Malcolm leaves home to study for a degree
Malcolm (18) lives on a Scottish Island with his widowed mother. When he won a place at Aberdeen University to take a BSc Honours in Environmental Science and Management his mother worried about how they would manage financially.
Thanks to the support available, Malcolm was able to take up his place.
As Malcolm is a dependent student and his mother earns less than £23, 6600 she will not have to contribute towards his support. His tuition fees are paid in full by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland and Malcolm gets a Young Students Bursary (an income-assessed non-repayable grant). As his mother earns around £17,835 a year, he gets the maximum bursary of £2,575 and he is also entitled to an additional loan of £590 as he is from a family with a low income . Because he gets a bursary, this reduces his student loan as the bursary replaces part of the student loan. Malcolm receives a student loan of £1,935 , giving him a total living support package of £5,100.
Malcolm can also get travel expenses to meet the cost of three return flights from Stornoway to Inverness and three return train journeys to Aberdeen each term. He can also claim daily term time travel - which would be the cost of a bus pass less £155.
Malcolm also has a part-time job in a local bar earning up to £50 a week, these earnings do not affect his student support allowances.