Help With Student Loans - HERE!

rose28454

roxalana wrote: »

Hi Rose,

Those fees do seem abit high to me too - especially as the fees for a full time course are capped at £3,070.

The University of the Arts does seem to have run a number of courses this year that are not designated by the government to qualify for LEA support.

Is there a particular reason why she has chosen to study an online course?

Normally I wouldn't suggest changing courses unless a student has to, but in this case perhaps it would be a good idea to research other Fashion Marketing courses and see if she can transfer (or perhaps even just start a new course next academic year). Those fees are a lot to pay as presumably the fees will be similar next year too, and there is no guarantee it will attract any LEA funding next year (plus the part time funding would not cover fees of that level and she would not qualify for a student loan as that is only available for full time students) Also, perhaps a non-online course might be a better idea in light of her dyslexia?

Hope this helps

P.S. The University of the Arts seems to have the same course but non online delivery, if she is keen to remain at the college of fashion.

She is mainly doing an online course as she suffers from depression and went to Sunderland in 2005 ( we live in the South Of England ) and only lasted one term. She is also recovering from Anorexia and feels the best way to get a degree is to do it online. She realised that she would not get full funding so she is working 4 days a week in a fashion shop to help with the finances. However when she applied for the course we spoke to the LEA and they looked into it and said the course would qualify for finance but only on a part time basis. So she applied on that bais. Also when she was diagnosed with the dislexia on Friday she though she would be able to apply for the Disability element of the funding. Apparently not!! I just need advice as to where to go from here. The chap at the LEA said that the rules re online courses had changed in the last couple of weeks.
Re the fees being high the chapat the college said they were high for an online course so I will pursue that avenue aswell.

roxalana

hmm it looks like you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, Rose...

I think the problem is that the funding position on this doesn't look like it is going to change. I think your decision is going to depend on whether you (and your daughter) can finance her current course, without putting additional strain on you both.

I would still recommend looking into other options (such as other part time courses) and also speaking to the University to see what help and advice they are able to provide. There is a small chance they may be able to offer some financial assistance (although i admit this chance is small) and they should be able to give advice on how the University is able to support her disability as the LEA are unable to provide support.

If you and your daughter do decide it is best to start again next year, hopefully her part time job will help to build her confidence and help her to recover before continuing her studies.

Let us know how you get on.

reehsetin

Can anyone help

period 01/09/2006 - 31/8/2007 interest rate 2.4%
01/09/2007 onwards 4.8% interest, why has it just doubled, ive never been informed about this,
only know because my statement came today means last two months theyre charging me like £24pm interest

Emmzi

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/RepayingStudentLoansCoursesStartingFrom1998/DG_10034867

The interest rate charged on student loans is linked to the rate of inflation, based on the Retail Prices Index.
The interest rate for student loans applies from 1 September to 31 August each year. From 1 September 2007 to 31 August 2008, the rate is 4.8 per cent.
Taking inflation into account, the value of the amount you pay back will be more or less the same as the value of the amount you borrow - no one makes any profit on the loan.
Interest accrues on your loan until it has been repaid in full.



In short - 'because they can'. it'll be somewhere in your loan agreement.

Your on;y other option is to pay it all off, and have no interest at all.

reehsetin

thanks
worked it out though and the savings i have the money in still means im in the plus i think

roxalana

If you scroll to the top of the page to the student & graduate resource bar, martin has got an article called 'should i pay off my student loan', which you might find helpful.

FloFlo

I have just received my student loan statement and I am being charged £26 a month interest. When I look at how much I am going to pay each month when they start deducting it will be around £24 a month. How does what I owe ever go down??

roxalana

FloFlo wrote: »

I have just received my student loan statement and I am being charged £26 a month interest. When I look at how much I am going to pay each month when they start deducting it will be around £24 a month. How does what I owe ever go down??

hehe - i only pay £6 a month! If I keep earning the same amount mine will never be paid off... at some point they write it off!! Whilst the interest rate is less than I get in a savings account, I am going to keep saving rather than overpaying. Hopefully next year the interest rate will be lower for the loan...

niknakb

Hi

Wondering if anyone can answer my question about students loans. I was at uni from 2001-2004 and I have a student loan. repayments come out of my salary every month.

Am I right in thinking that new students now have their loan written offf if they dont pay it if in a certain time frame?

If so, I have an idea but need some advice. I am currently stdying for a PGCE part time while Im at work and I have the option of taking out a loan. I dont need to becasue Im working but I was wondering whether it would be possible to take out the loan, put it in a high interest savings account and once I have got all of the installments, use it to pay off my existing loan.

If what I have heard is right and it gets written off after a certain about of years, I will have psid my 1st loan off which will never be written off but have a second loan for the full amount but that one will be written off after a certain amount of years if I havent finished paying it.

Is that right or am I completely dreaming?

I'd really appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Nikki. x

niknakb

Also, to add to my post above...

If I'm wrong, would it still be worth taking the loan when I dont need it, just to put into a high interest account to gain interest and then pay it back. If I did this, would it just be added to my existing debt and make things worse?

I'm so confused!