Student Loan FAQ's

Here are some student loan frequently asked questions and their answers which may assist:

Q. What are the criteria for a University or College to be eligible for me to get a Government student loan?

A: Both the course you are taking and the institution need to meet certain criteria for you to qualify for a government student loan. The course you are taking should lead to one of the following qualifications:

• First degree
• Foundation degree
• Certificate of Higher Education
• Diploma of Higher Education
• Higher National Certificate
• Higher National Diploma
• Initial Teacher Training
• Further training of youth and community workers

The institution has to be a:

• UK degree-awarding institution
• college that receives government funding and provides a course leading to a degree qualification
• private institution offering specifically designated higher education courses (ask your university or college if it qualifies)
• group of schools taking part in the School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) scheme

Ask your University or College if they qualify.

Q. How does a Debit card work?

A: Debit cards are linked to your current account and they can be used to:

• Make purchases (up to a daily limit)
• Obtain cash out when you purchase goods (an additional amount is added to the cost of your purchase and then given back to you in cash)
• Withdraw cash from ATMs
• Guarantee cheques

For each transaction on your debit card your account balance is checked and if there are sufficient funds available the amount is taken out (debited) almost immediately. You will use a PIN (personal identity number) or sign to confirm the transaction. If you have a Visa debit card this can be used anywhere credit cards are accepted, including online. Contactless debit cards are also progressively being introduced across the UK for small purchases of around £10. These enable you to pass your card across a sensor on the till in shops and cafes and the purchase amount is automatically debited from your account, significantly speeding up the process for small purchases.

Q. What is a Career and Personal Development Loan?

A: A Professional and Career Development Loan is a bank loan you can use to help pay for work related courses learning to help with career advancement or improve job prospects. You can borrow from £300 to £10,000 from a participating bank to help pay for your course. Like any loan you need to repay the money you borrow but, with a Professional and Career Development Loan, the Learning and Skills Council will pay the interest on the loan while you are on the course and for one month afterwards. Even when you start to repay the loan to the bank, the interest rate for the repayments are set at a fixed, competitive rate of interest, compared with most other personal loans.

Q. What is a UCAS confirmation of place letter

A: UCAS stands for Universities and Colleges Admissions Service and is a central organisation through which almost all applications for entry into Higher Education are processed. If you apply through UCAS and are accepted by a University or College, UCAS will issue a letter confirming this usually after your A Level or Higher results in August.

Q. What funding is available to me if I am a Post gradate?

A: You may still qualify for UK Government assistance refer to their Postgraduate funding website. You can also apply for financial help for postgraduate and post doctorate research from Learned Societies such as:

• British Academy (for humanities and social sciences)
• The Royal Academy of Engineering
• The Royal Society (for science)

More postgraduate funding options can also be found at: www.postgraduatestudentships.co.uk

Download the Student Loans PDF Guide here - see our other free PDF guides here

Guide Contents

What are student loans?
What about student banking?
Shopping around for a student bank account package
Applying for your student bank account
Student loan FAQs
Student loan help

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