Student Loans

[bad_boy_racer]

If I got one, never used the money (just for arguments sake) and it went into a bank account - at the end of the 3/4 years - would I just be able to give them the money back and it not cost me anything? Or whatever I didn't use, that was left over in a bank account could just be paid back upon course completion?
I'm filling out my form now - its gotta be in... erm today actually!
Cheers,
Matt

*must... resist... urge... to... spend... on... car...*

 

[The Negotiator]

Yep you can do exactly that, more wealthy students do that. Find the highest interest savings account (without a huge time delay to get at your money incase bad things happen) and save it.

Interest rate is linked to inflation, not commerical rates hence you will make money in real terms.

 

[dave]

when its in bank you will spend it

 

[MintySport]

Bein in that situation b4 its bit complicated, if u thinking of student loans co they can be persuaded cus they want u to pay back bit by bit so they can add on interest (which will acrue over the 3/4 years ) In reality, if u not used the money at all, when ur course over u can just tell them u wanna pay it off in one. They have to accept!!!

I know, i been there few months ago!

 

[Dr_Pepper]

Same here that's exactly what I'm doing right now. And it's not just rich students who do it I don't get any help from my parents or anybody else and still (just) make ends meet without taking out the loan.

At the end I can either pay back the loan instantly and pay nothing (I've already gained a lot in interest) or use some of it to say get a car and use it as a cheap loan for that. It is a cheap loan I think the intrest rate is fixed to inflation only, or is it slightly higher now I'm not sure?

 

[The Negotiator]

It's the old government use on figure for inflation for one thing and another inflation for another thing. Always seems to be that they use the one which helps them

 

[bad_boy_racer]

Yep you can do exactly that, more wealthy students do that. Find the highest interest savings account (without a huge time delay to get at your money incase bad things happen) and save it.

Interest rate is linked to inflation, not commerical rates hence you will make money in real terms.

Sweeeeeeeeeet - Cheers for the replies people!
So that's why my granparents hooked me up with a really HIGH intrest savings account for my 18th - dubbed my "Uni Account" hehehe
I should imagine I shall take one out, but do my best not to spend it - have it as some kind of saftey net incase things go tits up.

 

[GeX]

I am kinda worried that my new finace forms ain't come through yet. Has everyone else who is re-applying gotten theirs yet? I need my student loan to insure my car with and to pay for mods etc.

 

[The Negotiator]

Yes, but I am not income assessed but would expect if you were you would get them even sooner. I hope my parents sent them off (cheeky me wouldn't buy the stamp so left it with them to send ) Being non-income assessed meant that the reapplication form took about 30 seconds to fill in

 

[Dr_Pepper]

It wasn't worth applying for income assessed for me because my folks earn way to much. Which is ironic since they said from the start they would only help out if I needed the money, which I don't.

Whatever you do, don't not take it out!

 

[The Negotiator]

I still don't understand how you afford it Richard (I don't think you have a term time job?). Living is say between 5k and 7.5k (UCAS state £7k didn't we find out before but you said you didn't spend this much, but you do have a car!) so you have to work the summer (3 months), christmas and easter (approx 1.5 months working time?) = 4.5 months, weekly earnings up to £200, 18 weeks working assuming no holiday at circa £200/week after NI, = 18 *200 = £3600). I couldn't live off that, my SC accomm. this year was £3.1k or there abouts on it's own! Car insurance £760, oh dear

 

[bad_boy_racer]

Woah! Working out menace!!

 

[James M]

Best thing to do, get it, save it, then when you graduate use it as a deposit as a house, then it will be well worth the payments which are taken off before tax

£7.5k per year? I must be doing something wrong then, and I live at home

 

[gaz.d]

i have spent all my student loan, im down to the last 1k of 13k

the paying back figure will be somewhere around 15k though, plus the intrest that goes on for however long i pay it back for

 

[Dr_Pepper]

I still don't understand how you afford it Richard

I'm sure I've been through this before?! Well, you asked for it...

£1125 Tuition fees to university.
£1800 House (£50/week including all bills, plus TV phone internet etc)

Worked in the summer, 15 weeks 40 hours a week at £5.50/hour. That's £3300, and I did shedloads of overtime, extra days etc at double time, in total I made nearly £4500

That leaves me over £1500 for everything else including food, in total I spend just over that, and the shortfall of perhaps a few hundred is made up by the money I saved when I worked in a supermarket prior to going to uni. I also half own the punto, which means I pay half the tax, about £50. Aside from that the insurance is about £110 (as a named driver), and there are no maintainance fees because it's not old enough for an MOT and not done enough miles for a service. I pay for the petrol I use (plus all the petrol me mother uses actually), but it's not much because it hardly ever gets used, and I don't bring it to uni.

I'm sure I've written out the full details somewhere else, but I can't find them. Does that all make sense?

 

[phil_harry]

I'm in debt about 13K ish (don't really know exact figure). Personally im glad i spent it all, i would have been doing something wrong if i hadn't

You could quite feasibly live a small amount of money whilst at uni, but i spent all mine on my car and beer.

Phil

 

[The Negotiator]

How come you only pay so few weeks for the house?! Everybody else and everywhere else that I know you either pay July 1st-July 1st, get august free or pay half for july/august. I.e. 48 weeks. You obviously have it lucky, especially with bills included.

 

[arseofbox]

I am kinda worried that my new finace forms ain't come through yet. Has everyone else who is re-applying gotten theirs yet? I need my student loan to insure my car with and to pay for mods etc.

Yeah. mine came through about a month ago...its changed, again!

Its now a "tick this box if your circumstances are unchanged" type of affair with a check box and space for sig, date and amount of loan wanted...made the whole badger a lot easier

 

[Dr_Pepper]

How come you only pay so few weeks for the house?! Everybody else and everywhere else that I know you either pay July 1st-July 1st, get august free or pay half for july/august. I.e. 48 weeks. You obviously have it lucky, especially with bills included.

It's nine months. October - June. That's all I need because that covers the uni year. I know a lot of the big companies (including the uni accommodation service) charge for all year but a lot of private landlords don't. So find yourself a good 'un.

The house is cheaper/week than many because it is a half hour walk from campus, something which doesn't bother mee, so I save the cash.

 

[The Negotiator]

No private landlord will charge you for less than 48 weeks in Manchester, well, if they do, it's very VERY rare. Some will charge you half as I have said for 2 months if you don't live there, some will charge half regardless of whether you live there. The big company I am with (like a halls of res) charge for 42 weeks on my contract so it's affordable.