New! Student Finance Calculator 2012

[MSE Dan]

Hi folks,

After a lot of work, we've built and now launched a calculator to help prospective new students in September 2012 work out the true cost of the borrowing they'll take out to go to uni.

We'd love your feedback on this - we are looking at adding a few more features once it has bedded in and more info is available from the Govt. Click this to give it a try...

Student repayment calculator 2012

Then click reply below to join the discussion.

Dan

[GeneHunt]

Imho that's Brilliant (at first glance anyway) I'm off to play with it.

[GeneHunt]

Had a "play" - yup that's brilliant

[setmefree2]

Fantastic Loan Calculator. A great tool for any student (and their parents ).

A Big Thank You MSE!

[MSE Dan]

Hi all,

If you are testing the tool, could you help us with a little bug test please. Do any users of Internet Explorer not see the black speedometer that appears at the top of the results column, once you have slid a few inputs?

If yes, if you can let us know the version of internet explorer that you are in, and any details, that would be brilliant

Thanks

Dan

[west_end_girl]

Hi - Yes it is fab!

I can see the speedometer fine - I'm on IE 7 (I know you asked if we cannot see!)

I like the added touch of the "after 30 yrs debt wipes" reminder.

[mummyplus3]

I can see the speedo on FF,

Great tool, I've just deferred my course untill next year to go onto the 4 degree progamme and am off to college in sept for the first time instead of doing a 5 year foundation degree as the new structure will work out better for me! Especially with the kids, as I am likely to continue with my setting up my own company I am able to set my own wages in the future

[luciandan]

It's a fun tool, and maybe good for mature students, but the idea that you can have the faintest notion what your salary growth will be when you're 18 and haven't even started in the graduate job market is a bit far fetched.

[GeneHunt]

Sorry Dan I use FF too so can't help you with the IE thingy.

[GeneHunt]

Originally Posted by luciandan

It's a fun tool, and maybe good for mature students, but the idea that you can have the faintest notion what your salary growth will be when you're 18 and haven't even started in the graduate job market is a bit far fetched.

Do you think? Some students know they want to be Doctors, Dentists, Lawyers, accountants, bankers, engineers, etc?

Anyway, even if they don't, at least the calculator helps fully inform them of the effect of higher earnings on student loan repayments, don't you think?

[Ex Connexions Adviser]

At last...a calculator giving students and their parents a realistic idea of the amount of debt they will have to take on.
While the government do not want anyone to be put off applying to university,they have effectively decimated the careers profession,so there are few or no impartial advisers to give this kind of vitally important advice and guidance in schools or colleges.
I would feel ethically challenged in this financial climate to be advising anyone about student loans and am glad I no longer work in this area ( having been unfairly dismissed...that's without redundancy pay from the contract provder).
Well done Martin's team for making this clear...of course this does not apply to the increasing number of overseas students who are able to pay the top rate of fee and are competing with our own, home grown talent,for a limited number of places.

[MSE Martin]

Originally Posted by luciandan

It's a fun tool, and maybe good for mature students, but the idea that you can have the faintest notion what your salary growth will be when you're 18 and haven't even started in the graduate job market is a bit far fetched.

We're aware of that - which is why we include average data for different professions in the ?

Plus thats why we went for a 'slider' not a calculator - so even if you dont know it shows the impact of higher salaries of lower salaries to give an understanding of the true cost.

[guidance]

As a careers advisor with a FE college, the calculator is excellent in showing how much will actually be paid over the 30 yr period, however students do not think about 30 years ahead, they consider the moment, so they would like to see what their monthly payments will be over average types of salary, using the sliding scale.

[MSE Dan]

Hi guidance,

That info is here in our '20 things to know about student loans' guide - hopefully people will use these in conjunction

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/fam...hanges?purge#7

Dan

[scammeister]

Hi.
I work in HE and am really impressed by your site and the calculator looks great.

I have, however done a couple of little tests and have come up with some strange outcomes:

For simplicity:

3 x year course. Student does not take out a tuition fee loan but takes out £1000 Maintenance Loan.
Put in starting salary of £60k – keep everything at default.

Student debt will be £3k + interest, but repayment calculator says £1200

Any idea why this is? Looks on the surface that the Maintenance Loan isn’t being multiplied by 3. If the same is done on the tuition fee loan the calculator displays £3300 – which is what I’d expect.

Guy

[MSE Dan]

Thanks scammeister - i'm looking into this now

[MSE Dan]

That's now fixed Guy - great spot, was a dodgy multiplier on some of the lower numbers - but larger results (ie, those on standard inputs) were unaffected

Can try it again now at: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/fam...lculator?purge

[scammeister]

No problem Dan.

Can see that is now fixed, although the figure is different to the figure generated if you have £1000 of tuition fee debt.

£1k - over 3 years: £3300 (tuition fee - everything else at default or 0)

£1k - over 3 years: £3120 (Maintence Loan - everything else at default or 0)

As the debt isn't treated any differently the figure should obviously be the same.

Guy

[MSE Dan]

Actually, thats because of when the loans become part of your balance:

-Tuition fee is one lump, each september.
- Maintenance loan is 3 instalments

So it makes sense you pay more interest on tuition fees, as you are borrowing the cash for longer

Dan

[Lokolo]

Originally Posted by MSE Dan

Actually, thats because of when the loans become part of your balance:

-Tuition fee is one lump, each september.
- Maintenance loan is 3 instalments

So it makes sense you pay more interest on tuition fees, as you are borrowing the cash for longer

Dan

No idea if this has changed, but at the moment the tuition fee is paid in 2 sums.



This was mine last year.