Student Loans 2012

littlepinkstars44

wow...so i havent read the whole thread but i am kinda shocked at how much money parents give their kids for uni.
I'm in my 4th year, my tuition fees are £1850 per year. I get a student loan and bursary which comes to £4250 per year, i also work part time which gives me around £300 a month. I also sell stuff on ebay and amazon now and again, which brings in some extra cash.
I have never once expected my parents to pay for anything while i'm studying, i choose to go to uni so why should they have to sacrifice things and potentially get in more debt for my decision?!

This is just my opinion, obviously there are people out there who are lucky enough to be in a position to do such a thing. Going by my own uni, if these student loans and bursaries weren't there i doubt 70% of students at my uni would be able to go to uni after school.

Lokolo

setmefree2 wrote: »

Many posters on this thread don't seem to be parents, so they may well have a VI (vested interest) in students taking on loans. I, for one, would be interested to know what those VIs are?

Because you can profit from them?

You know I am still a student. I have saved £18,000 over the 4 years. It is awesome. I am going into a well paid job and around Summer 2012 I plan on buying a house (sooner if house prices crash ) with a £40k deposit.

The fact is I don't have a "VI", but it annoys me when I hear people say "Oh the loans aren't worth it", as one of my rich friends has said to me on numerous occassions, 4 years later, I have money stored away for a house deposit, whilst my student loan debt is rising, it's not rising as fast as my savings unlike him who is relying on his parents giving him money for his house deposit.

Lokolo

setmefree2 wrote: »

Ok so let's not tell them that they are actually going to be paying back much more than they ever borrowed, that they may well regret taking these loans much later in life, that when they are stuggling with kids and mortgages in their 30s and 40s and the government is taking 9% of their salary every month they wonder why nobody ever said anything. They also might wonder why when they are trying harder to earn more and they get a pay rise it all seems a bit pointless as it's all eaten up with paying back student loans....

....is that what we should be not telling them?

Or perhaps, we should give them the complete picture?

I'm not trying to put students off going to Uni. But I do think students and parents should have a complete feel for what they are letting themselves in for.

But that's just imho.

Why should the parent being telling the kids anything? I thought they were the ones getting the loans?

Can't the kids research this themselves?

When I was planning on going to university my Grandma and Grandad kindly said that they would pay for my accomodation and basic expenses. I was extremely happy and grateful. I then researched, and used sites like this, to find out more information.

My mum knows I have taken out the maintenance loan. She doesn't know what interest is charged on it. Or how much I have taken. Why should she? Should I know what interest she is being charged on her credit cards or mortgages?

The_One_Who

setmefree2 wrote: »

Then take the loan. I think people should study what they are passionate about. (In the end imho that is very often how people end up making lots of money anyway!)

I'm not saying students should or should not take the money. But people should be informed as to what the cost of these SLs really are over their life.

Looking at my spreadsheet these loans are a real burden to people in their 30s and 40s. Just when people are suffering financially anyway with kids and mortgages.

People are informed, or at least all the information is there for them to look at. If the student doesn't look at it then that's up to them.

In quite a lot of surveys done, students vastly overestimate what they think is the average graduate starting salary. Everyone wants to think they'll be making a 'good' salary but the fact is they may not. Some industries just don't pay well.

If you look at your spreadsheet, you say the loans will burden people when they are in their thirties and forties. Yet you are wanting parents in their fifties to be taking out commercial loans of tens of thousands?

setmefree2

Lokolo wrote: »

Because you can profit from them?

You know I am still a student. I have saved £18,000 over the 4 years. It is awesome. I am going into a well paid job and around Summer 2012 I plan on buying a house (sooner if house prices crash ) with a £40k deposit.

The fact is I don't have a "VI", but it annoys me when I hear people say "Oh the loans aren't worth it", as one of my rich friends has said to me on numerous occassions, 4 years later, I have money stored away for a house deposit, whilst my student loan debt is rising, it's not rising as fast as my savings unlike him who is relying on his parents giving him money for his house deposit.

Lokolo you are a net debtor! You owe more in SLs than you have in assets (I see you have gotten rid of your signature) and that is despite having been given all that money from your grandparents... sorry but it's true.

setmefree2

Lokolo wrote: »

My mum knows I have taken out the maintenance loan. She doesn't know what interest is charged on it. Or how much I have taken. Why should she? Should I know what interest she is being charged on her credit cards or mortgages?

Maybe you haven't told her because she would be really upset to find out that you are in debt despite your grandparents best efforts?

setmefree2

The_One_Who wrote: »

Yet you are wanting parents in their fifties to be taking out commercial loans of tens of thousands?

I'm not wanting anything of the sort.

I'm just discussing the costs of the loans.

Beyond that students and parents make their own choices...

setmefree2

littlepinkstars44 wrote: »

This is just my opinion, obviously there are people out there who are lucky enough to be in a position to do such a thing.

Hi little pinks stars

It is not about luck. Some parents have a responsibilty to pay for their kids' maintenance. It's not optional.
This is from the Government website:-

Student finance: your role as the parent or partner of a student


What's expected of parents and partners?

If you’re the parent or partner of a student, you may be expected to make a contribution towards their living costs while they’re at university or college.


The ‘income assessment’ - which determines how much help the student gets - will assume you’re making this level of contribution. So if you don’t contribute, the student is unlikely to have enough money to fund their studies.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/Parentsandpartners/DG_171587

It's not luck, it's not optional - it's a parent's responsiblity. That is the system.

Lokolo

setmefree2 wrote: »

Lokolo you are a net debtor! You owe more in SLs than you have in assets (I see you have gotten rid of your signature) and that is despite having been given all that money from your grandparents... sorry but it's true.

*sigh*

Yes, I owe more in SLC than in assets currently. But that is because I have taken out more loans than I have saved (because of tuition loan). However, my assets will overtake my debt without me doing anything apart from moving savings when the rate gets low. This means my tuition fees have been paid for, for free!

How is that bad!??!

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If we ignore the tuition debt, but focus on the maintenance debt. I have already overtaken this. The money I have taken out in maintenance loans and put in savings, has OVERTAKEN the debt, and is not tackling the other debt which I needed to pay for my studies.

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And even if I hadn't taken the maintenance loan, I would still be in debt - so your point doesn't even make sense?

Lokolo

FYI I have just looked at how much I owe with tution fees and maintenance loans.

Owed from Maintenance Loan AND Tutuin Loan: £20,297.65
Savings From Just Maintenance Loan: £15,565 (+£3000 in other savings)

So at the moment for a 4 year course, I currently owe £4,732 tution..... cheap degree eh.

And as my savings are currently at a higher rate than the loans, my savings will catchup with the debt, and overtake it