NUS starts legal bid to save maintenance grants

Finally, some action is starting against the most ridiculous decision to cancel maintenance grants. I don't know your financial situation, but mine would be debt of over £95,000 by the time I am out of Uni because of the new loan system.
How can we help towards this cause, surely the students themselves should have a say and be able to make a difference? Your thoughts?

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Reply 1

SophieSmall

I don't see why it matters that the grants have been changed to loans only. As far as I've been told the repayment system is still exactly the same. Same amount to repay, same threshold ect. It'll make no difference you'll still be repaying the same amount.

If this isn't the case please do go ahead and say so. But nothing I've been told so far indicated otherwise.

Reply 2

Potally_Tissed

Someone somewhere has to pick up the bill. Why not the students who are benefitting?

Reply 3

desdemonata

Original post by SophieSmall

What?

Maintenance grants are what you don't have to pay back. I'm under the lowest threshold for my final year and I get about 7k in maintenance, half loans and half grants. If it had been all loans for my course, rather than having to pay back £14000 (4 year course), it would be £28000.

They've raised the loan amount to max 8.2k, which means people like me in future would with a 4 year course like mine have debts of £33.000. Not counting the tuition fees...

Sure it's not like the American system where you get harassed to pay back any loans regardless of your income, but 70k is a huge amount of money hanging over your head. It doesn't even make any sense, because likelihood is people will be even less likely to pay back their loans because they'd have to earn that much more to pay them off (assuming that the 30 year limit for paying them off still stands).

Edit: unless what you mean by "same amount to repay" means how much you pay monthly once you have passed the threshold?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 4

RoseHG

Original post by SophieSmall

For me, the prospect of having more money to pay back regardless of whether the amount changes per month after I earn £21,000 is the more upsetting thing. Plus with a much larger sum of money to pay back due to the increased loans, interest will be more. Having to have such a huge sum of debt will certainly in my opinion put people off going to uni in the first place. Because the course I choose should lead me into a well paid profession, I will have to end up paying off thousands of pounds a year, when 11 years ago tuition fees were at £1000 a year and maintenance grants readily available.

Reply 5

RoseHG

Original post by desdemonata

This is exactly how I feel. My course is 6/7 years, and I have calculated 95,000k to pay back, when less than a year ago this would have been significantly less. I hope the NUS can get somewhere with this before I start uni and its too late.

Reply 6

RoseHG

Original post by Potally_Tissed

Someone somewhere has to pick up the bill. Why not the students who are benefitting?

I am a really low income family, I understand someone should pick up the bill, but its not my fault what my family background is, how will it benefit me having a £95,000 debt on my shoulders?

Reply 7

Potally_Tissed

Original post by RoseHG

I am a really low income family, I understand someone should pick up the bill, but its not my fault what my family background is, how will it benefit me having a £95,000 debt on my shoulders?

It won't, but unless you start earning above 21k, it won't harm you either.

How will it benefit me, as a taxpayer, to fund your education?

Reply 8

moose12

Original post by RoseHG

I am a really low income family, I understand someone should pick up the bill, but its not my fault what my family background is, how will it benefit me having a £95,000 debt on my shoulders?

To be honest the maintenance grants means you can borrow less in student loans , so immediately you are not on a level playing field with other students, so I think it is a bad thing. I find it amazing that someone who works one day a week, gets full mortgage relief paid but their offspring can get 3000 more a year in loan than someone who cannot work for health reasons but has housing benefit.
These loans are generally not paid anyways so they are getting free dosh in first place even If they like to think they are paying for it. A maintenance grant is not all that, they just lend less, and poorer students struggle MORE, which is ludicrous and backwards!.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 9

DiddyDec01

This is just another case of the NUS showing how out of touch with reality they are.

Also... *Jazz Hands*

Reply 10

GlitterandGold-x

Original post by Potally_Tissed

Someone somewhere has to pick up the bill. Why not the students who are benefitting?

Because the country will be benefiting. Graduates earn more over the course of their lifetime compared with non grads and therefore pay more tax and contribute to the economy more. We're helping to secure the future of the country.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 11

GlitterandGold-x

Original post by Potally_Tissed

It won't, but unless you start earning above 21k, it won't harm you either.

How will it benefit me, as a taxpayer, to fund your education?

Yes... because you'll be saying that if the change were to deter aspiring doctors to study medicine, meaning even longer wait times for an appt, or unsafe bridges and structures because of a decrease in engineers etc. Taxes paid for by grads will probably also pay for your children's child benefit lol

Reply 12

username457532

When there are plenty of people who don't get enough loan to even cover their accommodation I think it's ridiculous of you to complain that you'd get MORE MONEY because none of it will be free.

Reply 13

lizmoo0721

Original post by SmallTownGirl

When there are plenty of people who don't get enough loan to even cover their accommodation I think it's ridiculous of you to complain that you'd get MORE MONEY because none of it will be free.

I agree, I think the whole system is a mess. My parents income is over the threshold so I don't qualify for the grant, but they fail to take into consideration the number of dependents, so I'm a triplet, if they divided the income by three, then I would qualify. This meant I wasn't able to get accommodation. :frown:

Reply 14

username457532

Original post by lizmoo0721

It seems odd to me that people who are LEGALLY ADULTS are treated as their parents' dependants. Give everyone the same amount (depending on location, whether they have children etc.) and be done with it. NO-ONE should be penalised financially because of their parents' income. Once you're an adult and have a degree (theoretically) your parents' financial circumstances don't make a difference to your ability to repay your loan.

Reply 15

lizmoo0721

Original post by SmallTownGirl

I 100% agree with you. It's not like my parents are going to be giving me any money, I'm sure they'll help me out once in a while, but it's still not enough to have accommodation. I think it's really unfair to be honest.

Reply 16

username457532

Original post by lizmoo0721

When you become an adult your parents are no longer legally responsible for you. Except that they're expected to fund you. It's pretty insulting that the government (and this refers to the welfare system as well) gives you all the adult responsibilities but not all the adult rights.

Reply 17

parentlurker

Original post by SophieSmall

The government wants to retrospectively change loan repayments so that students pay more money http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2015/10/05/urgent-help-fight-the-governments-student-loan-u-turn-that-could-cost-millions-more/?_ga=1.185622575.766837206.1444163077

If they can do that they can make other changes e.g. increasing the interest rates, the percentage of salary you'd have to pay or how long you have to pay for. Can't understand why more fuss is not being made about this