To consider taking out a loan I might not pay back?

[berrygirlie]

So first off, yes I probably am BU (I know) and I'm not seriously considering this because I know it's shitty.

I'm in full time education right now, which just so happens to amount to about 2 days a week 9:30-2pm most of the time. I'm keen to do a 3 month course starting in January that's an evening course and I could juggle both courses easily enough as this shorter course is only on every Tuesday night.

However, the payment upfront is £125 - if I don't pay it, they can't enroll me properly and there's no payment plan scheme. I'm on a very low income at the mo and I could potentially save it if I absolutely scrimped and scraped it together, but it would be very uncomfortable. However a mate of mine is advising to just take out a student loan - with the issue being I'm disabled and there's not a definite guarantee I'll be able to work in the future and may never get to the income where I'd need to pay it back.

Very keen to do the course and have something to focus on given my area is going into Tier 4 lockdown and I'll be bored to tears without enough to do, but it's tricky given I have essentially no disposable income right now (mostly spent on the vitals).

I'm in Scotland and already getting a bursary due to my low income, but this money is really keeping me afloat at the moment. Desperate times and all that. I probably won't do it but interested in opinions.

Is it a part time course? You can get a part time fee grant for the course.

Do it! It’s £125, not £125,000!

@Lemonlady22

I struggle to understand how full time education is 9.30 to 2pm 2 days a week, thats 9 hours a week?!?... the new course is 3 months long, every other Tuesday...so thats approx 6 evenings?!? University is a doddle now from when I did my course back in 1980! No wonder every one wants to go there nowadays if they get free money they never want to pay back and get don't do a wholes days graft!

Lecture time isn't the same as academic rigor. When I went to (a JMB) uni in the 80s the history BA students had no lectures whatsoever in the second year. I was engineering and we were heavily timetabled but the History department was just as respected as the engineering. We still all had a lot of time for other pursuits.

We also had our fees paid with no need for a loan and needs based maintenance grants. I suspect students in the '80s had a much better time of it than current students do.

If you can't get a student loan - some PPs think it may not qualify - take a look at open university free courses.

there's also Futurelearn, Openlearning...

@Lemonlady22 my MA from a top 10 uni only had 4 hours a week of contact time. They rest of the time is to be spent in individual study, reading, writing essays, making sense of the masses of text to read, coming up with proposals etc.

That being said I did manage to also work 20 hours alongside it which helped me pay for my accommodation which loans aren't enough to pay for.

@Lemonlady22

I struggle to understand how full time education is 9.30 to 2pm 2 days a week, thats 9 hours a week?!?... the new course is 3 months long, every other Tuesday...so thats approx 6 evenings?!? University is a doddle now from when I did my course back in 1980! No wonder every one wants to go there nowadays if they get free money they never want to pay back and get don't do a wholes days graft!

Wow, that is one hell of an attitude from someone who got LOADS of "free money"! I assume that unlike students today, you did not have to pay tuition fees, and you would have had a grant - unless your parents were extremely well off, unlike mine. Education is not and should never be a privilege for the rich - student loans have turned it into exactly that. And many students have to work on top of studying to survive to complete their courses (not unlike many of us had to as well - although I am fairly sure I am correct, given the date that you mentioned, that you also qualified for unemployment benefit in the holidays - I did and I left university in 1979 the first time).

It's a shame they didn't do a bit more critical thinking on your course, and you might not come out with such unadulterated rubbish.

Apply for the loan. Some people never earn to pay their student loans back, that doesn't make them 'fraudsters'.

I also got a 'good' (i.e. not a 'soft subject', for academic rigour snobs) degree from a top 10 uni where my actual teaching time was 7-8 hours a week. The rest was self directed. So more than believable.

@CloudyVanilla

What? How is taking out a student loan that you are entitled to fraud? Loads of people won't always earn enough to pay back..

Some people on here need to get a grip it's £125 OP use your judegment

What if everyone took out £125 and never paid it back?

I detest arguments like these. It's only a small amount ...... It was only one person ...... So what? What if every person took that stance. This is a shitty way to think

The government has given carte blanche to wealthy friends to trouser millions - feel no shame about a tiny loan - do it for your own good.

*What if everyone took out £125 and never paid it back?

I detest arguments like these. It's only a small amount ...... It was only one person ...... So what? What if every person took that stance. This is a shitty way to think*

You are missing the point. If the OP is entitled to a loan, and that may not be certain, then they are entitled to it. Full stop. They are being honest and saying that their disability may mean that they can never work and may not be able to pay it back. If they can't then they will end up in the long line of people who ALSO can't pay it back but were possibly less realistic about the fact that they would never be able to afford the repayments (a situation which was acknowledged in introducing the system, that being why students don't have to repay until they hit a salary threshold). However, isn't the point of education supposed to be about things like bettering oneself, exploring and developing ones potential, and raising aspirations. Perhaps the OP might benefit from that opportunity and may, at some point, realise that they actually could work. Autism doesn't make them stupid or incapable. Disabled people can get educated, and can contribute to knowledge, society and the world. Never heard of Stephen Hawking? We can't all be geniuses, but we can all make the world a better place, learn and develop, and who knows what that investment might bring.

It was only one person ...... So what? What if every person took that stance. This is a shitty way to think

Not when that is the basis of the system. It's predicated on 60% of the loan not being paid back.

Lots and lots of people never pay all of their student loans back. I'm sure I never will either (though I do make payments).

You only have to pay them back if you're earning over a certain amount, and then they're wiped after a certain amount of time.

The repayments in relation to your earnings are reasonable, so I think you're fine to get the loan, because you're the same as everyone else - if you earn enough to pay it back, you will. If you don't, you won't.

It's absolutely fine, it's literally what hundreds of thousands of people do every single year.

There's nothing wrong with it. Student Loans allow for the possibility that you might not earn enough to pay it back. If they didn't consider that an acceptable option then they wouldn't offer it. You don't know what might happen in the future anyway in terms of your financial situation. Just do it.

Thanks everyone, this has been great to read! Still a bit "" about some PP's comments on how much easier my gen have it, but I'm appreciative of everyone who gave advice. I'm looking into the available loans and bursaries I can get, but if it's just not possible I'll start a short course with Coursera or OU in the meantime to keep me busy. 🧡

You absolutely should do it if you can. It gives you a better chance of being able to work in the future which is exactly the point. Many people never pay it fully back but those on a higher income pay it back with significant interest. That is just how the system is supposed to work ie to make it easier for those on lower incomes and from less privileged backgrounds to attend higher education.

I'm mired in debt from my student loans. I've done two undergrad degrees (career change in my early 30s) and am now band 5 in the NHS. I make repayments every month but they barely cover the interest. It's unlikely I'll ever pay the loans back and they're significantly larger than £125. As a PP said, that's the deal with student loans. There's nothing unethical about accepting a loan on the terms specified by the lender.

Are you sure you’d need to pay for the course OP? I did a similarly priced course a few years ago and the majority of the class were eligible for a fee waiver, many studying for an HMC at the same time too.

Worth checking with your college their criteria for a fee waiver, the list was quite long at the college I went to (also in Scotland).

*HNC

@Moondust001

*What if everyone took out £125 and never paid it back?

I detest arguments like these. It's only a small amount ...... It was only one person ...... So what? What if every person took that stance. This is a shitty way to think*

You are missing the point. If the OP is entitled to a loan, and that may not be certain, then they are entitled to it. Full stop. They are being honest and saying that their disability may mean that they can never work and may not be able to pay it back. If they can't then they will end up in the long line of people who ALSO can't pay it back but were possibly less realistic about the fact that they would never be able to afford the repayments (a situation which was acknowledged in introducing the system, that being why students don't have to repay until they hit a salary threshold). However, isn't the point of education supposed to be about things like bettering oneself, exploring and developing ones potential, and raising aspirations. Perhaps the OP might benefit from that opportunity and may, at some point, realise that they actually could work. Autism doesn't make them stupid or incapable. Disabled people can get educated, and can contribute to knowledge, society and the world. Never heard of Stephen Hawking? We can't all be geniuses, but we can all make the world a better place, learn and develop, and who knows what that investment might bring.

How am I missing the point? Where have I said autistic people are stupid and don't deserve to better themselves? Where? You are hugely offensive and have completely twisted my words to back your argument. Of you are going to quote me in future then please do so in the correct manner.

I agree that all people should be entitled to education. However, I stand by my argument against the pp and NOT the op. Personally I think it's rubbish the op has to borrow £125 to fund a course.

How on earth is this shitty? Have people not ever done the maths that someone who goes to uni to then become a teacher is not likely to ever pay back their student loan...? Do people understand the maths of it all? Wow.

YANBU. The rich are getting richer whilst the poor suffer. Loans are there for a reason and you can’t guarantee you won’t ever pay it back, you just might!

Hi @MintCassis Yes I would need to pay for it - I know people who have already applied for the course itself and they've had to pay £125 upfront. There's no reference to a potential fee waver or anything along those lines on the site.

@MaryMashedThem

I'm mired in debt from my student loans. I've done two undergrad degrees (career change in my early 30s) and am now band 5 in the NHS. I make repayments every month but they barely cover the interest. It's unlikely I'll ever pay the loans back and they're significantly larger than £125. As a PP said, that's the deal with student loans. There's nothing unethical about accepting a loan on the terms specified by the lender.

Agreed. I have £65,0000 of debt and have been working FT for three years. My debt has grown in interest exceeding what I've been able to pay back so far.

Student debt I should emphasise, I have no other debt

@berrygirlie this might be something you can apply for 🙂 If your course is on the list it could be paid in full.

www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/what-we-do/employability-skills/sds-individual-training-accounts/