Repaying student loan after dropping out question

[Greentent]

DS dropped out of uni due to illness a day after he got he enrolled and got his loan. Uni paid back the fees and agreed to defer his place till this year. For some reason, he did not pay it back straightaway! He's had several white envelopes appear in the post. What is going to happen now when we reapply for another student loan? I am guessing he will get everything minus one term's maintenance grant? He's been online and says he doesn't have to pay it back yet but I imagine that's because the information he's reading is based on the assumption that he is a student at university. Should he be paying back as much as possible now or should he actually keep it as he won't be getting another one? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Soontobe60]

He will only be the a certain number of years of loan. Is his course 3 or 4 years? Why on earth did he not pay it off or save it???

[silkpyjamasallday]

I dropped out in my first term of second year due to having a breakdown and the university didn't contact me until the summer, so they took the fees for the year and I got my maintenance loans for spring and summer terms despite not being at university. It just means you have less loan available when you reapply, and the funding may not cover a whole degree, I have two years worth of loan left so will have to cover the third year myself when I restart my degree.

[silkpyjamasallday]

I think student loans has four years worth of fees and maintenance available per student. So if he has dropped out in the first term you should still have all the funding when he restarts

[Greentent]

"Why on earth did he not pay it off or save it???" 18 year old fool!

It's a 3 year course. So am I right in thinking that despite having this, he will still get the full maintenance grant for this year? The only problem will arise if he wants to do a further year (MA) and then he will only get 2 terms rather than 3? Uni paid back their fees and everything was cancelled. I spoke to a man at student loans and he said it would go through as an overpayment I think.

[NewIdeasToday]

I suggest he contacts the student finance team at the university he dropped out of. They should help him understand his position. And they’ll also help him even though he’s dropped out. Universities understand that things sometimes happen in life.

[MarchingFrogs]

Have a look here (assuming you / he haven't already?)

studentfinance.campaign.gov.uk/

[Greentent]

Thanks. Good idea to speak to uni. They have been really good and confirmed they had sent back fees. They have also confirmed he has a place for this year.

[Greentent]

Thanks for the link. The man I spoke to at the loan co said that it would come through as an overpayment. This appears to mean he does have to pay it back early. I need to get my hands on those white envelopes that have been appearing!!!

"If you’ve been overpaid after withdrawing, we’ll contact you to let you know how to repay any extra student finance you’ve already had. You may need to repay this early and before you’re earning over the repayment threshold."

[Greentent]

I am hoping that even with this overpayment, he will still get the full maintenance amount for this year. Who knows how much of it is actually left!

[Greentent]

I've looked at what was in the latest white envelope (while he was in the shower). He needs to contact them immediately to talk about repayment or they will consider bringing in external debt collection agencies.... the folly of youth!

Do you think they still give him another grant for September?

[MarchingFrogs]

Do you think they still give him another grant for September?

I think so, but clearing the existing overpayment asap would be a good idea anyway.

If SFE accept that this academic year never actually happened, he will still get finance for the whole of an undergraduate course and still maintain his 'gift year' entitlement. If they insist on counting this year as a year undertaken (nb, I think its the period of study that counts, not the period for which one claimed finance), the gift year will be lost, so no room for needing to repeat a year.