Argh what to do about Uni?!

Interest rates were down to 0% lats year and they are now up to 1.5%. It’s a pain but for the next few years the interest on it is going to be laughably low. It really is the best kind of debt.

Having said that my debt only comes from living expenses not tuition fees, good old scots unis :)

If I was planning to go to an English Uni right now I would be having second thoughts….........

It’s just the thought that I have a debt that big sitting at home waiting for me (and I don’t get out of it by moving to Aus, damn!)

The interest is a lot more than I thought when I signed up for it.

I don’t personally like the idea of paying off 20 quid here or 40 quid there for the next 50 years. I would much rather get rid of the thing! As soon as I get a stable income, I’m going to try and chip away bigger chunks off it - I personally don’t see the point in small amounts, as they all mount up over the years. And that 20 quid a month, although doesn’t sound much, in my mind thats over 200quid a year, and over a grand for five years (that’s kinda wasted, it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s just interest). That’s a holiday!

I just don’t like paying money that in my mind is not achieving anything. It’s not decreasing my debt, just taking my money!
I left uni July 08, so in the 2.5 years of not paying any of it, I have an extra 2000 that has been added on :-(

It’s just the thought of that amount of money. That somewhere along the line, I will have to pay out, whether I like it or not! I’m not in a position to pay any of it right now, so it can just sit there getting bigger until I win the lottery.

I heard rumours years ago that if you hadn’t paid it off by the time you’re fifty, it gets written off. I don’t think that’s true though!

Sorry I’m writing this without reading what’s already written but…

Consider the fact you might L.O.V.E your gap year, travelling, being abroad… and decide you want to stay forever?

My position now is that I’m somewhere I don’t want to ever leave, but face having to for a while because I haven’t yet completed my degree and pretty much have to to get anywhere here. Not saying it’s impossible… just blooming difficult.

Anyway just a thought… if you got uni done with you’re free completely then, you haven’t got anything to restrict your travels when you do go.

Interest rates were down to 0% lats year and they are now up to 1.5%. It’s a pain but for the next few years the interest on it is going to be laughably low. It really is the best kind of debt.

I’m going to get boringly finance-y here…

As Alex said, Student Loans are still a really cheap form of debt. There’s no point paying of a student loan and then getting a mortgage as the mortgage is more expensive and effect your ability to get other finance.

But interest rates were a 0% (or -0.4% for me last year on my pre-1998 student loan) because the economic crash in 2008 made RPI (a measure of inflation) go negative. The current student loans (1998-2012) interest rates are set at either RPI (for the previous year, which last year was 4.4%) or the Bank of England base rate (currently 0.5%) + 1% whichever is lower; so currently 1.5%. With inflation still running at about 4% there is pressure on the Bank of England to increase the base rate so student loan interest rates for current loans are likely to rise.

I just meant compared to a ‘real’loan they are laughably low. If they stay in line with the actually value of money which they are supposed to then the next year or two they will probably still me a very cheap form of borrowing. Essentially if you borrowed 10 thousand thats all you are really paying back

... you could also do a degree with a year abroad included and go travelling all over the place during the year? I’m on that year at the moment in Germany and I’m having the time of my life. Lots of student finance, less on the amount of studying.

:D

the best way to not have to pay back your loan is either be self-employed, a contractor (pretty much the same) or work abroad. Worth doing it if you can!

The 16,000 terrifies me, and compared to what new students are due to be leaving uni with, I’m glad I did the uni thing first!

Why does it terrify you? It barely affects your life. I think I pay £20 a month of my student loan back. That’s nothing. I’ve got about £25k debt from student loans (I also got the maximum allowed) and it doesn’t bother me one bit. It doesn’t affect my credit, it won’t make a difference getting a mortgage and it will be gone in 20 years! Easiest debt ever.

if the amount you’re paying for your loan comes directly out of your salary, it would therefore affect your disposable income, and therefore also the mortgage level the bank considers you can afford? at £20pcm it might not make much of a difference though admittedly…

The fees going up are ridiculous so I guess I am better going this year and (possibly) having my fees capped at the rate they are now.  I suppose whether I go to Uni first or travel first it will be an adventure haha, I’m determined to go traveling at some point anyway!

And yeah I did get all my offers :D really pleased. Just hope I do well in my A Levels!

Thanks for all your replies x

Keeping your dreams alive, that’s what’s important. Some people put it off forever but you still have plenty of time to make your dreams a reality. Also, don’t worry if you’re fed up with studying now doing A-Levels, university is a whole different experience. I really didn’t want to go to Uni at all but ended up going because it was the easy option. Having started though, I found I loved it and am so glad I ended up going. I changed as a person while at Uni and changed more when I went travelling. I didn’t travel until I was 25. I think I would have been a more mature student if I’d gone travelling first, but was a more mature traveller having gone to Uni first.

I think I would have been a more mature student if I’d gone travelling first, but was a more mature traveller having gone to Uni first.

That’s a really good way of putting it :)

Why not compromise and do a short travel after you finish your A-Levels? Go InterRailing or do a month volunteering in X country or something like that. Then it’s the best of both worlds. You’ll go to uni having ‘experienced the world’ but still be able to appreciate being young etc, but when you leave uni you’ll have a bit of travel experience to get you on the way.

There’s no way I could have travelled before uni, but that’s more a reflection of the kind of person I was.

If I’d gone travelling at 18, I would have been 100% bang on the booze and girls for the entire time I was away. I’d barely have seen anything.

Plus, when I got back, there’s no way I’d have had the will power to push myself back into education.

I went to uni straight after a levels, and it worked for me. I was a more mature traveller as a result of going at 21, and only 90% of my time was spent bang on the booze and girls.

Hi, Just looking for a little bit of info really on my course which is set to begin at Salford uni (Manchester) this september 2011…...

After completing my Diploma in ‘Nursing and Allied Health Professions’ (im a adult student that has just gone back into education again, 25 now!) Iv just had a fantastic job opportunity offered to me which involves alot of time traveling to various parts of the world…metting new people and networking etc ....as well as having the perks of this i get paid for the whole experience too!!

To get to the point of my issue, im wondering if it is possible at this late stage to defer my entry till 2012??....Im aware that the tuition fees increase after this year is out, so if i was considering entering 2012 i would account for the increase, however, as i am studying Mental Health Nursing im wondering do these increases still apply to me as i am under the NHS, which covers all of my fees, well the majority (as it stands now).

Really i just want to know if i can defer till next year as dont want to miss out on this great opportunity!!!

All replies to any of the above will be massively appreciated at this time

Charlie x

Ask the university if you can defer. If they say no, then you will know to accept your place. If they say yes, then you can make a decision. If your course fees are paid by the NHS then the rise in cost shouldn’t affect you.

If the job you’ve been offered is nursing related then it sounds far too good to pass off when it will be such a fab opportunity for your career.