SOCIAL media advisors are supporting students across the country during their Student Money Week as they aim to answer finance queries from parents and young adults.

The social team is set to run a series of live Q&A sessions aimed at helping students and their parents with their finance queries.

They will be working with partners including UCAS, the National Association of Student Money Matters and The NHS Business Services Authority to host the week-long online event.

Derek Ross, executive director of operations at the Student Loans Company said: “This is the first online event that our Darlington social media team has been involved in since the team was established in June last year.

“The team has a wealth of knowledge from working as student finance customer advisors and as part of our processing teams.

"They have been able to transfer this knowledge to our social media team, developing their skills and widening their experience.

“They’re now supporting students and working with stakeholders during our Student Money Week event to help students understand the finance journey, from application through to repayment, ahead of the applications for 2019/20 student finance opening in the coming weeks.”

This year’s theme focusses on helping students get ready for each stage of the student finance journey from application through to repayment.

There will be tips on budgeting and what to expect from student life, as well as information on how to make the most of the various sources of help available.

Parents and partners are also being encouraged to get involved and find out how they can support their child or their partner’s application and make sure they get all the finance they are entitled to.

Social media manager Olivia Thomson said: “We know that social media is where many students go to get their news and advice so it is fantastic to be able to guide students through the application process using channels such as Facebook and Twitter.

“Since launching in June, we’ve answered thousands of social media queries and even accept private messages so we can help give tailored advice when needed.

“The team is really excited to work on Student Money Week as it gives us a chance to spread the word on student finance and guide students through everything they need to know and helping them prepare their finances before starting university."

The themes for each day are:

· Monday – Student finance explained and what to expect from student

life

· Tuesday – Applying for finance: getting it right first time and

everything parents need to know

· Wednesday – Budgeting and how to make your money go further

· Thursday – Extra help: targeted support

· Friday – Repayment