Is postgraduate loan a no-brainer?

jd87

I'm going to start a masters in September but I'm currently in full-time employment with a good credit history (will quit job to start study). My masters will cost just over £8000 and I was planning on applying for the full £10k postgrad loan. However the idea of paying 4.6% apr (RPI + 3%) on the loan is a bit annoying.

Any money I've borrowed in the past has been on 0% credit cards with low fees which work out to be a far cheaper option. Should I be looking to do something like this instead? I also have savings which could cover the cost of the course initially but I will need to borrow money at some point.

Why are people jumping at these loans? 4.6% just seems crap in comparison to the money banks are offering at the moment.

I just don't want to apply for the loan and then realise I should have done it a better way. Any thoughts?

Paully232000

I would imagine part of the appeal as opposed to a bank loan is, not having to pay it back straight away, not having to pay it if you dont earn over a certain amount of money, paying back a lesser amount per month than you would with a bank loan, and it not being dependant upon your credit profile to get the % rate as you would to get a rate anything like this with a bank.

agrinnall

Most people who are applying for a postgrad loan are unlikely to be in a position to apply for a 0% card with a 10K credit limit, so your comparison is largely invalid.