Should I borrow the maintenance loan?

Basically, I should have enough money to get me through the year with the money I have already (just about, with very little extra), and so if I do borrow the maintenance loan from Student Finance (about £3000 - 4000), then I would probably use it for other means (like investing/saving it).

Would it be worth having access to the extra money so I can use it (although not essential as I can cover my costs anyway), or would it be best to not borrow it given the interest rates associated, i.e. RPI+3.

Many thanks!

This depends on your personal situation. If you're on a long course (so likely to have a very large debt because of tuition fees and possibly also have lean years later on in your course where money is tighter) or aren't expecting to fully repay your student loan debt after graduation then it is worth taking out the loan and investing it if you don't need the funds to live on.

The only difference in the size of your student loan debt is how LONG you'll be repaying it - if you expect to be repaying for the full period then taking out extra isn't going to cost you any more (as the remainder will be written off).

You could minimise the amount of interest though - you can apply for the maintenance loan up to 9 months after the start of your course - so would only be paying interest for 3 months of this academic year. That would mean your loan would arrive in a single payment too and not in instalments and so would be better suited for investing.