A YOUNG couple who were on the brink of quitting their university courses after running out of money due to this year’s student loan fiasco have thanked The Press for helping to resolve the problem.

When Kirsten Smith, 20, and her partner, Jamie Frost, 21, had still not received their full student loan ten weeks after term started at York St John University, they turned to The Press for help.

The Student Loans Company has been hit by delays since it took over the job of processing applications from local authorities for the first time this year. The change coincided with an unprecedented rise in applications for loans, fuelled by higher student numbers and the recession.

The couple, who have a two-year-old daughter, Amelia, had only received £1,000 each – barely enough to pay the rent on their home in Easingwold.

Kirsten, who has started a three-year primary teaching degree, said the couple should also have received a £3,000 specialist support grant each and a £1,000 parent learning allowance each, as well as having 85 per cent of their childcare paid for.

Hours after The Press contacted the Student Loans Company, Kirsten said she received an email from the firm stating the problem had been resolved and they would soon be receiving the full funding they were owed.

“It’s such a relief,” she said. “I’m very thankful because otherwise we would still be waiting. The power of the media is unbelievable – I couldn’t believe it when I got the email.

“It’s a massive stress lifted off me. It has been awful. We’ve only just had enough money to cover our rent, never mind all the other expenses.

“The house has been absolutely freezing because we couldn’t afford to put the heating on and we are well into our overdraft. If the problem hadn’t been sorted, we were going to have to leave university – it’s just been so stressful.”

Kirsten, whose partner Jamie is in the third year of a business management and psychology degree, said they had not even been able to pay Amelia’s playgroup in Huby.

“We are trying to better ourselves by getting an education so we can get a good job and pay our taxes, but we just feel like we have been penalised,” she said.

A spokesman for the Student Loans Company said: “We apologise that Jamie and Kirsten have experienced difficulty with their funding this year and are glad that this has now been resolved.

“Both will now receive their full funding. The majority of students have now received their full entitlement and we are working very hard to ensure that the remaining applicants receive their funding as soon as possible.”