Student account confusion

shell_lou

Hi all,

I have just been accepted onto an Adult Nursing course to begin in September. I am a mature student (29 years old) and know very little about student accounts. I have no bank account at the moment as I got into debt when I was younger and so my credit rating is poor.

When I apply for a student account which I have to do in order to have my bursary paid will I be credit scored and refused or will they just give me a basic account with no overdraft etc? I apologise if I seem a bit dim on the subject but until now I have avoided financial institutions because of the debts I had in the past.

Many thanks for any responses

opinions4u

shell_lou wrote: »

When I apply for a student account which I have to do in order to have my bursary paid will I be credit scored and refused

You will be credit scored.

You may or may not be refused.

If your debts are more than 6 years old, then you probably have little to worry about.

or will they just give me a basic account with no overdraft etc?

That would be a good fall back position. Or, if you don't trust yourself with your finances, a good starting position.

until now I have avoided financial institutions because of the debts I had in the past.

I'd embrace them and work out how you can best use them to your advantage. Those who manage their money well are usually more successful as a result of it.

Good luck with the course.

Kavanne

Student accounts can come with additional benefits. You can decline to have the overdraft on it though, so you don't have to get yourself into debt. For example the natwest account will give you the 16=25 railcard. But, you say, I am 29!! Well, you can have the card whilst you are a student, even if you are over 25.

So look out for incentives like these, usually the offers are around June-October ish.

In the meantime, you will need some account details to put on your student finance applications. You can open yourself a basic account at one of many banks now, then when you open your student account over the summer you just need to give the student loans company your new details It's very easy.

book12

Barclays Cash Card Account is a good basic account to start off with, since you have no bank account. It comes with a VISA debit card. Use those bank details for your student loan/bursaries application forms for the time being. No credit scoring/checks are done, only ID and fraud check.

If you don't need an overdraft, I don't think there's a need to apply for a student account. Obviously, if you really want want (with or without overdraft), you could still apply for it. When you are sucessful, call up those student loan/busary companies about the change of bank details.

shell_lou

As I don't know if I will need an overdraft or not I think I'll try applying for a student account first. If this is declined can I still apply for a basic account?

book12

shell_lou wrote: »

As I don't know if I will need an overdraft or not I think I'll try applying for a student account first. If this is declined can I still apply for a basic account?

Could do that if you want. Make sure you provide proof of (future) student status like UCAS or university offer letter, as well as proof of ID and address.

Best for student accounts are Halifax (a bit strict though) and Natwest.

SparciaM

I'm 28 and start my Adult Nursing Course tomorrow and I have to say that at the moment banks are very picky about giving a student account to mature students.

I applied at HSBC and Halifax and got a straight decline. Then tried Barclays whom advised that if I had even one cc they wouldn't give me an account. Then applied for smile and all is going through fine, they've done all the checks and I sent off my Uni proof to them.

I would advise applying to Natwest or Smile, as my mates have said Natwest are quite good in respect of Student accounts. I do have cc's as I've been working full time for the last 10 years, but I have nothing bad on my credit file and make more than the minimum payment every month without fail.

You'll need your UCAS acceptance letter, or a letter from your Uni saying you're on the course. You're bursary can get paid into any bank account. I actually wrote to have mine put into my main bank account - as didn't know if I'd get a student account. Once the account is open, I'll switch to the student account and use that as a main account.

With smile as well, you have to pay in a min of £300 and then they activate your £1000 OD, so you don't need to worry if your bursary is late or delayed.

Remember that if you get declined for a student account in Year 1, you can still apply again in Year 2 and 3.

PARIS_5000

I am a mature student and I got a student account with HSBC with overdraft and credit card so HSBC do give student accounts to mature people.

FOXGLOVE_2

I'm in a similar situation to OP.

My current account is with HSBC so I just have to change it to a student one. I'm a mature student and as far as I know, there's no maximum age restriction on student account. Alot of the student accounts have offers targeted at under 25s (railcards etc) but the main feature is the interest free overdraft.

Best advice I can give is to try to open a current account - just a normal one - and run it well until the time comes to change it to a student account. That way, the bank may have a few months worth of account history to look back on, hopefully they may then consider an overdraft on the account.

You say you don't really need the overdraft but maybe just ask for a small one for emergencies. They can only say no.

shell_lou

Ok so I tried to open a smile current account online and was declined. Totally have no clue what to do now are high street banks more willing to open accounts?

Lokolo

Why are you trying to get a student account now? Its nearly the end of term. Wait until the summer before applying.