasting your time and money making an unsuccessful application). You will need to obtain your student visa before arriving in the UK. You will need to give your fingerprints and to obtain a biometric identity card. You need to obtain a visa letter from your place of study [ in future you will need to obtain a document called a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from your school, for which you will pay £10 - this has not yet been introduced ] You will need to pay a student visa application fee

Attendance reporting Your school will check if you are attending classes, and may report you to the Home Office’s UK Border Agency if you are not going to school (normally you will be reported after an unauthorised absence of two weeks, or 10 missed “contact points”) [ after the "Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies" scheme has been introduced, your school must report your absence to the Home Office ] [previously a school did not have to have a formal process to check and report attendance]

Changing schools If you wish to change your school within the UK, you will need to inform the Home Office’s UK Border Agency before you change. If the new course finishes after your current visa expires, you will need to apply for an extension. [ in future you will need to obtain a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from your new school - this has not yet been introduced ] [previously it was possible to change school without informing the Home Office, although students were supposed to inform the Home Office about such changes]

Extending a student visa while in the UK The period for a student visa will depend on the course length. The new course must start no more than 1 month after the expiry date of your previous visa. You will need to show you have money for tuition fees for the first year of your course, and also that you have maintenance funds for at least 2 months (based on the minimum amounts shown above – ie at least £1,600 if you are studying in London, or £1,200 if you are studying outside London, plus extra if you have dependents). You will need to obtain a biometric identity card if you don’t already have one.

Broadband Phones

Broadband Phones – stay in touch when you study abroad.

One of the main issues faced when students move to the UK it culture shock – the anxiety felt by students when having to study within a different cultural or social environment. To help you survive it is important to stay in touch with family and friends at home. Email is an obvious choice but can be very impersonal. Calling from the UK on a land line or mobile can be expensive. An option often overlooked by students is that of broadband phones – using the internet to make calls, cheaply and effectively. Broadband ensures that the quality is good and the voice of Internet protocol (VoIP) system keeps the cost down.

There are two types of phones that you can use

* software broadband phones that require the other person to have a similar system on their PC. You use a microphone and speakers connected to you PC or notebook.

*hardware broadband phones that act like you usual fixed line phone.

There are many suppliers in the UK offering broadband services, usually as part of an Internet package. Some examples of providers include O2, BT, Virgin, Talk Talk and so on. Prices and bandwidth do vary so be sure to shop around before choosing a package – you are typically required to sign up for a fixed time so make sure it fits with you study dates and may not be the cheapest. Prices range from about GBP6.00 per month for an 8MB connection to GBP20 per month for 24MB.

Leading suppliers of VoIP services include Skype, Vonage, Plusnet and so on. Each has different deals and you need to carry out your own research to make sure that you select the correct package to suit your needs. Perhaps one of the best sources of information is to ask your fellow students for their advice. Be sure to ask about quality since this can still be an issue – make sure they are getting good reception to your home country.

Keep in mind that mobile broadband is becoming more widely available and this may be an attractive alternative to fixed broadband if you intend to move around. Prices start at about GBP10 per month but prices will rise depending on speed. Currently speeds can reach 7.2MB so the system can be used for a broadband phone set-up.

Finally, look for special offers. Some providers are offering a “free” notebook PC when you sign up – it may not be a top spec computer but it will get you on-line cheaply and easily.

Student Banking

UK Student Banking and Student Credit Cards

Studying in the UK presents students with many potential problems, perhaps the most significant relating to money and finance. Indeed many students find themselves having to manage their own finances for the first time in their lives.

Do not worry – help is at hand. Usually your student union will be able to help you with general advice, and you will be please to hear that UK banks actively encourage student applicants – they see you as an excellent business opportunity. Most banks provide similar services but try to identify the bank that suits your needs by doing your homework. Students generally choose one of the big five banks: Abbey National, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and Natwest. however they all provide different options and different facilities. Often they choose the one with a branc on campus because it is the most convenient.

But be careful, do not be dazzled by all the hype – banks will often offer you free gadgets and cash back which seem very attractive, but you may well be better off finding a bank that offers a good deposit interest rate or low interest loans. Do you sums carefully before deciding.

Students are usually eligible to receive a number of ‘cards’ by the bank they select. These come in two main forms, credit cards and debit cards, and either may act as a cheque guarantee cards that can be used in conjunction with your cheque book. Debit cards take money instantly from your account and rely on you having sufficient funds in your account when you make a payment. Credit cards have a set limit and require that you pay a minimum amount usually within 2-3 weeks of receiving your credit card statement. Be careful not to run up large credit card bill – the interest payments can be expensive and the balance can ‘get out of hand.’

In summary there are many options available to students in the UK. Shop around and choose carefully – look for long term value over short term gifts or promotions. Use credit cards with caution!

Student Flights

Once you have been accepted by a UK university and gone through the visa procedures, your next concern is to book a flight – how do you get a good deal?

Probably one of the first considerations is whether you should book a single or return flight. There is a myth that single flights are half the price of a return – this is not true. Indeed you may find that the cost of a single ticket is not that much different from the cost of a return. If budget is not a consideration then you will probably chose to fly direct on the national airline. However, if you are more ‘money conscious’ you may consider flying an indirect route via a cheaper carrier. If you choose this option make sure you have enough time to transfer to your next flight (even if you first flight is slightly delayed), but not too much time that you have to sleep in a crowded airport in the middle of nowhere.

If you are booking a return flight make sure that you leave a few extra days after you final exam- timetables often ‘slip’ and you may find that you are scheduled to take an exam the day after you fly home! Also, especially at year end, there are many parties and activities that you may not know about when you book so relax and give yourself a few extra days.

The Internet is a Great Helper

There are many sites on the Internet where you can search for and compare flight prices and details. But be careful not to confuse flight brokers with flight-comparison sites. A flight broker represents a limited number of airlines and so will not necessarily show you the best deal available. A genuine flight comparison site will allow you to broaden your search. Examples of flight comparison sites relevant to the UK would be:

www.kelkoo.co.uk

www.travelsupermarket.com

www.skyscanner.net

www.traveljungle.co.uk

www.cheapflights.co.uk

In addition to flight comparison site be sure to check companies such as STA Travel that specialise in  ‘cheap flights for students’- see www.statravel.com – for more details.

Do your homework and make sure you are getting the best deal. Always check that there are no hidden surcharges and that you inform your university of your flight arrival since most will arrange a pick-up service for you from the airport.