To think poor students will still be able to go to uni and now it will be fairer on ALL students !

[bereal7]

I've read a few ridiculous comments from posters complaining that their children won't be able to afford university. This is bullocks ; the loans will still be there and even higher now. On top of this, they don't have to be repaid until you are earning more than £21k. Therefore, there is no reason why poorer students can't afford university.

If anything, this is now a fair system. It was not right that some students could get such high grants and loans that they don't have to work whilst other only got the bare minimum and have to work - sacrificing their studies - just because their parents earnt more. Those who didn't have to work would be more likely to pass and have higher paying jobs but not have to pay back as much. It was a ridiculous and unfair system which penalised people whose parents were earning more on paper and I welcome this change. Everyone who wants to , and gets the grades, can go to uni but will have to pay back the loans the same as everyone else once they graduate. Aibu to think poorer students will still be able to go university?

So annoyed by the comments and hysteria so I'm sure there's a few typos in there - apologies

[Dawndonnaagain]

They just look at your monthly payments (about £45 a month for me) when calculating your affordability figure.
And said monthly payments will be covering a lot more than the current 27000 loan.

[Welshmaenad]

Also bereal, I can assure you am not in the least bit 'very well off' right now!

[Oliversmumsarmy]

They do take account of student loans when accessing a mortgage. Not in a direct way but it is there as money that is going from your monthly salary so has to be accounted for.

[19lottie82]

Yes, there are lots of jobs available for those with disabilities, that's why you see so many in bars, waiting in restaurants, working in offices and supermarkets...

And all disabilities are visible are they? Just because you can't "see them" doesn't mean they're not there! I have worked with plenty of people with disabilities.

[Dawndonnaagain]

Quite the times they are a changing...
(Oldest ds is also a bank manager).

[QuiteLikely5]

Ok well that will explain it then. I haven't started paying mind back yet

[GeorgeYeatsAutomaticWriter]

Here you go QuiteLikely

[MrsTerryPratchett]

They do not take student loans into account when assessing mortgage affordability Yes they do.

Quite do you think social mobility is important? Because I think a lot of this debate rests on that. I think the Tories want to keep everyone in their place. Them at the top, a nice chuck of 'underclass' at the bottom to scare people and to have someone to blame. Give the impression of the hope of mobility while making it next to impossible in practice. Make sure there are a few Oprahs so you can point and them and say, "see, someone black, poor and female did it, you're just lazy and stupid".

[WhyBeHappyWhenYouCouldBeNormal]

Absolutely George, the government needs to do more to get young people to even leaf through the student finance leaflets. It stinks of "this is not for the likes of you".

Massive empathy Welsh- I was a disabled mature student parent, studying has wrecked my heart! Most exhausting period of my life ever.

[Dawndonnaagain]

19Lottie One of my dds has EDS, as well as an ASC. So I do know a little about unseen disabilities, however, do suggest to me how she can work as well as do her uni work next year. Or perhaps you can find my ds a job, he has ASC with full body tics, needs frequent stitches, but is getting firsts at uni and will probably end up working in academia. At the moment though, part time work would be too dangerous.
As for dd1, she uses a wheelchair...

[Gemauve]

Hmm, so a student will be repaying the equivalent of a mortgage as soon as they are able.

No they won't.

They'll be paying 9% of their income over £21k. It's a graduate tax, with a high threshold.

[ollieplimsoles]

The stereotype of the student with a lot of free time is largely a myth... particularly if you are aiming for a 2.1 or 1st.

I AGREE!

I'm also going to put it out there and say that university really isnt the be all and end all either. I know so many people who chose subjects they had no intention of getting a job out of at the end of it, why would you choose to study something if you dont really see yourself/ have no interest in working in the field? Well its because our school told us that not going to uni was a career death sentence and we simply had to get a degree in SOMETHING (for their league tables...)

Some of the lads that didnt get the grades or have the money to go are doing so much better than us who did go to uni and get that precious degree, thats if we didn't drop out half way through because we realised the degree wasn't going to help us. They got themselves trades and work as joiners, decorators and plumbers- they have mortgages! We are still stuck in rented houses with debt.

I know that their are some people who do well out of university when they leave school, myself and DH are two of these people. But going to uni is a MASSIVE decision that too many young people rush into and are left with nothing but debts to show for it. At least with the fees going up and up these college leaver might think 'hang on- is this REALLY for me??' Even with the schools and colleges pushing them to go..

[Welshmaenad]

On the plus side, I suppose the huge number of families that will be plunging into poverty mean that, as someone who wants to work in child protection, it will be easy enough to get a job...

[Gemauve]

If your families household income is £10,000 a year then it is very unlikely that you are going to support your child taking on such a huge debt.

So why are applications from disadvantaged students up, massively, by any measure you care to suggest?

[GeorgeYeatsAutomaticWriter]

It's not a graduate tax, though Gemauve. That would be far more equitable. As I said, it disproportionately advantages high graduate earners and penalises lower earners.

[19lottie82]

As I already mentioned, if you are to apply for a mortgage, the lender will look at your monthly SL payments when calculating how much you can afford to borrow, but it's not considered "bad" debt, like having the same amount of a credit card of personal loan.

As SL payments are in line with your monthly salary, it's pretty much impossible that they alone will prevent you getting a mortgage, only possibly reduce the amount you can borrow, very slightly (prob not enough to make a difference).

[Gemauve]

They just look at your monthly payments (about £45 a month for me) when calculating your affordability figure.
And said monthly payments will be covering a lot more than the current 27000 loan.

And said monthly payments will be exactly the same, as the repayment amount is not related to the amount borrowed (other than setting how long you repay for).

[GeorgeYeatsAutomaticWriter]

So why are applications from disadvantaged students up, massively, by any measure you care to suggest?

Partly because universities have to meet OFFA targets and are pouring loads of money and resources into Widening Participation? And because the grant scheme was an important part of encouraging disadvantaged students to believe that university was a feasible option for them?

[Gemauve]

It's not a graduate tax, though Gemauve. That would be far more equitable. As I said, it disproportionately advantages high graduate earners and penalises lower earners.

Explain. The high graduate earners repay their debt.

The low graduate earners get it written off.

[HSMMaCM]

DD will really struggle with an invisible disability to work her way through university, so she may not be able to go :(

[WhyBeHappyWhenYouCouldBeNormal]

Gemauve - as I mentioned later in my post, it was because you were firstly told about all the grants available to you as a low income student, the loan was always a sort of afterthought

I felt encouraged to go with the safety of the grants... as many of my peers did.

[Gemauve]

They do take account of student loans when accessing a mortgage. Not in a direct way but it is there as money that is going from your monthly salary so has to be accounted for.

And the changes made today won't make a penny in difference to the amount going from the monthly salary for a current student applying for a mortgage in ten years' time, other than in some edge cases affecting people from very poor backgrounds who immediately start to earn £50k+ right from graduation, of whom it might not unreasonably be asked "why shouldn't they pay it back?"

[mmollytoots]

what a load of poop.

I got very loan and matinance loan going as I am from a poorer background and I still had to work throughout university

[Gemauve]

And because the grant scheme was an important part of encouraging disadvantaged students to believe that university was a feasible option for them?

But they were still taking on £27000 of debt, minimum.

[GeorgeYeatsAutomaticWriter]

Graduate 1: Well-paid job. Salary of £60k.

Graduate 2: Middle income job. Salary of £22k.

Graduate 1 pays off student loan quickly, thereby paying less interest. Graduate 2 pays off over a longer period, thereby paying more interest.