how do you live off student loans if it all goes on rent

The_One_Who

I wish I lived in England! The £4,500 max is for those from low-income families. And there aren't any bursaries at Scottish universities either.

Oldernotwiser

The_One_Who wrote: »

I wish I lived in England! The £4,500 max is for those from low-income families. And there aren't any bursaries at Scottish universities either.

But then you Scots don't come out with £10,000 debts for fees; swings and roundabouts come to mind!

melancholly

The_One_Who wrote: »

I wish I lived in England! The £4,500 max is for those from low-income families. And there aren't any bursaries at Scottish universities either.

but i thought you didn't pay fees in scotland? hence the lower level of financial support?

The_One_Who

No, we don't pay fees in Scotland. I thought the fees were paid straight to the university via a loan though. I come from a family earning about £14,000 a year so can't really expect them to financially support me. The £4,500 wouldn't be enough to live on so I would need a job. With £6,000 I could live and wouldn't need to work so many hours just to be able to live.

kelloggs36

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Sorry, didn't realise Kellogg36 was in Scotland.

No, I'm not in Scotland, I am in England and my daughter's loan is reduced penny for penny for the amount of grant that she gets, evening out in the amount of the full loan.

kelloggs36

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

The combined maintenance loan and grant is over £6,000, considerably more than the loan on its own. With the minimum bursary and for the 40 weeks it has to cover, this gives an income of at least £150 per week. Without suggesting that this is untold riches, this should certainly cover more than beans on toast! I also cannot believe that an average student hasn't been able to find a few hours bar, retail or care work if they've been looking for the whole year!

Students whose parents should contribute but don't are always going to find things difficult but those from low income families who receive full funding should be able to manage, and with a few hours part time work, manage quite well.

There is no combined bursary and loan, the amount of bursary (or grant whatever you call it) is topped up to the maxium you would get if you took out the loan, so the max for outside of London is just over 4k per year. Her rent alone is £400 p month, so is about the same as her loan as she does not have the option to rent over 10 months - it has to be a year.

kelloggs36

I need to make this more clear!! The maximum loan one can get living outside of home is just over £4k per year. She gets this amount. It is made up of a lower loan and a partial grant - therefore they are not combined by giving full loan AND grant, it is made up to the amount that she would have got by just getting the loan. She is no better off for the fact that she gets a grant. That is the point. It doesn't help those from poorer families, it just means that they come out of it at the end with lower debt - which as they are supposed to be on equal footing with others in terms of job competition, is pointless!! They need the money whilst studying. She has had about 25 interviews for part time jobs but did not get one. She tried hard and didn't get lucky. Maybe this year she will.

kelloggs36

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Students from households with less than £25,000 income (and not studying in London) receive £6,200 from the combined Maintenance Grant and Loan package, as well as a minimum of £300 (often nearer £1,000) as a bursary from the university.

Not true. They get the same amount as the maximum loan which if outside London, is considerably less than 6k.

Helix

kelloggs36 wrote: »

Not true. They get the same amount as the maximum loan which if outside London, is considerably less than 6k.

No your getting it wrong. If you get FULL grant then you will get around £5-6k. If you get a PARTIAL grant then it will be as you say around £4500 as they take if off the loan.

kelloggs36

Yes - she gets a partial grant, so she gets no more than the max loan.