Students on EMA

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Anyone second/third year college students recieved their £100 EMA September bonus yet?

Got paid normal two weeks, but missing the extra £100

Need this money to pay for the trips to Leeds and Hartlepool during October.

Anyone got there's yet?

You also get £20 a week pocket money to pay for meals and taking Tasha out - start saving from that son

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

The £100 bonus was dependent on attendance levels , dont forget Russ , you have been in hospital recently.

 

[Conkers]

£30 a week doesn't even fully cover my College expenses.

Apart from travel costs, I didn't know anyone at College that had any expenses when studying at college. You get loaned key textbooks, all anyone needed was paper, pens and a calculator. I don't know what college you go to but it sounds like a rip-off if you need more than £30 a week to cover your expenses.

I assume EMA is getting phased out over the next few years as college becomes mandatory, or am I wrong in thinking that?

 

[Walkers Cajun Squirrel]

Apart from travel costs, I didn't know anyone at College that had any expenses when studying at college. You get loaned key textbooks, all anyone needed was paper, pens and a calculator. I don't know what college you go to but it sounds like a rip-off if you need more than £30 a week to cover your expenses.

I assume EMA is getting phased out over the next few years as college becomes mandatory, or am I wrong in thinking that?

Travel (my friend pays over £20 a week), lunch(?), Paper, pens (which cost about £2 each).

I have spent almost £40 in 3 weeks on college and I don't have pay for any travel.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

If you get EMA then you can claim back from the college reasonable travel costs - a weekly bus ticket up here is only £8

 

[Conkers]

Travel (my friend pays over £20 a week), lunch(?), Paper, pens (which cost about £2 each).

I have spent almost £40 in 3 weeks on college and I don't have pay for any travel.

You can buy a pack of pens from Sainsburys for about 30p and you get 10 in a pack! Plus you are forgetting paper, pens etc. are usually a one off expense at the start of the year.
How much is lunch going to cost to make? One loaf for a week and some meat = £3 max?
Maybe I should quit my job and go back to college, £30 a week seems like a sweet deal to learn some Film Studies, or maybe even General Studies

 

[Walkers Cajun Squirrel]

You can buy a pack of pens from Sainsburys for about 30p and you get 10 in a pack! Plus you are forgetting paper, pens etc. are usually a one off expense at the start of the year.
How much is lunch going to cost to make? One loaf for a week and some meat = £3 max?
Maybe I should quit my job and go back to college, £30 a week seems like a sweet deal to learn some Film Studies, or maybe even General Studies

I have got them pens for 30p and they broke after about 3 days. (all 10 of them). Useless things.

£30 is maybe a bit much but in the end the government makes it back. An employer for a high/medium payed job wouldn't touch someone who hasn't been to college.

You need to offer these people an incentive. Because if we are honest cost people that are on EMA don't want to be at college. (that is my experience of the people I know)

 

[SeagullEd]

Ema is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of and I could write pages about that!

EMA operates on various bands according to your household income...

However, even if you're in the upper bracket and thus only eligible for £10 a week if you attend a 1 day course/meeting you get the full £30 - already making a mockery of the system!

On top of that, it doesn't actually take into account the fact that one of your parents might have moved away. For instance, my mates parents split up and he lives with his Mum, who earns nothing because she is unable to work (legitimately) but his Dad is absolutely minted and he was the one to leave. So, partnered with the fact his Dad is minted anyway, he also feels extremely guilty so my mate gets LOADS of money anyway!

It also prosumes that because your parents earn more you get more spent on you...

It doesn't take into account number of children, whether this is a new job and you were unemployed previously, or whether you are supporting you kids living in other houses. There are SO many descrepencies.

I personally am not eligible but recognise that some kids need this allowance to be able to go to college, but very few of tose that get it actually need it. I do not know anyone who gets £30 spent on them per week for education by their parents...it's ridiculous! Why are these kids the only ones that get the bonuses for working hard?

It's a stupid system which is unbelieveably unfair.

 

[seagulls4ever]

Apart from travel costs, I didn't know anyone at College that had any expenses when studying at college. You get loaned key textbooks, all anyone needed was paper, pens and a calculator. I don't know what college you go to but it sounds like a rip-off if you need more than £30 a week to cover your expenses.

I assume EMA is getting phased out over the next few years as college becomes mandatory, or am I wrong in thinking that?

Chichester College - £13 a week travel, I have to pay for all my textbooks, lunch (I make my own 5 days a week), tea on occasion for caffine, DECENT pens, paper, have to pay for printer credits, etc .. it all adds up very quickly.

 

[seagulls4ever]

I agree that it is unfair as last year I could not claim it because my mums boyfriend was living with us, and I got nothing from him neither did I get anything from my Dad as he is a stingy bastard and lives in France. It is a very good idea but perhaps some aspects of it could do with some tweaking.

And the comment about the one day course, I believe it has to be a full-time course for you to be able to claim it.

 

[Walkers Cajun Squirrel]

Ema is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of and I could write pages about that!

EMA operates on various bands according to your household income...

However, even if you're in the upper bracket and thus only eligible for £10 a week if you attend a 1 day course/meeting you get the full £30 - already making a mockery of the system!

On top of that, it doesn't actually take into account the fact that one of your parents might have moved away. For instance, my mates parents split up and he lives with his Mum, who earns nothing because she is unable to work (legitimately) but his Dad is absolutely minted and he was the one to leave. So, partnered with the fact his Dad is minted anyway, he also feels extremely guilty so my mate gets LOADS of money anyway!

It also presumes that because your parents earn more you get more spent on you...

It doesn't take into account number of children, whether this is a new job and you were unemployed previously, or whether you are supporting you kids living in other houses. There are SO many discrepancies.

I personally am not eligible but recognize that some kids need this allowance to be able to go to college, but very few of those that get it actually need it. I do not know anyone who gets £30 spent on them per week for education by their parents...it's ridiculous! Why are these kids the only ones that get the bonuses for working hard?

It's a stupid system which is unbelievably unfair.

100% not really relevant and you are just jealous becuase you don't get it.
Yes all of that maybe true but the people that go to college becuase of the EMA system that wouldn't go if it wasn't there will end up paying more tax as they will get a better job than cleaning a toilet.
All comes down to tax. EMA gets some kids into school. It is an incentive, and it works. I bet your 'mate' wouldn't have gone other wise.



Also corrected your spelling for you.

 

[SeagullEd]

I agree that it is unfair as last year I could not claim it because my mums boyfriend was living with us, and I got nothing from him neither did I get anything from my Dad as he is a stingy bastard and lives in France. It is a very good idea but perhaps some aspects of it could do with some tweaking.

And the comment about the one day course, I believe it has to be a full-time course for you to be able to claim it.

I think that's about my comment?

No, it's a course before college starts which is about careers, if you go to that you get £30 a week regardless (as lnog as you qualified for AN amount in the first place)

You have to be at college 12 hours a week I believe.

Yeah, I am jealous because I get no more money off my parents then the majority of them do from theres but difference is I have to work 6 hours a week to get the same money.

He would have gone otherwise most definitly. And is it actually a good thing if they wouldn't have?

College's run lots of useless courses and some of my brothers mates just went to college for EMA for 2 years and did crap so it meant nothing.

Yes, some sort of system is needed, but this one is ridiculous.

 

[Walkers Cajun Squirrel]

He would have gone otherwise most definitely. And is it actually a good thing if they wouldn't have?

College's run lots of useless courses and some of my brothers mates just went to college for EMA for 2 years and did crap so it meant nothing.

Yes, some sort of system is needed, but this one is ridiculous.

First bit:
no it is not a good thing if they don't.
If they don't the the government gets less tax as most businesses wouldn't touch them to do any decent work
With out college you will be stuck in a shit job for most of your life.

Second bit:
No course at college is useless as jobs don't no you only went for the EMA, as I said before with out college jobs would touch you.


Again corrected your spelling for you.

 

[timbha]

too many people are fiddling EMA, in particular single parent families where child lives with mum and gets EMA because mum doesn't earn enough - BUT maintenance is excluded from mum's earnings AND dad gives child pocket money. My friend's son aged 17 uses his EMA to pay for the petrol for his new car, another only stayed on for his EMA - his dad is self employed and only declares about half of his income.

EMA -good intentions, widespread abuse

 

[Billy the Fish]

Travel (my friend pays over £20 a week), lunch(?), Paper, pens (which cost about £2 each).

I have spent almost £40 in 3 weeks on college and I don't have pay for any travel.

Tough shit mate, I had to work at sainsburys 4 nights a week to pay for the train and all my books. There was no such thing as a bribe to go to sixth form when I went.
If kids don't need to get part time jobs these days, how are they going to get references when they apply for a proper job?
I'd say bumming around without a job will make people less employable, no matter how many As levels they've got.

 

[itszamora]

Until very recently I was a student and I think EMA is a stupid idea. It's a bribe by the government to get people through college (where you DON'T need to buy books or anything - heard of a library? I got through uni without buying a single book!) so that then they'll go to some shitty polytechnic, get a student loan and start making the government money on the interest from that.

 

[SeagullEd]

First bit:
no it is not a good thing if they don't.
If they don't the the government gets less tax as most businesses wouldn't touch them to do any decent work
With out college you will be stuck in a shit job for most of your life.

Second bit:
No course at college is useless as jobs don't no you only went for the EMA, as I said before with out college jobs would touch you.


Again corrected your spelling for you.

Firstly, some of that is very untrue. The friend of my Brothers I was referrring to who just went for EMA, got I think E, D, U or something similar because he shouldn't have been at college. He then went into a job at the same level as those who had left after GCSe's

Perhaps employers expectations have only risen because more and more and more people are going to college and then on to UNI. We can see that now 45% of each year go to UNi, compared with 10 % not too long ago. This, as has been discussed previously, has led to Degree being devalued and people getting themselves into un-necessary debt.

More people going to college encourages this - colleges are constantly on to students to go to UNi because it makes them look better - many colleges now publish some sort of document about how many went to uni etc.

Do you not agree though that EMA is fundementally flawed and unfair? Because for many it doesn't mean that they CAN now go to college, it jsut means it's a hell of a lot easier.

Also, why are you correcting my spelling? You're clearly not doing it because it bothers you or you wouldn't shout about it... if you're resorting to that petty one-up-manship then it says a lot about your argument.

 

[Cian]

Russ getting £30 a week (term time only) EMA doesn't cover the £900 a year I had to fork out for 5 years for bus transport costs to send him to secondary school. The allowance is means tested and is an incentive not to drop out of the system. Basically no-one will give you a job nowadays unless you are over 18 so it is an alternative to being on the dole.

Have times changed that hugely in four years? I had no problems getting a job when I was 17.

I have got them pens for 30p and they broke after about 3 days. (all 10 of them). Useless things.

£30 is maybe a bit much but in the end the government makes it back. An employer for a high/medium payed job wouldn't touch someone who hasn't been to college.


You need to offer these people an incentive. Because if we are honest cost people that are on EMA don't want to be at college. (that is my experience of the people I know)

Are you using 'college' to mean the final years of secondary school (AS levels) or actual college here? Nearly all of my colleagues haven't been to actual college (although all have the equivalent of AS levels) and this is a high paying job by UK standards.

 

[Walkers Cajun Squirrel]

Firstly, some of that is very untrue. The friend of my Brothers I was referring to who just went for EMA, got I think E, D, U or something similar because he shouldn't have been at college. He then went into a job at the same level as those who had left after GCSE's

Perhaps employers expectations have only risen because more and more and more people are going to college and then on to UNI. We can see that now 45% of each year go to Uni, compared with 10 % not too long ago. This, as has been discussed previously, has led to Degree being devalued and people getting themselves into unnecessary debt.

More people going to college encourages this - colleges are constantly on to students to go to UNi because it makes them look better - many colleges now publish some sort of document about how many went to uni etc.

Do you not agree though that EMA is fundamentally flawed and unfair? Because for many it doesn't mean that they CAN now go to college, it just means it's a hell of a lot easier.

Also, why are you correcting my spelling? You're clearly not doing it because it bothers you or you wouldn't shout about it... if you're resorting to that petty one-up-manship then it says a lot about your argument.

Yes some people go to college and f*** about. But some people go and once there think that they should work hard. These 'brothers mates' were stupid but employers will look at the fact they went and 'tried'. What would these 'jobs at the same level as those who had left after GCSE's' be??


And yes MYOB I mean getting an as/a level. Which most people get from college

 

[Cian]

The term "college" to mean secondary school seems to be entirely unique to the UK...