Student loan descisions

Associate
Joined
8 Jan 2005
Posts
975
Location
Macclesfield
Well ive had my student loan slip through the post and theyre giving me a £3500 loan and a £1600 grant.

So basicly after the 3 years ill have to pay back £10,000. Ill be living at home and IF i take the loan my mum wants £40 a week rent. Which will leave me £240 extra a month for petrol and such. I work part time at morrisons which fetches around £250 a month.

My question is should i keep the loan or cancel it :( Itd be nice but £10,000 is a lot to pay back

what would you do?
 
Suspended
Joined
30 Aug 2004
Posts
9,206
keep the loan, move out of your house and pay about £10 or so more for your own place. this way everyone is in the same boat (who you live with) i'll have borrowed 16k after next year but its WELL worth it. best 3 years of my life so far.
bar to all those that choose to stay at home and go to uni. might aswell stay on at school for another 4 years!
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
8,444
Location
Leamington Spa
I say take it, doesn't mean you have to spend it. If you haven't had to spend it by the end of your course then you can just pay it back. (afaik interest is charged at the rate of inflation so there wouldn't be much interest to pay).
 
Associate
Joined
3 Nov 2004
Posts
631
Location
Back O'Bourke
Take the loan but tell your mum you cancelled it. Student loan rates are so low any half decent investment puts you ahead if you don't directly need the cash to live off

Don't feel guilty thinking you're being greedy. Just look at your mum demanding rent because you have a loan; a loan is not an income!
 
Soldato
Joined
15 Aug 2005
Posts
22,947
Location
Glasgow
Remember that the Student Loan is cheapest money you'll ever borrow in your life. The interest is low, and the amount you have to pay back each month is low. Only once you're earning (over £16,000 a year or something like that) will you have to start paying it back, and it won't make much of a dent.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Nov 2004
Posts
3,577
Location
Bournemouth
geeza said:
keep the loan, move out of your house and pay about £10 or so more for your own place.

Do that. Having your own place rocks, and if your mum wants £40 a week if you stay at home, you may aswell pay a bit more and leave :)
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Mar 2005
Posts
19,257
Location
LU7
Rain Man said:
hmmm i might look around. I do live reasonably close to uni though, just on the skirts of manchester so im not sure
Which Uni are you going to? I'm doing Computer Science at Salford.

As for when you get the money, I get mine in 3 blocks. One in September, another in January. These two are the same amount for me. And then one last one in April/May time I think.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
19 Jan 2003
Posts
12,645
Location
Warwickshire
Rain Man said:
i should read up on it more but im lazy. does anyone know if i get it in weekly or monthly payments? or anualy?

You should get it at the start of each term, so Autumn, Spring and Summer, probably equal amounts each time.

What I would suggest is take it, and as gurdas has said, stick it into an ISA or something similar that should earn you some good interest. That way, you don't have to spend it, but if for any reason you do need some money in the coming 3 years, you'll have a nice amount sitting there just in case.

Then at the end of the 3 years, if you've not spent it, you'll have a £10,000 sum of money that could help you finance a new car, put a deposit on a house or whatever you want, or, if you don't want it, just pay back to the student loan company and hope you have a little interest left over at the end.

I've been trying to do this, but I have spent around £600 of my loan this year, as I have not been working, and my savings from working in the summer were not quite enough to keep me going during the spring term. I've still got a good 90% of the loan saved so far, and if I do do a placement year, I can top that up a little more from earnings there.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
27 Sep 2004
Posts
25,821
Location
Glasgow
If I was you I'd be considering going into halls for first year at least, you are unlikely to be paying hugely more than you would for living at home(mine was around £42 per week but that is Dundee I suppose) and it is a good way to make friends relatively easily as everyone is in the same boat.

If you want you can then move back home at the end of your first year and save/spend the rest of the money how you choose. I will warn you though having moved out you might find moving back home rather restricting.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Feb 2003
Posts
3,263
Location
Stafford (uni)
geeza said:
keep the loan, move out of your house and pay about £10 or so more for your own place.

£50 a week for your own place, bit cheap isn't it? It's an average of £60/ week plus bills in my university area.

Do you live very far north or something?

£1600 is a big grant, are your tuition fees £1600? Are you paying top up fees? (ie first year student).
 
Last edited:
Suspended
Joined
30 Aug 2004
Posts
9,206
Saberu said:
£50 a week for your own place, bit cheap isn't it? It's an average of £60/ week plus bills in my university area.

Do you live very far north or something?

£1600 is a big grant, are your tuition fees £1600? Are you paying top up fees? (ie first year student).

No just leeds. in headingley its more like 58ppw average. some places can be had for about 46 though. in hyde park its a lot cheaper though, some being around 37ppw.

Yes there bills but there all shared with the people you live with. living on your own is much better, its not really the freedom, more the looking after yourself and sorting things out like bills, food and if any situation should arrise. I had freedom at home but it just wasnt the same
 
Back
Top Bottom