“I am always worried about financially covering myself and lockdown has made it worse” – Salford student speaks on her worries

Since the announcement of the second national lockdown, many University of Salford students have been worrying about their finances.

With universities back in full force, whether that be online or in person, thousands of students have moved out into halls or back into housing.

A recent study has revealed that 80% of students worry about their finances.

The report was based on a survey of 9,872 students between March 27 and April 6, exploring how the first lockdown impacted university students.

A lot of students do not get as many loans as they would like, with some only being able to cover their rent with the money they are awarded.

The pandemic has had a major impact on students for many reasons. These include; an overall reduction in income due to furlough and redundancies, accommodation rent payments even when they were forced to move home, increased worry about getting employment after graduation, and students still paying full tuition fees.

With the second lockdown having a bigger effect than the first, University of Salford student Lauren Mason has expressed her worries about her financial state.

“I am always worried about financially covering myself but lockdown is making it worse.

“I am trying to find a job but due to lockdown and everything being close it is very hard to find anyone who is hiring, especially with businesses struggling. I am scared that I won’t get a job even when I graduate.

“My mental health was already not great, to begin with but being in lockdown I was mostly alone for 7 months and was extremely isolated. It has been hard to even do everyday things for a while now and sometimes I can’t even get out of bed.

With all of this and struggling about how I am going to finance myself is unreal.”

Financial worries can contribute to poor mental health, with the report showing 91% of students were worried about someone in their family being financially unstable at this unprecedented time.

Maria Pavlakou from the University of Salford has said: “We have two support funds available at the University, one to assist UK students and one to assist International Students, both very similar”

The Salford Support Fund is to assist UK students who are experiencing financial difficulties during the year and are considering leaving education because of these problems.

It is a non-repayable award for students experiencing hardship as a result of these problems. It is intended to help with living costs or unexpected emergencies. But cannot be used to assist with non-priority debts such as credit card or personal loan repayments.

There is a standard award, which is an assessment of income against allowable expenditure and there is a non-standard award that will be considered when you do not qualify for the standard award.

They also help by offering money matters advice including debt advice, international student fee advice, and money scams, tricks, and fraud advice.