Student loans

Faith

This is perhaps a stupid question, but do you have to have a student account to get a student loan? I've been studying abroad for 4 years, and am hopefully starting a postgrad course in Ireland in October, but in the mean time I'm looking into getting a student loan. I've got a current account with BoI at the moment, so I'm not sure if I'm entitled to one.

narwog81

BOI are offering loans of up to €2000 interest free for 9 months. You have to be able to prove that you are in full-time 3rd level education to avail of it - ie produce a student ID.

I have a current account also that all my bills etc come out of so you can either change that over to a student account or open another seperate student account with BOI. I didnt want to change my account over as i like my higher overdraft and credit card arrangements

Apart from that the Credit Union are pretty good, think their rate is 6% at the moment and they might be a bit more accessible depending on your circumstances.

Toots

Just something to note about the 9 month interest free loan, it has to be paid back in full at the end of the 9 months. A lot of people think it's a regular loan that you just don't pay interest on for the first 9 months and then pay it off by installments afterwards.

narwog81

probably should have said that - thanks for clarifing that Toots

Faith

Cheers for the info. Is it straight-forward enough to open a student account? I had so much hassle with it in the UK .

For the time being, I don't have an income, although i should do from June on. Will this affect the application for a student loan?

Toots

As regards opening a student account, it's simple, just bring in proof of ID (passport or driving licence) and proof of address (utility bil or bank statement etc dated within the last 6 months).

I'm not sure if your lack of income would affect the application or not, there's different criteria for student loans AFAIK. If you can show some sort of proof that you will have a job in June, then that'll improve your chances. What sort of post grad are you doing BTW? I think they'll do deferred payments for certain types of qualification.

Faith

Toots85 wrote: »

I'm not sure if your lack of income would affect the application or not, there's different criteria for student loans AFAIK. If you can show some sort of proof that you will have a job in June, then that'll improve your chances. What sort of post grad are you doing BTW? I think they'll do deferred payments for certain types of qualification.

I'm doing a HDip conversion course (assuming I get a place!).

The income may be from renting out my apartment in the UK rather than a job, so it's not that straightforward unfortunately.

Toots

I'm not sure what the story would be there TBH. They might look for some sort of guarantee or indemnity, not too sure how it would work. I'll run it past the guys in work tomorrow and see if they can offer any pearls of wisdom

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Interest free loan + savings account could yield some nice free money.

stepbar

It all really depends how much you need and what it's needed for. For example 2k is fairly low risk. 15k is a different story.

Usually this is what happens

1. An application is put up based on the info you give and the term / amount you require.
2. The system grades the application based on your current a/c (if you have one with BOI) and either gives an approve, refer or decline result. A refer means an underwriter will take a look. Even a decline can be appealed but in this climate I don't know how supportive they could be as most times a decision is controlled by credit criteria. If approved the lender will look for further info to support the application (see 3.)
3. Depending on the result that comes back you maybe be asked to provide further information e.g proof of a college place, wage slips etc. There maybe conditions such as the loan being subject to a suitable guarentor etc.
4. If the loan is approved you will be asked to gather the info required and sign a loan agreement (2 copies) to allow the money to be drawn down. ID and Proof of Address maybe required. If declined then that's the end of the road.

If I had a flow diagram I'd be better able to describe the process.

Faith

Okay, just to bump this because the situation has changed slightly. Chances are high that I won't be able to get a job this summer, so I'll be signing onto the dole the minute I can. But with the delay in payments, I need the loan to cover me until I get the money from the dole through. I'd be looking for a loan of €2000 at most. So here's where I get a bit confused:

• I'm finishing college in May and should be able to sign on once my exams are finished.
• However, I'm still technically a student until I graduate in July.
• Will signing on to social welfare, which implies I'm finished college, impact my ability to get a student loan, even though I'm still a student as far as the bank is concerned?
• Would social welfare be a valid repayment source?

Also, do I need to make an appointment with my bank manager to discuss all of this, or do I just need to go to Customer Services at my branch? Thanks again!

Faith

Sorry to bump again, but I'm still hoping that someone can answer the above questions, or the following:

Will I be able to open a student account and apply for a student loan all in the same day? I'll only be home for a day in the next month, and would like to get it sorted asap. Or alternatively, can I open the student account in a branch in a different county, then apply for the loan at my normal branch?

Toots

Ahoy, you can open the account in one branch and apply for the loan in another, no probs there. I'm not sure if they'll take the dole as a repayment source though. AFAIK there's a backlog with dole payments at the moment, something like 11 weeks I heard, although I could be wrong.

Faith

Thanks a million for the reply, Toots. I know about the backlog, that's why I need the loan! I'll try anyway. Do I have to make an appointment or can I just go in to the customer services desk?

Toots

You can fill in an application at the desk, but in your case I'd recommend making an appointment so they can do the whole application in front of you and you can give them as much information as possible about your circumstances. Good luck!