Help With Student Loans - HERE!

Oldernotwiser

SaucySecrets wrote: »

Hello,
Hoping someone can help?
Ive applied to do a foundation degree in teaching in September, and will attend college so many days a week, and be at a school for the rest.
Will i be entitled to the student loan?
I know ill get half the grant, but it doesnt seem fair for me not to get the loan, as i wont be able to go if i dont.
The college aren't being very helpful, and student finance won't talk to me until i can remember my ART ID.

Thanks!

When you say a Foundation Degree in Teaching, I assume that you mean in Learning Support?

If your course is designated as full time then you'll be able to take out the Fee Loan, Maintenance Loan and Maintenance Grant (if eligible). If it's part time then you can get a means tested grant for the fees and approximately £250 over for extra resources.

bubbly_gal

Hi

I have just had £165 taken from my wages for a loan i have been paying since the 90's. I understand that it is 9% of my salary regardless, but with having tp pay and extra £40 to my pension, i find i am £205 a month worse off and unable to pay this amount. I phoned the Student Loan company and they said i can't request to pay a lower payment, but i can't physically pay this amount, i am funding my daughter who is in her third year as a student and i am a single parent (albeit on a half decent wage) any advice how i can reduce the payments?

Thanks

MrsManda

MrsManda wrote: »

I've sent them a message so hopefully they'll get back to me soon but I'm generally getting fed up. Just glad I was nosey enough to check, as they didn't even send a message to my husband asking for his supporting evidence.

Hurrah! Quick update - I finanlly got a reply yesterday from the SLC saying they had nothing to suggest I need to provide more evidence and I should phone the LEA. Spoke to a lovely lady who first said my husband needed to login and confirm they could use his details from last yr. I pointed out he already had done and she said I'd get my final assessment within 7 days. I have just looked at my status and it has been approved, the letter has been sent out
Though amusingly I now have a section on my application called 'evidence summary' asking me which evidence I'm going to send

Oldernotwiser

bubbly_gal wrote: »

Hi

I have just had £165 taken from my wages for a loan i have been paying since the 90's. I understand that it is 9% of my salary regardless, but with having tp pay and extra £40 to my pension, i find i am £205 a month worse off and unable to pay this amount. I phoned the Student Loan company and they said i can't request to pay a lower payment, but i can't physically pay this amount, i am funding my daughter who is in her third year as a student and i am a single parent (albeit on a half decent wage) any advice how i can reduce the payments?

Thanks

It sounds as if your loans were taken out pre 1998 and, if so, they have a much higher repayment threshold but much higher repayments when you hit it, rather than the 9%. There is no possibility of negotiating lower payments, so far as I know.

How old were you when you took out the loan and how old are you now, as the loan is wiped out when you're 50 if this is the earlier scheme.

Edit: have just realised that you've been paying it back since the 90s so assume that it's post a post 1998 loan. You must be earning a very good salary to be paying back this amount!

saverstacey

Hi, I would appreciate some advice please.......

My husband is starting 1 year post grad teacher training in Sept and wants to apply for fees and maintainance grant. I work as a teacher, but we have 3 children and cannnot finance his course ourselves.

However, he still has a loan outstanding from degree in early 90s which is currently deferred as he has not been working for 5 years (has taken on househusband role). I think the amount outstanding is about £3000. Will this affect his ability to borrow again? There is a question on the form about old loans and arrears which has us worried.

Thanks for any advice.

Oldernotwiser

If he's been legitimately deferring a pre 1998 loan then that doesn't count as arrears and there should be no problem for him to apply for funding for a PGCE.

Don't forget that the current rules for repaying loans have changed completely and he's likely to start repayments for the PGCE loans as soon as he gets a teaching post, although he's likely to be under the deferrment level for his existing loans.

saverstacey

Thanks for the advice.

As I understand it, he would be repaying 9% of anything he earns over £15,000. Is that correct?

Oldernotwiser

saverstacey wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.

As I understand it, he would be repaying 9% of anything he earns over £15,000. Is that correct?

On a post 1998 loan, that would be correct. It's also collected automatically through the tax system.

misterthrifty

I have been trying to sort out a student grant and loan for my son who is going to Uni in September but I am finding the DirectGov site very hard to use. Leaving aside the hours it has taken to register, I completed details to support the application and I was asked to send some documents to them (do they really need proof that I was divorced 15 years ago?). I sent this off but there has been no acknowledgment and the information online is not at all clear, they also suggest that information has to be sent to my local authority (what/when?). There is no way to contact them that I can see and all it says online is 'waiting assesment'.
Is this typical and should I be concerned?

TIA

Oldernotwiser

misterthrifty wrote: »

I have been trying to sort out a student grant and loan for my son who is going to Uni in September but I am finding the DirectGov site very hard to use. Leaving aside the hours it has taken to register, I completed details to support the application and I was asked to send some documents to them (do they really need proof that I was divorced 15 years ago?). I sent this off but there has been no acknowledgment and the information online is not at all clear, they also suggest that information has to be sent to my local authority (what/when?). There is no way to contact them that I can see and all it says online is 'waiting assesment'.
Is this typical and should I be concerned?

TIA

I'm afraid that I don't know the answer to your questions but do be careful about doing all the applications for your son. He's the one who'll be borrowing thousands of pounds and he needs to be involved in the process if he's to have a full understanding of the situation.