Personal Blogs

I thought I would take the plunge and sign up for university. In October, I started my first course in Criminology and Law, with a further course, Law and the Courts, due to start in February.

I applied for funding and set myself up with my own little workstation, surrounded by law and criminology books. I swotted for weeks before my course even started and have since spent hours upon hours making notes, reading books by various authors and getting my head around the subject.

I've also spent a fair few pounds setting everything up, paying for apps, Microsoft and other resources I was advised I would need.

I handed in my first assignment and received a mark of 73%. I've since completed and submitted my second assignment, and I've even completed my third, although I haven't handed it in yet. So, as you can see, I'm not exactly someone who has signed up and then sat back doing nothing. I've put the effort in.

Two weeks ago, I was due to receive my first student funding payment. Bear in mind, if I don't receive the funding, the university doesn't get paid for me to do the course either.

Imagine being told that you're not entitled to funding because of an error you made when you first signed up to university. Apparently, I had created a duplicate account, and because that account was inactive, they are now refusing to fund my course.

I've argued until I'm blue in the face that it was a genuine mistake, and an unintentional one at that. But why the hell would I deliberately sign up to do the same module twice, using the same name, bank details and address? Why would I want to put myself through doing exactly the same course twice?

For the last two weeks, I've spent my time going back and forth between the Open University (OU) and Student Finance Wales (SFW), desperately trying to get this sorted. I have until 25 November to resolve the funding issue, otherwise I'll be removed from the course.

Today was the final straw.

I've thrown in the towel and withdrawn from the course I'm currently doing, as well as the one I was due to start in February.

I've been backwards and forwards with both the OU and SFW, only to be told today that perhaps I need help filling out the forms.

I know how to fill in a bloody form! The problem isn't that I can't complete it. The problem is that the system isn't allowing me to sign up for the funding in the first place.

I know I'm not the cleverest person in the world, but please, credit me with some bloody sense!

I'm now feeling completely defeated and absolutely gutted. I've had enough.

What makes this so upsetting is that I genuinely wanted to do this. I was excited about starting university, I was motivated, I was putting the hours in and I was actually doing well.

I wasn't asking for anything special. I just wanted the opportunity to study, better myself and achieve something.

It's heart-breaking to walk away from something you've put so much time, effort and money into, especially when you haven't given up because you couldn't do the work, but because of an administrative issue that nobody seems willing or able to resolve.

I started university believing I could do this. I just never imagined it would be the system itself that would make me give up.