Finance

Student Loans

The present system of funding is based on a two-tier system of maintenance grants and student loans. By the time you get to seriously thinking about going to College, you should have sorted out the feed situation. Regardless of your feelings towards the loan concept, you will almost certainly have to apply for one and the sooner you apply, the easier your life will be. Many students, the poor fools, make the mistake of trying to make their grant last as long as possible and then applying for a loan at the last minute. However, you cannot apply for a loan until you have attended an eligibility interview and that the whole process takes ages.

For instance, it may take up to 3 or 4 weeks just to get an appointment, never mind getting the funds, so work out your budget and apply as soon as you can. Unless you have a rich grandfather, you know that at some point, you are going to need more money than you have available, in fact, students spend on average £1,000 a year more than they have allocated to themselves.

Use the time between asking for, and getting the appointment to work out exactly what your needs will be - don't wait until you are skint to apply. In fact, some clever students have taken out the full loan and deposited it into a high interest account that will more than repay the loan interest rates.