New! Student Finance Calculator 2012
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The Student Finance Calculator looks like a very useful tool. Running through a few scenarios I found that changing the course duration from 3 to 4 years did not make any difference to the amount borrowed. Also, any chance of adding a 5 year course (useful for medics, etc)0
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This is excellent in principle, but please could you increase the course length options as a significant number of courses are longer than four years, e.g. veterinary, dentistry or medicine. My daughter wants to apply for a 5-year veterinary degree and is considering taking an extra gap year so that she can work and save enough to cover about one year of her fees, or at least to have some savings to help with the inevitable maintenance loan shortfall over the first few years of the course, but your calculator does not enable us to work out whether she would be any better off by doing this.
Edited to add - sorry, I didn't realize that several other people have noticed this! It's an interesting point though because she should be able to earn quite a high salary in due course, so would the advice not to pay any of the fees upfront (there is not way we could afford all of them, but with her contribution might manage 1 - 2 years) still stand?0 -
Great tool, thanks.
But a little confused by one aspect.
When I increase the RPI to 6% (from the default of 3%) and leave salary growth at RPI+2% then final salary (after 30 years) is much bigger (as apected) but total repayment falls.
Why is this?
Example.
My son will be doing MEng in Chemical Engineering - 4 years plus 1 year industrial placement.
Entered the following
Fees = £9000
Maint Loan = £3,900
Years = 4
Sandwich = Y
Start Salary = £25k
With the defaults (RPI=3% and salary growth = RPI+2% (5%)) I get the following
Salary at 30 years = £108k
Total to repay = £43,760
But if I change to the following
RPI = 6% and Salary Growth = RPI-1% (5%) I get the following
Salary at 30 years = £108k
Total to repay = £2,160
The toatl to repay should be identical because the start salary and growth are unchanged, but it isn't so something isn't working correctly.
Cheers,
Nigel
WARNING!
There appears to be a significant error in the way the calculator works out total to repay. I have worked out the value manually and for a £25k start salary and a 5% growth, the total to repay is £100.6k not £43.7k as reported by the calculator.
Okay, Dan has replied to my query. Apparently, it is because the calculator assumes that the £21k threshold will be increased by RPI+1% each year. So if RPI remains the at 5.6% over the next year then the 2013 threshold will be £22,400.
Personally I think this is a very dangerous assumption. I don't beleive I have ever seen any evidence that the government has raised any threshold (which is in the public's interest) by that sort of amount before - and certainly not on a year on year basis.
If I was a betting man I would say, assuming this fee\loan scheme survives, this threshold will remain at £21k for many years to come.
For example, I believe that when the current ICR loan was introduced in 1989/99 the threshold was £15k. Some twelve years later it is still £15k. Never mind RPI+1% per year it hasn't risen a single % in 12 years.0 -
Just noticed this
What a totally ridiculous assumption!!!!! Tuition fees go up annually with inflation. Why would you not factor this into your calculator?There is no tuition fee inflation, so if you pay £9,000 in year one, you pay it for each year of study.
This statement is also HIGHLY MISLEADING as it suggests that there is NO annual tuition fee inflation!
If inflation stays at 5% to 6% tuition fees will be £9.5k in year 2, £10k in year3 and £10.5k in year 4.
Yet another example of MSE erring on the side of optimism???? and being Misleading?????0 -
For example, I believe that when the current ICR loan was introduced in 1989/99 the threshold was £15k. Some twelve years later it is still £15k. Never mind RPI+1% per year it hasn't risen a single % in 12 years.
You are wrong. In 1998/99, the threshold was £10k. It only changed to £15k in 2005 and it will start rising by inflation from April next year.
The original plans were for the £21k threshold to be reviewed every 5 years but a concession was made to change it by inflation every year.0 -
Personally I think this is a very dangerous assumption. I don't beleive I have ever seen any evidence that the government has raised any threshold (which is in the public's interest) by that sort of amount before - and certainly not on a year on year basis.
If I was a betting man I would say, assuming this fee\loan scheme survives, this threshold will remain at £21k for many years to come.
For example, I believe that when the current ICR loan was introduced in 1989/99 the threshold was £15k. Some twelve years later it is still £15k. Never mind RPI+1% per year it hasn't risen a single % in 12 years.
No they haven't before, but they are now. They are also retrospectively increasing the post 1998 threshold in a few years.
Not sure it's a dangerous assumption given they have announced it.0 -
setmefree2 wrote: »Just noticed this
What a totally ridiculous assumption!!!!! Tuition fees go up annually with inflation. Why would you not factor this into your calculator?
This statement is also HIGHLY MISLEADING as it suggests that there is NO annual tuition fee inflation!
If inflation stays at 5% to 6% tuition fees will be £9.5k in year 2, £10k in year3 and £10.5k in year 4.
Yet another example of MSE erring on the side of optimism???? and being Misleading?????
Better than the BBC calculator where it thinks you get a larger salary the longer you stay in uni!
But has it actually been said that the tuition will rise with inflation? I know in another thread it was mentioned because the current one rises, but I haven't seen anything to suggest that 2012 will also increase with inflation.
Not sure how you can call the calculator highly misleading when they are going on the data provided.0 -
But has it actually been said that the tuition will rise with inflation? I know in another thread it was mentioned because the current one rises, but I haven't seen anything to suggest that 2012 will also increase with inflation.
From Bristol University's websiteWhat will tuition fees be in 2012?
With effect from 2012 the University of Bristol will charge an annual tuition fee of £9,000 (increasing annually in line with inflation) for all UK and EU students on full-time undergraduate programmes, as approved by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA).Not sure how you can call the calculator highly misleading when they are going on the data provided.
So either they didn't know that tuition fees rise with inflation in which case you have to wonder what else MSE don't know?
or they deliberately ignored the fact tuition fees rise annually with inflation which I think is totally misleading.....and you have to ask yourself this where MSE being deliberately misleading? Which is a really sad thing, as a long time user of MSE, to have to ask yourself.0 -
WARNING!
Okay, Dan has replied to my query. Apparently, it is because the calculator assumes that the £21k threshold will be increased by RPI+1% each year. So if RPI remains the at 5.6% over the next year then the 2013 threshold will be £22,400.
Then the calculator is wrong because the threshold is £21k in 2016.Personally I think this is a very dangerous assumption. I don't beleive I have ever seen any evidence that the government has raised any threshold (which is in the public's interest) by that sort of amount before - and certainly not on a year on year basis.
If I was a betting man I would say, assuming this fee\loan scheme survives, this threshold will remain at £21k for many years to come.
For example, I believe that when the current ICR loan was introduced in 1989/99 the threshold was £15k. Some twelve years later it is still £15k. Never mind RPI+1% per year it hasn't risen a single % in 12 years.
Nigel none of the governments Student Loan Terms and Conditions are binding - any of them can be changed in the future - but you won't read that in the MSE guide either.0 -
Example.
My son will be doing MEng in Chemical Engineering - 4 years plus 1 year industrial placement.
Entered the following
Fees = £9000
Maint Loan = £3,900
Years = 4
Sandwich = Y
Start Salary = £25k
With the defaults (RPI=3% and salary growth = RPI+2% (5%)) I get the following
Salary at 30 years = £108k
Total to repay = £43,760
But if I change to the following
RPI = 6% and Salary Growth = RPI-1% (5%) I get the following
Salary at 30 years = £108k
Total to repay = £2,160
The toatl to repay should be identical because the start salary and growth are unchanged, but it isn't so something isn't working correctly.
Cheers,
Nigel
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-finance-calculator
I think the calculator is best used by stripping out all the inflation by setting all RPI options to zero and (restrict average UK earnings to RPI) then just play with the salary increases and starting salaries.
So as per your example borrowing £51,600 as above, with a starting salary of £25,000 and a salary inflation rate of 2% (in 30 years your son will be earning the equivalent of £45,290 in today's pounds), will make the cost of the degree £34,730 in today's pounds. So he will pay back less than he borrowed.
Similarly, with salary growth of 3% (your son will be earning £60,690 in 30 years in today's pounds) the cost of the degree will be £50,620 in today's pounds.
At salary growth of 4% (your son earning £72,090 in 30 years in todays pounds) the cost of the degree will be £69,920 in today's pounds.0
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