Student seeking additional loan other then student loan...

caj56k

Hi all,

Great website first of all, I have learnt so much already! I was wondering if some of you may be able to help me. Please stick with it, it’s quite detailed :S ...

I am a student of architecture (currently in 4th year work experience) and will be going back to university for my 5th and 6th year in September. I am worrying that I may not be able to afford to continue with the course and I am finding it hard to save for the next two years given that I will need to buy a new computer and laptop as well as continuing to pay £320 rent. When uni starts again I will have a £4000 loan for the year. This will be my only income. My outgoings for rent alone will be £3520. With me already having 3 years as an architecture student under my belt, I, and any other architecture students will testify, that the course is extremely expensive with constant printing and material costs.

I got through the first 3 years (course is split into 1st,2nd,3rd yr education, 4th yr work exp, 5th,6th yr education, 7th yr work exp) by opening 4 student bank accounts and rinsing the overdrafts (over £5000) before paying them off this year in my work experience. The next two years however I will not be able to do this as don’t think they will allow it.

I am also very sceptical about getting a job. The course is intensive and you are lucky if u don’t do at least 2-3 all nighters every week and have very little social life (so no money is going out via that route). I have known a few ppl to get jobs just to help and none have been successful in getting the grade they want or even seeing it out. These ppl have had stress related medical problems, poor grades, breakdowns or even just walked out on the course. I wish I was overreacting, but the fact of the matter is that I am willing to struggle financially in order to succeed in the reason why I came to uni which is to get qualifications.

The question I have therefore is how should I go about getting the financial support I need for the next two years? Bear in mind that I need around £5000-6000 and can’t make any repayments for at least the next two years. Would a loan be the best way to go (is it possible in my position) or maybe be a credit card switcher until I can make repayments. I also think my credit rating may be poor given my position and history.

Thanks for sticking with the post if u do have any thoughts I would really appreciate it as I really stuck at this point and may have to cancel or at least prolong university another year which I really don’t want to do.


Thanks everyone

The_One_Who

First of all, I don't think a commercial loan is a good idea. Have you tried talking to someone in student support? They can usually help point you in the direction of things that could help such as hardship funds. Or have you done any research towards bursaries?

Why do you need a computer and a laptop? Why not just one or the other? The university has computers if you need them.

Your only income is your loan? I understand that you are doing a fairly intensive course, but could you get a job? What about doing full-time work during the holidays? Or even just getting a Saturday one? Even better if the company you are currently doing work experience for would employ you part time?

Opening four student bank accounts will probably be breaking the terms and conditions of some of them, so I'd be careful with that. I think the conditions say that you need to have a regular income going into it, such as student loan payments, or a wage. Relying on overdrafts is not a good position to be in as the bank can ask for it back at any time. I'd try to focus on more stable income such as a job.

Oldernotwiser

I think that you're being unduly pessimistic about the possibility of part time work and study and also unrealistic about your IT needs. Thousands of people do architecture degrees and they can't all have rich parents supporting them! You probably can't do a great number of hours but working on a Saturday will bring in enough money to feed you and pay your bills which, if all else fails, is all you really need. Haven't you managed to save anything from this year working?

As TOW says, why do you need both a computer And a laptop and both NEW?

caj56k

no, both will probably be second hand. the laptop will be cheap and basically used a fancy usb except i will i will be able to show my work in studios. there are no computers available in studions unfortunatley so buying a cheap laptop to show my constantly changing work (around £200) will be cheaper then spending money on printing 3 times a week. i will also need a high spec computer for home to keep up with the level of detail needed on my renders.

i completely understand why you would ask these questions first as they would be the first things to query but unfortuantley i will require these :S
i may be able to work on a saturday also and definatley in the break between years but even in term hols i will have no spare time speaking from past experience and ppl currently in their 5th year.

i was even offered a part time place with my current employers as were several others also going back but they have all declined as there is just too much work. even my employer said they dont usually expect us to take it.

i will contact student support tho as i did for my undergraduate. the thing is when i contacted them at the start of the year they didnt give me anything, and when i contacted them at the end of the year, they gave me a substantial amount. reading up on this, this is because the universities have this money to spend on students, and if they dont spend it all they have to give the money back. it wud help me towards the end of the year, but not for the majority.

there was some useful info there however, thankyou. i understand what u mean about overdrafts - i dont think that is the way to go this year. its okay also getting a job for saturdays to pay for food, but it will not begin to touch course costs which can just be astronomical.when applying for the hardship loan for my undergraduate i filled out a form of all income and expenditure and remember seeing that the amount i had spent on the course was almost rivalling rent!

it is this reason i know i will require a further loan or credit card and is why i am a bit stuck. any thoughts on what route i should take would be very helpful. i will also ask student support first although i know the deal with them and the process so i have come to believe i will get very little help to begin with.

Oldernotwiser

This is not intended to be a snide comment but a genuine question; how do other architecture students manage?

caj56k

no worries man... well out of the ppl i know (around 6 who are continuing to postgraduate) 1 has saved all year as i would have done if not for my existing debts from my undergraduate (vicious cycle), two others are staying at home and therefore have the major relief of no rent, one is studying part time, one is a more mature student and has her husband's income, and the other, of whome i feel is in a similar position to me is working. This person had to do so in the undergraduate course also and his grades dropped dramatically and also ended up in hospital and is still not over his stress related symptoms. rather then incure any of that, or even the increased stress i wud rather not work part time and just deal with the debt after i am qualified. i have already proven i can pay off the debt and budget well (having paid off £5000 in overdrafts while only being on a work exp pay).

Because of these concerns, alot of ppl arent coming back. These 6 ppl out of around 60-70 that i knew well are coming back. I am guessing because of the stress first of all, but also because they simply cant afford it.

I am still very keen on completing the course as early as possible, and am willing to temporarily slip into debt for around 3 years in order to do so. I just dont know how :S

caj56k

cheers for the reply by the way. please respond if possible and anyone else who may have solutions or be in a similar position

Idiophreak

I don't know if you'd qualify, but have you looked at the Professional Studies Loans you can get? That's how I financed my masters...

If you can prove to a bank (most often HSBC in my experience) that doing the PG part of your course is a shrewd financial move long-term, they can lend you cash with a deferred start date for repayment (normally the year after graduation). I'm not sure if your course counts for it - and it is very much a commercial bank loan - if you don't make repayments, you'll be chased for them - but it might be worth looking into...

Idiophreak

This from the HSBC website:

Professional studies loans are available to students studying for any post-graduate course majoring in the following subjects:

• Architecture

Blacksheep1979

Unless you've been playing silly beggars all those student accounts will still be there as long as you pay regular amounts into them. Also why do you need a laptop and a desktop?

The_One_Who

I understand why you would want a laptop and a desktop, but can't you get a higher spec laptop if you need to show things on it? That might work out cheaper than getting a cheap laptop and a high spec desktop.

If you need to work to survive, then you need to work. Or you could take a year out to earn money and then go back to the course? Both of those are probably better ideas than taking out a commercial bank loan.

Is it possible for you to move back home? Or move into a flat that has cheaper rent?