The Student Room Group

Career Development Loan

Is anybody applying for this to fund their postgrad course?? How easy is it to get this loan?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Original post by Shiv_Shiv
Is anybody applying for this to fund their postgrad course?? How easy is it to get this loan?

I took out a career development loan for my current masters. Whether you are given the loan will depend on a number of factors, which I could not possibly comment on without further information.
Original post by evantej
I took out a career development loan for my current masters. Whether you are given the loan will depend on a number of factors, which I could not possibly comment on without further information.


What sort of factors? Academic or purely financial? I'm going to apply for one (hopefully next week) for my MSc.
Reply 3
Original post by ComeAlongPond
What sort of factors? Academic or purely financial? I'm going to apply for one (hopefully next week) for my MSc.

Assuming your postgraduate programme begins in the autumn, you are applying far too early, and the banks will not deal with your application until a prescribed time; that is, x amount before your programme begins.

But the factors are generally financial.
Reply 4
I applied for the form last Friday which takes 7-10 days to come through in the post so hopefully will get it in the early stages on next week! I know it's a bit early to apply just yet, I just want to be able to have enough time to fill the form in properly and read all necessary info before I send it off! I do already have a form but I messed it up so had to get another one (something they don't take too kindly as you're only supposed to get one form and that's your lot) because I didn't want to use tippex as I know most applications don't allow this.

In terms of my financial situation, I have always paid my bills on time through direct debit but have moved three time in the past couple of years which may affect my credit rating but I think that's quite a typical thing for someone our age. I'm trying to save as much as I can and so far have got £4610 but it's taken ages to get there because saving on my wage is virtually impossible :frown:
What is the maximum you can borrow for a MSc Finance or a variant of in a UK university. Saw Imperial, Warwick, Oxford, Cambridge or LSE.

I don't mean the 2000-10000 loan I mean maximum postgraduate loan.

Anywhere lending 25,000?
Reply 6
Original post by Ineedaplace
What is the maximum you can borrow for a MSc Finance or a variant of in a UK university. Saw Imperial, Warwick, Oxford, Cambridge or LSE.

I don't mean the 2000-10000 loan I mean maximum postgraduate loan.

Anywhere lending 25,000?


Postgraduate programmes in finance etc. are supposed to be taken after a few years in the industry when you can afford to pay the inflated fees; that is, of course the lie they will spin. In reality, with a career development you can borrow £10,000 which means those sorts of programmes are out of the reach for normal home students.

That is the maximum 'postgraduate loan'. Banks might offer others, but they are not accredited, so to speak, which means the interest rates are higher and the learning and skills council do not pay your interest while you study. The only students who banks would trust with more money than that are doctors for obvious reasons. I doubt anyone would lend you £25,000 to do a finance programme.
Reply 7
Original post by Shiv_Shiv
I applied for the form last Friday which takes 7-10 days to come through in the post so hopefully will get it in the early stages on next week! I know it's a bit early to apply just yet, I just want to be able to have enough time to fill the form in properly and read all necessary info before I send it off! I do already have a form but I messed it up so had to get another one (something they don't take too kindly as you're only supposed to get one form and that's your lot) because I didn't want to use tippex as I know most applications don't allow this.

In terms of my financial situation, I have always paid my bills on time through direct debit but have moved three time in the past couple of years which may affect my credit rating but I think that's quite a typical thing for someone our age. I'm trying to save as much as I can and so far have got £4610 but it's taken ages to get there because saving on my wage is virtually impossible :frown:


When it comes to filling out the form, declare that you will use your savings to pay for your tuition fees, then ask for money for living costs. This way it is far easier and you can probably get slightly more than you would. The irony is, or how it worked out for a lot of applicants on here last year, that they would prefer to see that you had no money rather than some.
I will be applying for one, but I highly doubt I will get one because of my credit rating. I really want to go to Keele, but sadly it is the most expensive of my options :sad:
Reply 9
Original post by ~ Purple Rose ~
I will be applying for one, but I highly doubt I will get one because of my credit rating. I really want to go to Keele, but sadly it is the most expensive of my options :sad:


What is wrong with your credit rating? How do you find out how good/bad your credit rating is?
Original post by Shiv_Shiv
What is wrong with your credit rating? How do you find out how good/bad your credit rating is?


http://www.experian.co.uk/

You can get general information free, and it's about £7 to get a full report with your actual credit rating on.

Basically I have money on my credit card and am overdrawn, so because I don't earn a high salary or own a house I have a medium rating.
Reply 11
Original post by Shiv_Shiv
What is wrong with your credit rating? How do you find out how good/bad your credit rating is?

The problem is not due to having a bad credit rating (remember, banks are looking to make money on you) per se, but not having any credit rating at all. The people who tend to have problems are those who have not had a credit card, overdraft, or a mobile phone contract etc.. I would not worry either of you!
Reply 12
Original post by evantej
The problem is not due to having a bad credit rating (remember, banks are looking to make money on you) per se, but not having any credit rating at all. The people who tend to have problems are those who have not had a credit card, overdraft, or a mobile phone contract etc.. I would not worry either of you!


I don't have a credit card - should I get one? I do have a mobile phone contract and a graduate overdraft limit which ends this summer.
Reply 13
Original post by Shiv_Shiv
I don't have a credit card - should I get one? I do have a mobile phone contract and a graduate overdraft limit which ends this summer.


To give you a comparison (of sorts). I had a mobile phone contract and £1500 overdraft with Barclays, but no credit card. When I applied I did not have a job nor any savings, and they gave me the full £10,000 (£4450 for tuition fees and £5550 for living costs). When it comes to credit, the bank will look at a credit card and count that in their calculations; that is, they will see it as money available to use for tuition fees and living costs. I would personally avoid getting a credit card if you have not actually got one already.

One thing you could do, which makes the actual application stage far easier is switch banks to either Barclays or the Co-op, and that way you could get them to maintain your overdraft too. I have had my overdraft at this level since my foundation year in 2006, and Barclays have not once signalled that they would like me to switch to something else!
Reply 14
I would switch banks but I really like Natwest and my mum used to always have problems with Barclays so that put me off! I did a credit check online, it wasn't experian so not sure how reliable it was but i got 3 out of 5 stars so I guess it's fairly ok. I can probably apply to increase my overdraft limit. Thanks for the advice, its really helpful!!
Reply 15
Hi,

I wonder if anyone can advise me please. I have applied for a CDL with Barclays and they keep asking for documents that I have sent. The last request was to have the documents stamped at a branch for verification - which I did and posted recorded delivery.

I received another letter asking for documents after sending all of the information stamped. After telephoning them to ask what else was required, I was told that the stamp and signature from the branch was not acceptable!!??? I am completely baffled. I asked to speak to the manager, but ended up on waiting for ages and hung up! I am fed up with calling the call centre in India where I have been called by my surname, middle name and misunderstood. This has been going on for nearly two months. Has anyone experienced this..? Any advice very welcome.....
Reply 16
What happens if the university want the fees paid once they have offered you a place? I have got money to pay this through savings but that's literally all I have so I'd have no money for accommodation if I had to do that
Reply 17
Original post by Shiv_Shiv
What happens if the university want the fees paid once they have offered you a place? I have got money to pay this through savings but that's literally all I have so I'd have no money for accommodation if I had to do that


So long as you are not an international student they will not ask for tuition fees until you register. You can pay early and save a little bit of money, but generally the difference is minimal so I would keep a hold of your money for now.
Reply 18
Original post by evantej
So long as you are not an international student they will not ask for tuition fees until you register. You can pay early and save a little bit of money, but generally the difference is minimal so I would keep a hold of your money for now.


surrey want the fees upfront before they can allocate you accommodation which I thought was a bit weird!? maybe i will email them
Reply 19
Original post by Shiv_Shiv
surrey want the fees upfront before they can allocate you accommodation which I thought was a bit weird!? maybe i will email them


Lancaster offered me accommodation last year without requiring a deposit for either it or the tuition fees. Clearly Surrey suffer from a high-drop rate and want to stabilise the number of postgraduates they have next year.
(edited 13 years ago)

Quick Reply