GDL Funding help??

I was in your dilemma last year, I found out about the loan from Barclays themselves, who told me I could apply for it directly through them.

I filled out tons of paperwork, signed various documents and was told by the manager of the branch that this was a "sure thing". In hindsight I should have done my own research, but being assured by the manager of the branch at the time validated itself to me really. Anyway, to cut a long story short, two weeks before I was due to begin the GDL at UoL Moorgate, I receive a letter in the mail (after months had gone already by following submitting all the documentation) that stated I was ineligible for the loan as you don't actually go straight out to work following the GDL.

I deferred to start this year instead (**** you very much Barclays) and have secured UoL's new MetroBank loan (http://www.law.ac.uk/postgraduate/metro-bank-loan-scheme-faqs/) whilst also stashing some dollar away from the past few months of working.

uoL's new loan scheme was released last week and I believe (off the top of my head) that BPP also have a loan scheme. Suppose the most important question is where are you going to study the GDL?

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VZ_-B7d6ghIC&pg=PA186&lpg=PA186&dq=box+v+midland+bank&source=bl&ots=c5tK4hdnHr&sig=0wMRRsCUAaL2XXnMHgV_-cCQtfY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Bl3WU_n0J6mq0QX9roCIBA&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=box%20v%20midland%20bank&f=false

Box v Midland Bank.

A real world application of contract law, surely not?

Seems like an extremely similar situation. It wasn't like it was a random trainee who made the assurances to me either, it was the branch head honcho.

Got a first hand head start on contract law it seems!

Pursue it
He had a duty to exercise reasonable skill and care, and if you relied on his misrepresentation in some way then there might be an actionable claim,

I'm in exactly the same boat. I knew I was applying kind of late (I was expecting to work abroad for a year but my work visa fell through) and so wouldn't be able to get a traineeship for the GDL this year, but because there's there's so much confusing, outdated information out there on various law careers advice sites cheerfully promising that its easy to get a Careers Development Loan to fund the GDL, and because I have no student debt so far (I did my BA abroad on a scholarship), I figured it wouldn't be a problem to take on a small debt for this year, and apply in the coming year for traineeships/scholarships that would take me through the LPC/BPTC. I also went in-person to Barclays and was assured that it should be no problem. Got my offer to study the GDL at Northumbria and phoned up the national careers service...and discovered that I'm kind of stuck.
So I'm also looking for any advice on how to fund this on my own without deferring. Surely there must be loan options out there that aren't exclusive to particular institutions (e.g. UoL's agreement with Metrogate, BBP's with Investec)?

I'm the same - accepted GDL place with Northumbria but no funding...might have to withdraw as don't know where else to look? Nobody in my family have any money or any means to help me either so that's not even an option :-( Has any one had any luck finding anything?

I was in the same position as you (as I said in a post earlier in this thread).

My family also struggle for money, so I had to defer a year to figure it all out; originally I planned to work for the year and try to save up enough to fund my tuition after deferring. Jobs, as I learnt, are scarce and it didn't work out at all. I was never going to find enough money purely through working whilst helping my family out at the same time. Saying this, deferring for a year and working to get the money may be a viable option for you?

Other than that, I don't know what to suggest really. I lucked out with UoL's Metro Bank loan and I start the GDL in September, a year later than I had planned. Unfortunately UoL's loan is like BPP's and is exclusive to students studying with the University that offers it.

However, the past year's experiences have steeled my mind and have humbled my outlook as well. I am much more focused than I was last September, so in some ways, deferral was a good thing for me.

You have to consider your choices seriously. There are deadlines as to when you can pull out of a course; a "cooling-off" period if you will. If you pass a specific date after accepting your place, the University may lock you in and you'll be stuck with footing the bill for a large amount of money.

It's a hard choice to make, but if you don't think you'll 100% be able to secure funding, you'd best withdraw from the course before it's too late and re-asses your options.

I speak from experience; it's terrible knowing you have a place to study and yet can't find the money to fund it. However, it's an even worse feeling being contractually bound to a bill for (in my case) £10,000 tuition which you may not ever find a viable means to pay.

Just don't panic (like I did). Assess your options both swiftly and logically. Your best option right now is to contact your University by phone and firstly ask them the timeline for withdrawal/deferral and secondly, ask them if they can advise you on how to move forward. They probably have experience dealing with these situations, so they may have suggestions regarding how you could secure funding or regarding what your next move should be.

I'm tired, so I apologise if my thoughts are a little jumbled, but I hope you catch what I'm trying to say. I'm certainly no expert so please don't take my word as definitive; as I said, your best bet is to contact your University by phone or in person. If you have any questions for me, I'm more than happy to share what I've experienced over the past year.

Good luck.

Thank you for replying to me,

I just received my induction booklet and a 14 day cooling off so I think I am going to email them this week and withdraw as I have no way of securing the funding.

I feel like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place because I don't even want to be a solicitor as such, I want to be a Barrister, and a criminal prosecution one at that! Coming from the background I come from and having no money or links with anyone or anywhere I'm worried I'm just hoping for something that's never gonna happen...

My A-Level results are not great as I had to work and earn money whilst doing them, not to mention they were taken a decade ago when they were much harder! My degree is good, a high 2.1, and its in Crime Science which I thought might give me an edge over other applicants, especially for criminal law, but I also feel a bit bound by my geographical location which is in the worst part of the country (north east) for any type of professional employment. Then there's the fact that the majority of big firms are commercial, not so much criminal.

On the other hand, working in any other sort of job or field just makes me feel depressed as this is all I have wanted to do since the age of 12....

So hard, just don't know what to do for the best...