Open Uni Finance options?

FiftyPents

I completed 60 credits of a 360 credit degree in IT in 2011 but stopped after that as I got a new job.

Now I'm a bit more settled I'd like to continue with the degree, but I simply can't afford it at the new prices. I rang OU today and was told I missed out on the transitional fees by not filling in a form last August.

A 60 credit course, that I intend on taking every year for the next 4 years, is 2500 pounds. I simply cannot afford that, even with my company helping me financially, ill still owe 2k a year.

I've looked into student loans but it seems my wages are too high (26-28k) to qualify for support.

What options do I have? :-(

Uncertain

How much can you afford?

With your level of income a student loan would have to be paid back so your only saving would be in interest.

Assuming this is likely to lead to higher paid work is it not worth considering a modest bank loan for the difference between what you can manage to pay now and what would have to be put off for the future?

Obviously if the course is more an intellectual challenge rather than a ticket to higher paid work then this would not be wise.

TrickyWicky

I don't think you have a lot of options really as the student loan thing is the usual route for most people. Having said that, most of them aren't earning mega money like yourself - a lot of people still earn NMW or well under £16k yet somehow still survive.

Is there anything you can cut down on cost wise in your living expenses? - I know you probably won't like the idea but I think this may be your only option. If you're on £26k then thats £2k per month (ok before tax and NI but still a lot more than most people earn) so you must have quite a lot of outgoings somewhere that you can cut down on.

The OU also do their own loans. I'm not sure how they work as I never looked into them but they also do monthly installments too. If it were me in your position on that salary I think I'd look into the installments thing.

heretolearn_2

Hi

You missed out on the transitional fee arrangements as that was only available to students studying with them during the last academic year, if you'd done a course then, then the fees would have been held at the old level for you throughout the degree. They did give plenty of warning that this change was coming right back to 2011, so you must have missed this. There's not anything you can do to get on transitional fees now, which I agree is a right bug*er for you.

Another option might be a Career and Development loan. this are offered via banks but are part of a government scheme - the interest rate is lower and the government pays the interest while you are studying. https://www.gov.uk/career-development-loans/overview.

Should be a better option than a normal bank loan? There are also links on that page relating to other funding options such as grants and bursaries and mature student stuff, so worth a hunt around.

Dunroamin

heretolearn wrote: »

Hi

You missed out on the transitional fee arrangements as that was only available to students studying with them during the last academic year, if you'd done a course then, then the fees would have been held at the old level for you throughout the degree. They did give plenty of warning that this change was coming right back to 2011, so you must have missed this. There's not anything you can do to get on transitional fees now, which I agree is a right bug*er for you.

Another option might be a Career and Development loan. this are offered via banks but are part of a government scheme - the interest rate is lower and the government pays the interest while you are studying. https://www.gov.uk/career-development-loans/overview.

Should be a better option than a normal bank loan? There are also links on that page relating to other funding options such as grants and bursaries and mature student stuff, so worth a hunt around.

The CDL isn't available for courses where other funding is available like undergraduate degrees; the interest rate is certainly not lower than a student loan.

OP.
Who has told you that you earn too much to be able to take out a student loan for the fees - I've never come across that before. On you salary you'd be starting to repay them straight after about a year, but only at the rate of about £40 per month, however much you owe.

I wonder if you've misunderstood something along the line.

JDC14

When I applied to Uni (a year ago), Student Loans were effected by household income.

As I live with only 1 parent, not on a great income, I got the full loan, plus bursaries.

I think the top limit was somewhere around £27-30k. I know people who were offered small loans as their household income was near the threshold.

FiftyPents

JDC14 wrote: »

When I applied to Uni (a year ago), Student Loans were effected by household income.

As I live with only 1 parent, not on a great income, I got the full loan, plus bursaries.

I think the top limit was somewhere around £27-30k. I know people who were offered small loans as their household income was near the threshold.

If it's done on household income, my partner earns around 15-20 so I suppose with that added to mine I won't be eligible. I will enquire though.

dizzyrascal

I think you can still get a loan to pay the fees
The text below is from the OU website
Failing that can you pay a monthly instalment?

Key facts
Over 1 million students in England pay their fees annually with a fee loan. It's the most popular and trusted fee payment method in the United Kingdom.
You can pay all or part of your fees with a fee loan of up to £5000 (or £6750 for the Professional Graduate Certificate in Education) in 2012/2013.
Fee loans are not means-tested. This means the income from other family members is not taken into account when you apply for, or start repaying, your loan.
A fee loans doesn’t affect your credit rating, so it won’t stop you getting things like a mortgage or a car loan.
You’ll apply for your fee loan directly from Student Finance England from July 2012. We’ll guide you through the process and you can also use our own online eligibility checker to find out if you are eligible, although the final decision on your eligibility for a fee loan will be made by Student Finance England.
Repayments are based on what you earn, not what you owe. Repayments are based on your income above £21,000. The amount charged is nine per cent of your income above the £21,000 threshold. So, for example, if your income was £25,000 in your fourth year of study, the nine per cent would only apply to £4000, meaning you would only repay £30 a month.
You will start to repay your fee loan from the April four years after you start your qualification or the April after you leave the course, whichever comes first, but April 2016 is the earliest your repayments could begin. In effect the government has given you an automatic payment holiday. You can, however, pay off the fee loan early if you want to. The choice is yours

.

Uncertain

dizzyrascal wrote: »

I think you can still get a loan to pay the fees
The text below is from the OU website
Failing that can you pay a monthly instalment?
.

That is my understanding from a conversation with a friend last night.

He said he knew of a couple of people with very substantial savings, although little or no earned income, who took such loans for their course fees just because they could. Maybe not in the sprit but if it's legal and the bottom line adds up............

debrag

Don't you have to be doing module last year and this year to still be on the old fees?

A break in study or a new student in 2012 would put you on the new fees £1250 for a 30 credit module £2500 for 60 credits etc and you apply to the SLC for a student loan or pay month up to a year.

JDC14

If you haven't already google "Access to Success Route".

Can't remember the full gist of it, but my sister only paid £75 in tuition fees for the first year.