need help with LPC costs!!

skintstudent86

hello there, I've just completed my degree in law and am about to start my law practice course. My fees are £7,900; just under the amount i can get with the CDL (i'm thinking barclays), but i still need a loan for basic living expenses which i've worked out with a budget to be £6000. I've looked at Lloyds bank for this with their graduate loan, however, i'm not sure how to manage the money after this point. Would it be better to take out a bigger loan when my studies finish, with lloyds to pay off my CDL (due to the high interest rates) and pay it all off fromt the same account, or get a separate moneyback loan to pay off the CDL and keep the lloyds graduate loan simply to pay off the loan covering my living expenses with lloyds...please help i'm so confused!

dmg24

You would be best to take a year out, and take the time to get some legal experience and save up.

skintstudent86

Easier said than done...that would take my training from 3 to four more years, the fees would increase and its too late to defer my year-i'd lose my deposit (£350) and my place...i suppose this is what happens when you dive in eh??

skintstudent86

but thank you for replying x

Voyager2002

I suggest that you just concentrate on doing as well as possible on your course, and of course minimising your living costs over the next year. Once you have a vocational qualification in law, and more so if you have a firm job offer with a known salary, you will be more credit-worthy than at present and so will have access to more sources of finance, and so a wider range of options, than at present.

And congratulations on getting this far.

dmg24

If you are only 22, would an extra year be such a big deal?

Are you sure that it is too late to defer? I deferred at the beginning of September a few years ago. Ended up not taking the place at all, but thankfully managed to get my money back (health reasons).

Henwen

skintstudent86 wrote: »

hello there, I've just completed my degree in law and am about to start my law practice course. My fees are £7,900; just under the amount i can get with the CDL (i'm thinking barclays), but i still need a loan for basic living expenses which i've worked out with a budget to be £6000. I've looked at Lloyds bank for this with their graduate loan, however, i'm not sure how to manage the money after this point. Would it be better to take out a bigger loan when my studies finish, with lloyds to pay off my CDL (due to the high interest rates) and pay it all off fromt the same account, or get a separate moneyback loan to pay off the CDL and keep the lloyds graduate loan simply to pay off the loan covering my living expenses with lloyds...please help i'm so confused!

I would defer even if you lose the place & deposit. If you spend this year working while applying for training contracts:
a) you will know you have a good income to repay the debts after the LPC
b) you may get funding for the course fees and/or maintenance
c) you will remove pressure during the LPC of trying to work out whether you should prioritise studying or applying for jobs.

However, if you can't face deferring, you should be able to get a reasonable part time job while studying. Many LPC courses schedule lectures either all in the morning or all in the afternoon which should increase your options.

Well done on making it this far - it's not easy.

skintstudent86

Thanks everyone you've given me a lot to think about

m.smith14

Yes, definitely take time out if you need to save for the LPC. Either gain some relevant legal work experience or look into other graduate training schemes - the latter is exactly what I did having graduated in Law (and also having lost the £250 deposit I put down on my LPC place - it must happen more often than you would think!) and earn near the top end of graduate salaries in a job that I enjoy. You've done the hard work, now you can just see where the future takes you!

cheftyke

hello there - i have gone down the same route as you (currently doing my training contract) and all I would say is take a long hard think about borrowing the money. and then have another think. if you are really really sure it is what you want to do then great, but being saddled with the debt whilst not earning a great deal on a training contract is not nice (trust me!!)

I would only go for the LPC if you have a training contract place secured, if not it simply is not worth the risk. Training contracts are pretty hard to come by and the competition is fierce. The legal industry is also going through big changes and solicitors will be required less and less (depending on the area of law you wish to go down).

I think the other advice is good - get some paralegalling (is that a word?!)under your belt. It will:-

• enable you to save up
• give you experience to help you get a training contract and it can also remove 6 months off your training contract
• allow you time to work out if you definitely want to do law.

Hope that helps, any questions then PM me.

skintstudent84

I have just completed my LPC- the College of Law have adverts all around for Professional Loans with Natwest of up to £25,000 to help you complete your studies, have you looked into these?