Bio
Details: 22 from Belfast, with Syrian parents
Imperial Course: BSc Biological Sciences
Optional Modules: Imperial Award
Job: Bike courier
Tags: Home, UG, FoNS, DoLS, Muslim
Motivations and Frustrations
Motivations
Karl is studying Biosciences because he wants to specialise in Stem Cells in the future. He has a cousin with Downs Syndrome with whom he spends a lot of time, and this has a strong influence on his choice of study. He was raised to be ‘European’ but feels strong links to Syria and wants to explore that through the Imperial Award. He is also a practicing Muslim and regularly attends mosque.
Frustrations
He feels he needs to take all the opportunities he can to support his family in the future. His family do not have a lot of money to support him, so he works as a bike courier to pay for his studies.
Karl's Stories
Despite working as much as he can Karl is still worried about money. He decides to go to the Student Hub to ask for Advice.
They look through the fees and funding webpages with him and the Student funding and Sharia law pages highlight some areas which might be useful. Karl already has a Sharia compliant bank account and has investigated some of the other loan options but he doesn’t think he would be eligible. The Hub advisors recommend that he investigate the Imperial Bursary. The first thing he must do is apply for the means-tested government loan through Student Finance Northern Ireland. This is to enable the Student Loan Company to assess household income to determine the payments that a student is eligible for. Completing the application does not oblige the student to take out the loan.
Karl has good actions from his meeting with the Hub and will direct any follow-up questions to the Student Funding team.
As a practicing Muslim Karl does not have a UK Government Student Loan as the interest on the repayments makes the loans Sharia non-compliant. Find out more about Student Finances for the Muslim community from Karl.