Taking the maximum loan out?

AcroCake

Hi guys

I'm starting Uni next year and don't expect to be needing a maintenance loan as I'm entitled to the full £2906 maintenance grant and a £3000 scholarship, and will be living at home.

I read Martin's advice to always take the maximum loan because you can earn more saving than the loan costs.

This means I could take out the maintenance loan of £2385 and could also take out the tuition fee loan of £3290.

The benefits of taking out these loans will probably be that I can firstly make some money from them in a high interest account, and also at the end of uni I'll have a nice sum in my bank to put a deposit down on a flat, etc.

I was just wondering if there are any down-sides to this. I think I can keep track of my money and will change my account if it falls below the interest of the loans.

Oh, also I'm set on doing a Masters after these 3 years, but after that I've found out I'll be earning about 20k as a trainee (hopefully).

Thanks in advance

[Figures based on 2010 entry, and are per annum ]

Simon11

Have you thought how much it would cost to do a masters?

Interest wise, at the moment you should only expect to earn 2% on interest deducing student Loan interest. Is it worth the effort/time looking after these savings and moving them every year to ensure the best interest rate? Then would it be better to invest your time in getting a job whilst at uni? I was in your same position, however I had a part time job where I did a minium of 20 hours a week. It wasn't worth the effort nor issues with dealing with student loans.


What type of job? However do you expect to get this £20k job, what will set you appart from the competition?

I'm also rather shocked that you spend 4 years at uni and go into a job only earning £20k!

I'm finishing my 4th year (with placement) and im looking at grad jobs in region of £26+k which I believe I can get:D

The_One_Who

AcroCake wrote: »

The benefits of taking out these loans will probably be that I can firstly make some money from them in a high interest account, and also at the end of uni I'll have a nice sum in my bank to put a deposit down on a flat, etc.

Oh, also I'm set on doing a Masters after these 3 years, but after that I've found out I'll be earning about 20k as a trainee (hopefully).

I would take out the loan, put it aside and then use it for the Masters. Funding for those is few and far between, and that's just for fees, never mind living expenses. It would also give you a cushion, because times change and you may not want to do the Masters in a couple of years.

Simon11 wrote: »

I'm just rather shocked that you spend 4 years at uni and go into a job only earning £20k!

£20k is a fairly average starting salary for a graduate. To be honest, most people will be glad to be starting a job at all once they graduate!

xrjtg

AcroCake wrote: »

I was just wondering if there are any down-sides to this.

No, you seem to grasp all the important bits (mainly making sure you aren't making a loss).

stingeylass

AcroCake wrote: »

This means I could take out the maintenance loan of £2385 and could also take out the tuition fee loan of £3290.

The benefits of taking out these loans will probably be that I can firstly make some money from them in a high interest account, and also at the end of uni I'll have a nice sum in my bank to put a deposit down on a flat, etc.

The tuition fee loan gets paid directly to the university, so you wouldn't actually get your hands on that money.

Also, how are you getting a £3000 bursary on top of your grant? Not that i'm jealous or anything...:p
But yes it's definitely a good idea to take all the funding you can get at this stage, it will make it so much easier for you if you decide to do a masters if you already have money put aside for it.

lucylollipop

AcroCake wrote: »

Hi guys

I'm starting Uni next year and don't expect to be needing a maintenance loan as I'm entitled to the full £2906 maintenance grant and a £3000 scholarship, and will be living at home.

I may be mistaken, but I was at the understanding that you can't get the mainenance grant without applying for the maintenance loan? Anyone able to clear that one up?

Lokolo

If you take the maximum loan out each year you can end up with over £10k at the end earning interest, and making profit.

Longer courses, more loan, more profit.

£20k is about average for most areas apart from Computer Science (Soft. Eng.) which averages a little higher, around £25k mark.

AcroCake

Simon11 wrote: »

What type of job? However do you expect to get this £20k job, what will set you appart from the competition?

I'm also rather shocked that you spend 4 years at uni and go into a job only earning £20k!

I'm finishing my 4th year (with placement) and im looking at grad jobs in region of £26+k which I believe I can get:D

Hi, thanks for the reply.
After my masters I'd work as a Trainee Forensic Psychologist in the prison service, until I complete stage 2 of the qualification in forensic psychology by the BPS, which takes around 2-3 years. After that, I can start earning around 27k when I'm a fully qualified psychologist, but this will increase with experience.

AcroCake

The_One_Who wrote: »

I would take out the loan, put it aside and then use it for the Masters. Funding for those is few and far between, and that's just for fees, never mind living expenses. It would also give you a cushion, because times change and you may not want to do the Masters in a couple of years.

Thanks for replying.
I think I'll definitely do a Masters, because the job I want specifically requires it + around 3 years training
You wouldn't think psychologists needed that much, would you?

Anywho, thanks for your advice :] Was quite helpful!

AcroCake

stingeylass wrote: »

The tuition fee loan gets paid directly to the university, so you wouldn't actually get your hands on that money.

Oh yeah, silly me I think my logic was that I wouldn't have to pay it out of my grants, so it'd be.. better?

stingeylass wrote: »

Also, how are you getting a £3000 bursary on top of your grant? Not that i'm jealous or anything...:p

Well, independent of the maintenance grant I'm getting, Manchester Uni run the Manchester Access Programme, which basically gives those that received £30 EMA £1750 per annum, after we complete kind of a course thing.
Also, because I received £30 EMA (AKA my household income <25k) I get £1250 per annum
But anyway, I'm predicted 3 As at ALevel, and so if I get this, I'd receive £3000 per year (also dependent on household income)

However, there's a cap of £3000, so even if I get 3 As and am entitled to all 3 grants (£6000) I only get £3000.
Which is understandable

AcroCake

lucylollipop wrote: »

I may be mistaken, but I was at the understanding that you can't get the mainenance grant without applying for the maintenance loan? Anyone able to clear that one up?

You can apply for both, but for every £1 of Mgrant you receive, the maximum Mloan you can get is reduced by 50p.
Or the other way round