The Borrowers (Student Loans Co.)

Member Name: nicola21

Product:	Student Loans Co.
Date:	09/04/01 (208 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Much-needed financial aid.

Disadvantages: Consider repayments first.

Students struggle financially. Full stop. Rent, bills, food, medicine are amongst the basic needs and a part-time job isn't going to support everything. The Labour government took grants away in 1998 and the only available source of help is in the form of the Student Loans Co. which is now means tested as well.

The average loan is anything between £1000 - £4000 per year and the interest rate is a marginal 3% a year. When you start to pay them off after university, no more interest is charged. A scheme of monthly payments over a certain amount of years is arranged, although if you are not immediately earning over £13000 a year, payment can be deferred for as many years as it takes. It has to be noted that deferred sums are still subject to the yearly interest rate until you start repayment.

I really do not know what I would have done at university without the aid of the student loan and I would recommend them for their interest rates and availability to any prospective student. You are set an available sum each year by your Local Education Authority (LEA) and you can take however much you need up to the set amount.

The only thing that needs real consideration before a student loan is taken out, is the consequential repayments. I managed to notch up just under £7000 over three years. A thousand or two here and there soon mounts up and you have to be prepared to pay them back.

Repayment is usually over a 60 month period, depending on how much you borrow. When you're a student, it is easy to forget what you are borrowing and what it will cost you in the end. My loan will cost me about £120 per month over five years. It is a huge financial commitment, and you have to realise this before you apply.

However, since there is little else you can do to subsidise yourself at university, the Student Loans Co. give an excellent borrowing deal to students in need. They are a friendly and co-operative company based in Glasgow, p
roviding much-needed financial aid to thousands of students throughout Britain. But if you don't fancy being funded by them and do not want any student debts, you can always give Chris Tarrant a ring...

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