Finding accommodation can be a nightmare. If you want to avoid a house hunting disaster it’s best to get clued up as to the rules of the game. Here are some useful tips.

You may find it useful to look on the South London University Accommodation Facebook Page. We have no affiliation with it, but many St George's students use this to advertise rooms/houses, or to find a group of people to search for accommodation with.'

There is an accommodation notice board located opposite the Welfare Room on the 2nd floor of Hunter wing. You'll find notices for accommodation to rent. If you want to advertise on this board pop in to the SU office to get your notice stamped.

Please note that the SU cannot accept any responsibility for accommodation notices from private landlords. We are unable to advise on legal matters but all our students have access to the University of London housing service who will be able to help.

Student Loans

Home students can apply for a student loan from Student Finance England. How much of this loan you qualify for depends on your status, and takes  into account whether you are an independent student, have dependents, and whether you are eligible for any other awards. The loan is also dependent on the number of weeks you spend at university per year.

You should have already applied for your student loan in advance of arriving here, but if you haven’t, you will need to contact your Local Authority who will send you the appropriate paperwork.

You will not need to start paying the loan back until you have left university and are in employment. For more specific information please refer to the Student Finance England website.

NHS Bursaries

For home students, all three years of Physiotherapy and Radiography, years 2, 3 and 4 of the 4-year MBBS course and the 5th year of study of the 5-year MBBS course, the fees are paid by the NHS Bursary Unit. These students are also eligible for a bursary, but like your student loan, this is affected by your personal financial situation. The NHS bursary must be reapplied for on an annual basis. For more information visit the NHS bursary website.

Fees

For all home students on undergraduate courses who are not eligible for a bursary, the fees for the academic year are shown here. A complete breakdown of fees including those for international students and postgraduate students is available from the Student Life Centre.

Student Bank Accounts

It is likely that you will already have a bank account prior to starting at St George’s, but before you automatically upgrade your account with your current bank, take a look at what others are offering. There are many different things you need to consider, not just the freebies! You need to consider things like overdrafts and the location of the bank.

 Access to Learning Fund

If all attempts at budgeting fail, you may need to apply for Access to Learning Funds (ALF). ALF is allocated to the medical school by the Government to assist home students in severe and genuine financial difficulty. Only certain students are eligible. ALF is not to be used for the payment of tuition fees, or to make up for a shortfall in assessed parental contribution.

To be eligible, students should have applied for their full entitlement of the student loan. Help will be given in the form of a non-repayable grant from the University. For more information please contact the Student Life Centre.

Postgraduate funding information can be found at: PostgraduateFunding.com, a comprehensive database of grants available to postgraduate students from all over the world.

Please contact Jude O'Brien, Student Finance and Policy Officer (jobrien@sgul.ac.uk or on 0208 725 0962) or Helen Williams, Student Finance Advisor (Hwilliam@sgul.ac.uk or on 0208 266 6303) for further information or if you have any financial difficulties at all during your course.

The Careers Service provides support to all current students and recent graduates to develop the skills and knowledge they need to pursue their career or further study. This involves 1:1 advice and coaching, careers workshops and events as well as access to careers information and resources.

What can the careers consultants help with?

• Advice about options and signposting to useful resources
• Weighing up decisions on career choices, medical specialties or further study
• Advice and guidance on where to look for jobs
• CV, application forms and personal statement checks, including for further study
• Practice interviews

Making an appointment with the careers consultants

Guidance appointments are available on Mondays 2pm - 4pm and on Tuesdays 10am - 12pm. CV check appointments are also available at specific times. Please check the link below for details.

Appointments can be booked online.

Find out more about the careers support available by clicking on this link.

For other queries please email: careers@sgul.ac.uk

From our experience of student parents (and yes, there are a fair few at SGUL), it IS perfectly possible to be both a student and a parent, although it may sometimes feel like you could do with an extra day in the week!

Financial Information  

Students studying full time higher education courses may be entitled to additional financial help from their funding body.  If you are receiving student loans, grants or financial support from NHS Student Bursaries, you are advised to make enquiries about the following supplementary grants:

• Parents’ Learning Allowance – an additional non-repayable grant paid directly to students to help with course costs such as books, materials and travel.

• Childcare Grant – if you use an Ofsted registered childcare provider you may be able to apply for non-repayable assistance towards your childcare costs.

Further details about Parents’ Learning Allowance and the Childcare Grant can be found on the Directgov website.

Please note that both grants are income assessed, so if you live with a partner/spouse their income details will be used to calculate your entitlement

SGUL’s Access to Learning Fund

The Access to Learning Fund (ALF) provides discretionary financial assistance to students to help them access and remain in higher education.  Students who need financial help to meet extra costs that cannot be met from other sources of support, and those who may be considering leaving higher education because of financial problems are encouraged to apply.  The ALF can also help to alleviate unexpected financial hardship.

Students with child dependants are one of the priority groups targeted and students are encouraged to make an application as soon as possible as funds are limited.  The application form and guidance notes can be found here.

Please note that students studying Nursing, Midwifery and those on the foundation year of the 6 year Medicine programme need to apply to Kingston University’s Access to Learning Fund.  You can contact their Student Funding Service at studentfunding@kingston.ac.uk or on 020 8417 355.

Student Parents Association (SPA)

The SPA are dedicated to supporting all student parents throughout their studies at St George’s. The group is run by studying parents so they understand the fabulous and not-so-fabulous aspects of raising a family whilst being at university. They are there to help each other make the most of their time at St George’s.

They aim to offer a support network of students juggling similar responsibilities. They’re there to listen, share advice and provide advocacy for student parents. They’re also provide socialising opportunities for student parents!

Email space@su.sgul.ac.uk for more details.

If you are certain of your religious orientation you may be interested in getting involved in appropriate groups and activities. These are a good way of getting to know people with similar ideas to you and can be a source of inspiration, encouragement and support as well as being great fun. If you are a Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Hindu or Jewish you may wish to join the appropriate faith society we have here, but if you follow any other faith you will have to seek out local activities outside George’s.

The Multifaith and Quiet Contemplation Room

The University and the Students' Union welcome and encourage integration between all faith groups through the multifaith and quiet contemplation room. This is an onsite space which can be booked and used by any student(s) of faith or not, to observe prayers or have some quiet time away from the demands of everyday student life. The Multifaith and Quiet Contemplation Room is located on the first floor of Jenner Wing (rooms J1.1 & J1.2) and can be used by all students and staff.

George’s prides itself on its friendly, welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. However there may be occasions when you witness or experience discrimination or harassment. Sometimes it may be subtle, but from time to time it may be overt. It is difficult to know to what extent these sorts of incidents occur, as more often than not they tend to go unreported.

The University and Students' Union are committed to ensuring that the learning and working environment is free from intimidation, and we will not tolerate any form of bullying. Sexual and racial harassment are both forms of bullying, but it can also exist within gender and racial groups. It involves behaviour or communication which threatens or oppresses another.

If you do become aware of discrimination or harassment, whether as a victim or an observer, there are a number of people you can speak to who are better able to deal with the issue and can offer some advice:

• Vice President Education & Welfare: vpeducation@su.sgul.ac.uk
• SU President: president@su.sgul.ac.uk
• The Counselling Service: counselling@sgul.ac.uk
• Your personal tutor