grad student urgent help needed

memo_2

Hi there,

I have just discovered this amazing site and thought I'd give this a try. Please be patient and bear with me as i'm still a newbie.

Ok I'm finding myself in a lot of debt due to university. Let me explain:

I graduated 2004 with £12,000 Student loan debt.
I decided to continue with my education and started a medicine course as a graduate, therefore I did not have to pay back any student loan and I took out another student loan of approx. £4000 a year to fund my medical degree.

My course will last for 5 years. (At the end of my 5 year course my 2nd student loan will amount to £20,000) However, £4000 minus tuition fees (£1,150) is nowhere near enough to live on. I have no other savings/rich relatives or access to money so I was forced to take out a professional studies loan from HSBC.(2.5% interest above base rate = 7.5% apr) They agreed to give me an unsecured loan of £22,000 over the remaining 5 years. I will have 8 years to pay back after graduating in 2009 but interest will be accruing from day one. For borrowing £22,000 I will owe £36,000 incl interest!
I did overbudget my costing very slightly when I applied for this loan and would like to put some of this money aside each year into a savings account.
However, I'm confused about which account type is best for me at this time??

All in all, at the end of my 5 years I will have ~ £70K debt. I have no other option but to take the loan and hope at the end of it I will be able to cover the cost of my education. I have always worked during the summer to pay off my overdraft and have never claimed any benefits - neither do I intend to.

I also have £1,500 overdraft on my student account. I have no other credit cards or bank accounts.

I would be looking to access the money in the savings account in emergencies so would need immediate access really. Can anyone recommend a good savings account/option for me?

Any ideas to help me out please would be much appreciated.

memo

Llamatamer

Hi,
Welcome to the boards.
The best I can suggest is to look at a simple instant access savings account. If you read Martins savings article (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1098730527,15721,) it will give you a good start.

As a student providing you dont earn over around 4.5K in the summer you don't need to worry about paying tax so I doubt an ISA would be worth it. Although if you find your self better off towards the end of your studies an ISA would be a wise move as it means the tax man can't get at your savings.

Have you look at finding a cheaper loan as well? 7.5% doesn't seem great but I've never got into such things before.

Good luck with the studies.
Llamatamer

WaltD

memo wrote:

However, £4000 minus tuition fees (£1,150) is nowhere near enough to live on.

Are you sure your tuition fees will be only £1,150 per annum? That is what they were until last year, but I thought 90% of English universities had stated they were going to charge £3,000 per annum from 2005-06.

On a brighter note, I believe the government has said it will pay the tuition fees for the fifth year (only) of medical degree courses.

HGLTsuperstar

WaltD wrote:

Are you sure your tuition fees will be only £1,150 per annum? That is what they were until last year, but I thought 90% of English universities had stated they were going to charge £3,000 per annum from 2005-06.

Top-up fees kick in next autumn

memo_2

Hi thanks for your replies.
Just to clarify, I've checked and since I started my course before the introduction of top up fees I will be paying the £1,150 each year for my tuition fees. Thank God for that!

Anyway, getting back to the original post....any suggestions about a suitable account for me to put "excess" loan money plus some student loan money into?

Thank you.

Memo

edit: added PS below:

PS: I know I won't be able to make enough to cover 70K debt but want to make the money work a little for me for a few years if possible. After all, every little helps!

DocProc

Have a look at the ICICI HiSave instant access Internet savings account, which has no strings of any sort really and is currently offering a much higher than average interest rate of 5.4% AER :-

http://icicibank.co.uk/

Joe_Bloggs

Can you get some academic credit for your first degree that counts towards your medical degree? See here
Also read the other NHS link here regarding accelerated NHS funding.
J_B.
.

memo_2

DocProc wrote:

Have a look at the ICICI HiSave instant access Internet savings account, which has no strings of any sort really and is currently offering a much higher than average interest rate of 5.4% AER :-

http://icicibank.co.uk/

Hi DocProc,

I was going to look into ICICI but have read the ICICI feedback thread and decided to wait as they don't seem too hot on the communication front and I'd need instant access to my money.

I was going to open an account with a minimum payment to test the waters first but have had a change of heart as their online application form refused to load up for me after a lot of waiting and I lost my patience with them.
Perhaps when I have more time and ICICI have time to sort out their "teething problems" this may be an option I'd consider. Thanks for the suggestion.

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

Can you get some academic credit for your first degree that counts towards your medical degree? See here
Also read the other NHS link here regarding accelerated NHS funding.
J_B.
.

Hi J_B,
The links to the web pages in your post seem not to be available when I've tried them. I tried to search out academic credit but didn't get very far. From what I have been able to gather, the academic credit is for the more vocational nhs courses such as midwifery, nursing, etc.

I haven't come across much in the way of funding for grad medical students on a 5 year course. The situation would have been easier if I had managed to get a place on a graduate 4 year course as the government pays fees from year 2 onwards. Anyway, that's a whole different kettle of fish!

Basically, there's little help out there for grads studying medicine in my situation. That's why I've been "forced" to get a professional studies loan as the only option to fund my studies. I'm keeping an "it'll all be worth it in the end" attitude but trying to explore "savings" options that might be available to me.

Thanks for your help. I'm still researching which savings account would be right for me at the mo. Suggestions much needed and welcome.

Memo

Joe_Bloggs

The titles for the two documents in full are:- http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/nhs-knowledge_base/data/5442.html
The top line is ACCELERATED TRAINING FOR GRADUATES.
The next reference is this:-
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/nhs-knowledge_base/data/5344.html
The top line is FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO TRAIN AS A DOCTOR.
There may be time to change courses as so many people do. Ask around at your university.
J_B.
PS These schemes are not open to everybody and probably require a lot of luck to get on them. I wish you every success in your medical career.

memo_2

Thanks J_B, I've had a read but I don't qualify for any of those. Thanks again for your help though. I'm just going to look around for savings accounts and shift some student loan money in there.

flossy_splodge

Have you thought about training under the auspices of the Armed Forces? They not only cover your training costs but pay you a salary to study. Have you looked into it? Try all three services if interested. You will probably have to sign up to a short service commission (5 years) to cover things but the forces are an excellent way to get the qualifications you need/want and have good support and a job to go to? Good Luck anyway.
ps Also try the TA (Territorial Army).
As to savings just avoid the Halifax! Many others out there offering good rates. Look on the business pages of Ceefax or Ch4 for a reasonable round up of current rates.