Student Loans

[DJ B4VVY]

Snake gave me an idea when we were in chat, he was talking about uni and since I work in Student Finance, I can advise you people if you want to know anything about student loans! If you have anything to ask about student loans, ask me in this thread

I'm just going to copy and paste some useful information, if you want me to explain, just ask...



Student Loans

Loans are available to help with your living costs, e.g. course materials, accommodation, food, clothes, travel etc. Interest is charged at the rate of inflation, so the amount you repay will be equal in value to the amount you borrow.
Can I apply for a loan?
If you are on a full-time, sandwich or part-time initial teacher training course, you are eligible to apply for a loan. If you have previously studied in Higher Education, your Local Authority will tell you if you are eligible to apply for a loan again. To receive a student loan you must be aged under 60.
How will my loan be paid?
Your loan is usually paid in three instalments, one at the start of each term, directly into your bank account. Student Finance Direct will issue a payment schedule letter to you which will explain what amounts will be paid and when.
How much can I Borrow?
This will depend upon your household income and where you live whilst you study. The amounts you can borrow in 2006/07 are shown in the table below. Of this loan entitlement, 75% is non income-assessed, while 25% is income-assessed. This means that a proportion of the loan paid to you will be dependent upon your household income.

Your ‘household income’ means either:
1. Your income if you are an independent student, i.e.
- You are over 25 when you commence your studies OR
- You have been married or entered into a civil partnership before you start your course (your Local Authority (LA) may ask for proof of this) OR
- You have supported yourself financially for at least three years before you start your course OR
- You have no living parents.
From September 2006, any full-time student who has care of a child or children on the first day of the academic year for which they are applying for support will be treated as an independent student for the purposes of the household income assessment.
If you identify yourself as an independent student and are married or living with a partner (of either sex), their income will also be taken into account.
OR
2. Your parents’ income if you are a dependent student (i.e. you live in your parental home and / or rely on at least one of your parents for financial support). For example, if you live with both parents, both their incomes will be taken into account. If you live with only one of your parents, it will be their income only that is taken into account. If they live with a spouse or partner (of either sex), this person’s income will also be taken into account.

If your parents or partner do not provide details of their income to your Local Authority, you will not receive all the financial support to which you are entitled.
Loan Rates for Academic Year 2006/07

Loan ratesMaximum availableStudents living away from parents' home and studying in:London£6170Elsewhere£4405Students living at their parents' home:London or elsewhere£3415Loan Rates are slightly higher for students living in London (and not in their parental home) to accommodate the higher cost of living there. Your Local Authority (LA) will decide whether you will be entitled to the London loan rates on the basis of the post code of your place of study. If you are unsure whether you come into this category, your LA will be able to advise you.
Help towards your tuition fees

Variable Tuition Fees and Tuition Fee Loans
From September 2006, universities and colleges offering HE courses in England will be allowed to vary the amount of fees they charge new students. Institutions will be able to charge between zero and £3,000 per year. You will not be required to pay fees before you start your course or while you are studying, although you can do so if you wish.
You can apply for the new Student Loan for Fees to cover the cost of these fees. This will give you the advantage of not having to find this money from elsewhere, and we will pay the fees directly to your institution. You then repay the fee loan in the same way as your other student loan – only once you have finished studying and are earning over the repayment threshold of £15,000 per year.

[DJ B4VVY]

Loan Rates for Academic Year 2006/07

Loan rates
Maximum available
Students living away from parents' home and studying in:

London £6170
Elsewhere £4405

Students living at their parents' home:
London or elsewhere £3415

[DJ B4VVY]

Grants and other assistance

Maintenance grant
From 2006, new full-time students from lower income households will be eligible to receive a new (non-repayable) Maintenance Grant which is worth up to £2,700 a year. The actual amount you will be entitled to receive will depend upon your household income.

• Household residual income of less than £17,500: student receives full grant
• Household residual income of £17,501 - £37,425: student receives part of the grant
• Household residual income of more than £37,426: student receives no grant

This grant will be paid in three instalments, one at the start of each term, just like your student loan.
Special Support Grant
A new Special Support Grant is being introduced for new students who start their course in September 2006 and who are eligible to receive Income Support and other means-tested benefits such as Housing Benefit. It will cover additional course costs such as books, equipment, travel or childcare that result from attending your course. The amount of support, the income assessment arrangements and the payment arrangements are the same as for the new Maintenance Grant. New students who are receiving the Maintenance Grant, existing students and gap year students will not be entitled to receive a Special Support Grant.
Bursaries and other help from your university or college
Universities and colleges wishing to charge more than £2,700 a year for a course will be required to provide additional non-repayable financial support, such as bursaries, to students on these courses who are receiving the full £2,700 maintenance grant.
What this means is that students who receive the full maintenance grant and are being charged the maximum fee of £3,000 a year will receive at least £300 a year in additional financial support from their university or college. This may take the form of a bursary or some other type of financial help. The type and amount of financial help will depend on the university or college concerned.
Some students may be entitled to more than this and you should therefore speak to the university or college that you wish to attend.


Part-time students

Fee Grant
In 2006/07 this grant will be up to £1125. Students must be studying at a rate of 50% or more of a full-time equivalent course, and the amount of support that you could receive is linked to the intensity of your study. You will not have to repay this grant, and the amount you get is based on your household income.
Help with course costs
A grant of up to £250 is available, to help meet the cost of books, travel and course expenditure. You will not have to repay this grant, and the amount you get is based on your household income.

[DJ B4VVY]

Additional information

Postgraduate students
In general, there is no mandatory support for postgraduate study centrally funded by the DfES for students in England; an exception to this are PGCE studies for those wishing to become teachers.
Further details can be found here
Open University students
The Open University deals with applications for the fee grant, the course grant and Disabled Students Allowance from its own students. If you are studying with the Open University (OU) and you need any information, you should contact them on 01908 653411, or e-mail them at reg-fees@open.ac.uk for more details. If you are a disabled student studying at the Open University, you should contact your OU regional centre and ask about the conditions of eligibility for Disabled Students Allowances and how you should apply for them.

[Kayz]

i got a question...., i never got my grant?? thats the money you get that you dont owe back right?

[DJ B4VVY]

Yea but it's new for this A/Y only, how many years of previous study have you had?

[Kayz]

Yea but it's new for this A/Y only, how many years of previous study have you had?

AY? im going into my second year this year....

[*S*A*N*D*Y*]

^^ M L BAV 187, A very sneaky way......
....for you to advertise your Financial service on this forum, to more potential customers

[Iroquois Pliskin]

Good idea..

[DJ B4VVY]

AY? im going into my second year this year....

A/Y = Academic Year

ONLY students starting their course in 2006/07 are eligible for the maintenance grant

[DJ B4VVY]

^^ M L BAV 187, A very sneaky way......
....for you to advertise your Financial service on this forum, to more potential customers

Nah nah it's not advertising, I'm offering free advice!

[vertigo]

thanks for that

that was very usefull

[Kayz]

A/Y = Academic Year

ONLY students starting their course in 2006/07 are eligible for the maintenance grant

wtf........! I swear this woman said to me at LEa that i will get a grant but i havent received nowt...

[Forgived.]

If I was u...I wudnt take no student loan .. I took some out in my final year...I dont have to pay it back till Im in a job that pays over 15,000 per annum...till I get that job...they gna add on intrest...and by the time I have to pay my loan back its gna be double I didnt even need it....Im so stuuupiddd

[Kayz]

hmmm i always tell people.... dont get a loan if u dont need it! I didnt need it so i didnt get it. But i know u'd get a job very soon BabyAsh!
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Work for me!