Hi, I know this isn't particularly to do with Sheffield but i thought it was the best forum to use. I am applying for a student loan for this next year an i was wondering how much i might be likely to get. I know it very much depends on your parents income and other things but i really need just an idea. On the form i have stated that i will be living away from home, which should give me more money. Does anyone have any ideas on approx how much i might get. Thanks

Originally posted by ukstudent
Hi, I know this isn't particularly to do with Sheffield but i thought it was the best forum to use. I am applying for a student loan for this next year an i was wondering how much i might be likely to get. I know it very much depends on your parents income and other things but i really need just an idea. On the form i have stated that i will be living away from home, which should give me more money. Does anyone have any ideas on approx how much i might get. Thanks

Here is a student loans calculator which should tell you how much you would get. Its dependent on many factors including parents' income, whether both parents are living at home etc. so its best you put all your information in and get an answer than people give you lots of approximate figures

Student Loan Calculator (http://www.studentsupportdirect.co.uk/portal/page?_pageid=34,327895&_dad=portal&_schema=PROTOCOL)

Originally posted by ukstudent
Hi, I know this isn't particularly to do with Sheffield but i thought it was the best forum to use. I am applying for a student loan for this next year an i was wondering how much i might be likely to get. I know it very much depends on your parents income and other things but i really need just an idea. On the form i have stated that i will be living away from home, which should give me more money. Does anyone have any ideas on approx how much i might get. Thanks As a student myself, I can only recommend that you beg your parents for money rather than applying for a student loan.
It'll be fine when youget drunk on taxpayer's money during your studies but I doubt you'll like it when you have to repay the K£10+ in a few years time.

My entire fmaily is paying for (thanks, thanks and thanks again) my studying (and rent) (I also have a FT job) and unlike my Uni mates, I'll get out of money with not a penny to owe. (I won't have a penny either but I'll be without debt).

Be very careful at what you're doing with 'em loans and the consequence.

I graduated 2 years ago. I'd have to agree with the last post that you avoid the student loan. My total loan came to about £9k for a 4 year course. What they don't tell you is that this rises by approx £20 per month with interest after graduation. And the monthly payments only just cover that!! All in all, I was paying £6 of the capital off per month through my wages at one point! It's going to take a hell of a long time to pay it all back!!!!

At least they discount it when you apply for a mortgage!

i totally disagree with student loans however i also disagree ('cos i'm skint) that parents should support thier children through uni.
how many parents would pay an employer to give their child a job?
i pay tuition fees for my daughter,plus car tax,insurance,food clothing etc.the student loan however will remove any of her main stream debt for a low interest rate debt,which god willing will be easily repaid when she starts to earn in excess of £15k.

I only got the minimum loan because my parents 'could afford' to put me through university apparently. Not everyone has parents that can afford to fully support them through University, especially when you have siblings a few years younger who will also be going. My parents did pay my rent and my fees which I am more than grateful for but I still feel more indebted to them than to the SLC. I still had to take a part time job on top of my loan and the help from my parents, and still came out with a hefty overdraft etc.

I started uni, but left partly because of the debt I'd get into. I currently owe about £4k, hopefully going to pay that off this year.

I hope to start studying part-time in the next few years.

I would recommend taking all the loan you can when at Uni. I managed to save most of mine and now it is sat in an ISA earning more interest than it is costing. Then when I move house I can use it as a deposit and get a smaller mortgage and save even more money!

I took up the student loan when studying a couple of years ago to avoid having to take a part time job, so I could concentrate on my study, rather than on making ends meet. The loan did not entirely cover my financial needs, but I was lucky enough to get family support for the rest.

Although at the end of my course I did owe some money, the student loan is a fantastically good loan, and one you won't get anywhere else!

The less you have the more you get (the oposite of typical loans)

When you graduate you don't have to pay anything back for the first 9 months or so, to give you time to 'get on your feet'

You only pay back when you are earning - no wages, no repayments.

The interest is linked to inflation, so you only pay back in real terms what you borrowed. They have to add inflation as in effect you would actually pay back less than you borrowed.

You pay back in relation to what you are earning - the more you earn the more you pay back.

If you haven't earnt enough money to pay back the loan by retirement age (I believe it is retirement age anyway) whatever is left of your loan is cancelled. Of course, being a graduate you should be earning more, so that shouldn't happen :)

All in all it's a pretty good deal, and certainly better than running up bank loans or credit card debt!

Originally posted by sniperwookie
I took up the student loan when studying a couple of years ago to avoid having to take a part time job, so I could concentrate on my study, rather than on making ends meet. The loan did not entirely cover my financial needs, but I was lucky enough to get family support for the rest.

Although at the end of my course I did owe some money, the student loan is a fantastically good loan, and one you won't get anywhere else!

The less you have the more you get (the oposite of typical loans)

When you graduate you don't have to pay anything back for the first 9 months or so, to give you time to 'get on your feet'

You only pay back when you are earning - no wages, no repayments.

The interest is linked to inflation, so you only pay back in real terms what you borrowed. They have to add inflation as in effect you would actually pay back less than you borrowed.

You pay back in relation to what you are earning - the more you earn the more you pay back.

If you haven't earnt enough money to pay back the loan by retirement age (I believe it is retirement age anyway) whatever is left of your loan is cancelled. Of course, being a graduate you should be earning more, so that shouldn't happen :)

All in all it's a pretty good deal, and certainly better than running up bank loans or credit card debt!

You need to live in the real world and not believe the blurb the booklet gives you :roll:

Originally posted by antics
You need to live in the real world and not believe the blurb the booklet gives you :roll:

I do live in the real world. As I stated in my previous post, I had a student loan. Why the flippant comments?

its 'cos they don't agree with u.

Originally posted by willman
its 'cos they don't agree with u.

I would have thought a reasoned and logical argument would have shown they disagreed with me.

Originally posted by sniperwookie
I would have thought a reasoned and logical argument would have shown they disagreed with me.

That rule doesn't apply on this forum!

I can understand why some people are saying "don't touch the loans with a barge pole"... But for some of us, its not an option.

In my circumstances, It would be very difficult for my parents to send me to university. I'd have to live at home and commute into town etc... Plus I'd have to depend on them for food/clothes/paying the bills that I run up etc... But lets face it, what kind of experience would that be? Am I not going to uni to get my education aswell as my independence?

I think it'd be a great shame for an aspiring solicitor to have to put my dreams aside because I can't depend on my parents to pay for me to get the qualifications I require. Thats just ridiculous. Fair enough I'll run up a load of debt, but its nothing in comparison to a credit card debt for instance, and it will be gone in a flash once I start on the kind of pay that it seems only graduates are open to.

I got around £1500 a year which is, I believe, the minimum possible amount you can get (lucky me!)

I live away from home and last year I got £3070.43 as my loan. That was the minimum amount as my parents are classed as "high earners". This will increase in line with inflation to £3145.00 this year and fees increase to £1175.

It is an unfair system however as my accommodation costs for the year were £2890 and my fee's were £1100 (you do the maths!!). Some of my friends however got maximum loan (around £4500), as well as a grant of £1000, and did not pay their fees. All because their parents had split up. It is a very unfair and biased system as many of my "divorced" friends received financial help from both parents, whereas I received none at all and had to work nearly full time last year (did nights in a nightclub - 5 a week from 8pm until 4am) to make ends meet. My work suffered and I left in April but I'm really struggling for money - I have maxxed my overdraft and I have £400 on a credit card.

The time I've had at uni has been worth it all though, it'd just have been better if the system was fairer

Originally posted by looby_hitch
I graduated 2 years ago. I'd have to agree with the last post that you avoid the student loan. My total loan came to about £9k for a 4 year course. What they don't tell you is that this rises by approx £20 per month with interest after graduation. And the monthly payments only just cover that!! All in all, I was paying £6 of the capital off per month through my wages at one point! It's going to take a hell of a long time to pay it all back!!!!

At least they discount it when you apply for a mortgage!

they do tell you, if you bother to read any of the documentation. And you can pay it back faster than the minimum rate if you wish. It's not some sort of credit scam, you get an extremely good deal.

Originally posted by sheff_minx
I live away from home and last year I got £3070.43 as my loan. That was the minimum amount as my parents are classed as "high earners". This will increase in line with inflation to £3145.00 this year and fees increase to £1175.

It is an unfair system however as my accommodation costs for the year were £2890 and my fee's were £1100 (you do the maths!!). Some of my friends however got maximum loan (around £4500), as well as a grant of £1000, and did not pay their fees. All because their parents had split up. It is a very unfair and biased system as many of my "divorced" friends received financial help from both parents, whereas I received none at all and had to work nearly full time last year (did nights in a nightclub - 5 a week from 8pm until 4am) to make ends meet. My work suffered and I left in April but I'm really struggling for money - I have maxxed my overdraft and I have £400 on a credit card.

The time I've had at uni has been worth it all though, it'd just have been better if the system was fairer

What would you suggest to make it fair then? Is it the governments fault that your parents don't help you out?

Originally posted by Cyclone
What would you suggest to make it fair then? Is it the governments fault that your parents don't help you out?

No its not their fault, but they don't consider the fact that my mum and dad have two other siblings to support.

What I think is unfair is that I am penalised because my parents are still together - I know of no "divorced" child who received as little government help as I did, despite receiving more help from their parents as they have 2 seperate parents helping them. The means-test judges the income of the biological parent(s) that a child lives with, regardless of the incomes of step-parents etc. I can see why it's fair that step-parents are not financially responsible, but I think that a percentage of their income should be taken into account.

Either that, or only take the income of one parent in to account in everybody's case.

If i were you...i'd take the loan!!!
I get just under £4k a year...not really enough to live on.

They say the amount you get is dependant on what your parents earn...personally i think they either have done mine wrong for past 3 years or 4k is jus a round number t use! As my parents are extreamly well off!!

When u pay your loan back u only pay if u earn over like £15k a year an anyways its only like £20 a month t pay back or summut stupid.

Its the BEST loan you will EVER be offered... I'd take it an save or spend it.... chuck it in an ISA, or even better.... GO SHOPPING on it....
:thumbsup:

Originally posted by sheff_minx
No its not their fault, but they don't consider the fact that my mum and dad have two other siblings to support.

What I think is unfair is that I am penalised because my parents are still together - I know of no "divorced" child who received as little government help as I did, despite receiving more help from their parents as they have 2 seperate parents helping them. The means-test judges the income of the biological parent(s) that a child lives with, regardless of the incomes of step-parents etc. I can see why it's fair that step-parents are not financially responsible, but I think that a percentage of their income should be taken into account.

Either that, or only take the income of one parent in to account in everybody's case.

they do, unless it's changed. They certainly asked about number of dependants still in education when I had to apply.

Not all divorced families are the same. In some the estranged parent might still contribute, in others there will be no contact at all. Since the system can't check on every case it has to make the assumption that only the live with parent will be contributing.
On the other hand, it is reasonable to assume that non seperated parents will both contribute as they live in the same household.
It does mean that a few people who's parents have divorced but where both parents support them get a good deal, but that's just their good luck.

Hmmm I would agree, I know of someone who pretended that he never saw his dad anymore (his parents were divorced) so got maximum loan based on his mum's income, then lived on generous handouts from daddy. I admit my parents helped me out, but still I have about £8k of loan to pay back, max overdraft and credit card.

But anyways it's a good deal in terms of interest, as has been said, and I wouldn't have been able to afford to go to uni without it (am now a postgrad, with more debt still to do my current course), but I don't regret a penny spent on my education at all.

I'd go with the advice of taking the loan and putting it into an ISA if you don't need it.

Precisely, their good luck, and everybody else's tough luck!

They ask about dependant siblings, but the fact that I have a sister doing a foundation year, a sister in her first year at college and a sister in her first year of secondary school (ie. 4 children in the most expensive years of education) seemed to make no difference to the help we received and my parents have had to remortgage in order to support us all (ie. ensure we have enough money for food.)

I think that only one parent's income should be judged in every case - this would even out the system overall, although there will always be the "lucky" ones who benefit from the system. What I am objecting to is that I am penalised for having parents that are still together.

Originally posted by looby_hitch
At least they discount it when you apply for a mortgage!

What do you mean by this? If i understand correctly your mortgage advisor did not discount the repayments from your income??

There are a couple of lenders who do not use repayments as a commitment but the majority do. So you either got yourself a dodgy advisor or you have your mortgage with one of the few!

Originally posted by sheff_minx
Precisely, their good luck, and everybody else's tough luck!

They ask about dependant siblings, but the fact that I have a sister doing a foundation year, a sister in her first year at college and a sister in her first year of secondary school (ie. 4 children in the most expensive years of education) seemed to make no difference to the help we received and my parents have had to remortgage in order to support us all (ie. ensure we have enough money for food.)

I think that only one parent's income should be judged in every case - this would even out the system overall, although there will always be the "lucky" ones who benefit from the system. What I am objecting to is that I am penalised for having parents that are still together.

you must be a glass half empty person. I don't generally see someone else's good luck as my bad luck. Is it unfair when someone else wins the lottery, I don't go around moaning about it, it's their good luck, it doesn't make me worse off.
Maybe they didn't calculate your max loan correctly, you could always contact them and ask them to check.

It makes no sense to only consider 1 parents income, as the majority of people going to uni come from 2 parent backgrounds.
One solution might be to always consider both parents (even if divorced) unless the applicant can prove that they recieve not financial support from the estranged parent.
You aren't penalised, you just don't get an extra break.

Originally posted by Cyclone
you must be a glass half empty person.

Not usually - I must just be having a bad day :)


You aren't penalised, you just don't get an extra break.

I was penalised as I din't have enough money to live and therefore had to work nearly 40 hours a week on top of my studies in order to live. Thus my uni work and my health suffered.

I'm not ungreatful in any way - I am lucky to have been in a position to go to uni in such a great city studying my first choice course - I just feel I may have been slightly luckier had my parents divorced!

i'm currently £11,000 in debt after university and i had a part time job for the majority of it, i also worked full time during summers.

i need to go onto do the LPC so i can become a solicitor and with the £7k tuition fees on that which i'll have to borrow from the bank plus my living costs for that year, i expect i'll be approx £25k in debt by the time i'm done.

my parents did help me out when i was struggling but with three other children and a mortgage i couldn't rely on them on the time.

i think the system is quite fair and i'm grateful that going to university in this country is so cheap compared to say - USA. i will be taking a long time to pay it all back but i'll have a good job by the end of it (hopefully) and i had some of the best times of my life at uni.

no complaints from me !!

I cant complain either really. I easily managed a part time job along with uni and placement and got my 1500 a year loan. Yes i ended up thousands in debt but that was because i wasted it all on things i didnt really need. I think to be fair, a lot of students waste money on things they dont need. For me it was clothes and makeup, for other it will be meals out and drinking sessions.

Originally posted by sheff_minx
No its not their fault, but they don't consider the fact that my mum and dad have two other siblings to support.

What I think is unfair is that I am penalised because my parents are still together - I know of no "divorced" child who received as little government help as I did, despite receiving more help from their parents as they have 2 seperate parents helping them. The means-test judges the income of the biological parent(s) that a child lives with, regardless of the incomes of step-parents etc. I can see why it's fair that step-parents are not financially responsible, but I think that a percentage of their income should be taken into account.

Either that, or only take the income of one parent in to account in everybody's case.

I do agree with you. I found it really annoying that all students are not allowed the same loan. Out of my five best mates I'm the only one with parents that are still together and I was the only one expected to pay fees and living costs from a loan chq of £1300 (I was in the inbetween part before the loans changed)

I worked three jobs to make ends meet. This was very difficult on my unpaid placement year and I was constantly knackered. It's been worth it in the long run as I do get my loans paid off by the government but annoying also, when people who I work with get thiers paid off and also had more loan then me, spent it and get it paid off when I worked for three years.

If you can get a loan and not spend it, do it. It's your deposit for a house and much cheaper too!