Student loan company uk?

clancy wiggum

Hi all, after the recent budget took away funding for postgrads in Ireland I have been toying with the idea of doing a MSC in the UK. Does anyone on here have experience of applying for a fee's loan through the student loan company? Is it difficult to secure when not actually being from the uk? Also I know that you start paying it back once your earning over a certain threshold figure, but what happens if you don't actually end up working in the UK?
Any info would be great

07438991

Are you serious, did they take away postgraduate 'free education' and grants or what? I' just finished my MSc this yr and graduation last week. Only two of our class of approx. 35ppl got jobs from the MSc.

I know when I was doing my undergraduate that there was two ppl traveling from Newry & Belfast just to get the 'free education' down here...

pow wow

clancy wiggum wrote: »

Does anyone on here have experience of applying for a fee's loan through the student loan company? Is it difficult to secure when not actually being from the uk?

I did it but I was living in the UK at the time so it was different for me. Being Irish wasn't a problem though

clancy wiggum wrote: »

Also I know that you start paying it back once your earning over a certain threshold figure, but what happens if you don't actually end up working in the UK?

What happens is that every year they'll send you a form for overseas repayments. You must detail your income and provide proof, be it of salary or social welfare payments. They then calculate what you must pay for that 12 month period and you can pay through a variety of means. Their letters are persistent and threatening if you're not forthcoming with the information, but I'm not aware of what would happen if you just disappeared. Once you're working in the UK the repayments are taken at source from your salary assuming you're earning over the threshold.

clancy wiggum

Thanks for the info pow wow . I was wondering how they would actually enforce payments if one was to "disappear" i.e just never got back to them with foreign details etc.
Either way doesn't seem like a bad deal at all, the threshold is 21000 and anything you earn over that you pay 9% towards the loan, which is charged at current inflation rate plus 3%

clancy wiggum

They basically took the grant completely and the free fees for the vast majority of people. Unless you are currently on the special rate top up, in which case you get free fees up to 6250 ( I think that's the figure). Some other 4000 student's who will be means tested will have a contribution of 2000 paid towards their fees.

pow wow

clancy wiggum wrote: »

Thanks for the info pow wow . I was wondering how they would actually enforce payments if one was to "disappear" i.e just never got back to them with foreign details etc.

When I applied which is a few years ago now you had to give contact details for two relatives who they would chase if they couldn't find you. I don't know if they still do that!