The Student Room Group

Student finance 100k debt

So for first year I have taken out the max maintanance loan which was 8700 and tution fee was 9250. So after that year I owe 17,950 which will go up because of the interest for the year. I have switched unis and will be starting year 1 again. I have worked out that if I studied for a full MEng taking out the max maintance loan, i will end up with a debt of just over £100,000 when I graduate, quite abit would be due to interest during the years of study. This amount is just making me freak out.

I receive bursary from uni and after my first year actually finished with 2-3k in my bank account. So I am thinking for the next 4 years if I don't take out the max loan and instead took out 3k less each year then I will end up with £88,000 worth of student debt which is still alot but its not 100k. I was also thinking of just doing the 3 year BEng and so only end up with about £70,000 worth of debt. I am hoping to graduate and mabye go into a finance role which would pay a good salary but the salary won't be a crazy amount so that the debt would mean nothing to me. I am worried if I do end up earning just enough to be paying off large amounts of loan and end up having to pay over 100k in the 30 years post graduation.

Would it be wise to take out a smaller maintenance loan or would it not matter since the loan is so high? I was planning on saving whatever left over from my loan(2-3k) each year and using this to build towards a deposit for a house when I graduate which would be useful. Anyone feel free to give some advice
Original post by john_iqbal786
So for first year I have taken out the max maintanance loan which was 8700 and tution fee was 9250. So after that year I owe 17,950 which will go up because of the interest for the year. I have switched unis and will be starting year 1 again. I have worked out that if I studied for a full MEng taking out the max maintance loan, i will end up with a debt of just over £100,000 when I graduate, quite abit would be due to interest during the years of study. This amount is just making me freak out.

I receive bursary from uni and after my first year actually finished with 2-3k in my bank account. So I am thinking for the next 4 years if I don't take out the max loan and instead took out 3k less each year then I will end up with £88,000 worth of student debt which is still alot but its not 100k. I was also thinking of just doing the 3 year BEng and so only end up with about £70,000 worth of debt. I am hoping to graduate and mabye go into a finance role which would pay a good salary but the salary won't be a crazy amount so that the debt would mean nothing to me. I am worried if I do end up earning just enough to be paying off large amounts of loan and end up having to pay over 100k in the 30 years post graduation.

Would it be wise to take out a smaller maintenance loan or would it not matter since the loan is so high? I was planning on saving whatever left over from my loan(2-3k) each year and using this to build towards a deposit for a house when I graduate which would be useful. Anyone feel free to give some advice

100k student debt is very different to say having a 100k mortgage, its unlikely you'll pay your student debt back even on a higher salary, i think a study said only 17% will pay back their student loan. have a read of this https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/repay-post-2012-student-loan/#interest6
honestly take the full amount and have a house deposit, it's what i did and i m very grateful of that decision as i've been able to be a homeowner at 22.
Original post by claireestelle
100k student debt is very different to say having a 100k mortgage, its unlikely you'll pay your student debt back even on a higher salary, i think a study said only 17% will pay back their student loan. have a read of this https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/repay-post-2012-student-loan/#interest6
honestly take the full amount and have a house deposit, it's what i did and i m very grateful of that decision as i've been able to be a homeowner at 22.


Thanks for the reply. I realise that it will be a 9% tax for 30 years (on anything over 25k), regardless of what I earn and if I ever did earn enough to pay it off then it wouldn't hurt me that much because the amount I would be earning would still allow me to be very comfortable. My only worry is earning a salary which is still good and comfortable but will mean that I end up paying a huge amount and maybe more than my original loan over the 30 years. For example, say if 10 years after graduating I was very fortunate and land a job paying 70-80k. This means over the remaining 20 year period I would pay between 100-130k, but due to the interest on the original 100k loan which would be around 5k+ a year, the loan wouldn't really go down and I would end up paying more than I borrowed which is still a crazy amount. At the same time I realise the extra money will help me out when graduating, but just the idea of paying back that much is crazy, considering if I actually do end up earning that much to pay it back. The only positive I can see of taking less out is the slightly lower interest it would build, but a good 10k for a house deposit would also be great :/

How are you finding the 9% "extra tax" for the student loan, do you find it limits what you can spend on or do you feel fine about?
Original post by john_iqbal786
Thanks for the reply. I realise that it will be a 9% tax for 30 years (on anything over 25k), regardless of what I earn and if I ever did earn enough to pay it off then it wouldn't hurt me that much because the amount I would be earning would still allow me to be very comfortable. My only worry is earning a salary which is still good and comfortable but will mean that I end up paying a huge amount and maybe more than my original loan over the 30 years. For example, say if 10 years after graduating I was very fortunate and land a job paying 70-80k. This means over the remaining 20 year period I would pay between 100-130k, but due to the interest on the original 100k loan which would be around 5k+ a year, the loan wouldn't really go down and I would end up paying more than I borrowed which is still a crazy amount. At the same time I realise the extra money will help me out when graduating, but just the idea of paying back that much is crazy, considering if I actually do end up earning that much to pay it back. The only positive I can see of taking less out is the slightly lower interest it would build, but a good 10k for a house deposit would also be great :/

How are you finding the 9% "extra tax" for the student loan, do you find it limits what you can spend on or do you feel fine about?

I ve not paid mine back at all, my husband does and we barely notice. Made no difference to our mortgage application. If that seems crazy our 140k mortgage will have about 160k interest so compared to our student loans it's not on our minds really.
If you do end up earning 80-100k in a year then maybe overpay but don't ruin your house deposit on the hope you might get a high salary like that.
Original post by claireestelle
I ve not paid mine back at all, my husband does and we barely notice. Made no difference to our mortgage application. If that seems crazy our 140k mortgage will have about 160k interest so compared to our student loans it's not on our minds really.
If you do end up earning 80-100k in a year then maybe overpay but don't ruin your house deposit on the hope you might get a high salary like that.

Thanks for the reply, i think your right, considering the huge loan I would have any way, it would be best to take as much as I can for a deposit. You say your interest for your mortgage would be 160k? Do you mean from 140 it will rise to 160k or do you mean you will accumulate an additional 160k.jusf from interest?

If you are 160k is just from. Interest alone then that's crazy, how does that work? I always knew there would be a good amount of interest when paying back a mortgage but I never thought the interest would be end up being more than the initial sum borrowed. Thanks for your help
Original post by john_iqbal786
Thanks for the reply, i think your right, considering the huge loan I would have any way, it would be best to take as much as I can for a deposit. You say your interest for your mortgage would be 160k? Do you mean from 140 it will rise to 160k or do you mean you will accumulate an additional 160k.jusf from interest?

If you are 160k is just from. Interest alone then that's crazy, how does that work? I always knew there would be a good amount of interest when paying back a mortgage but I never thought the interest would be end up being more than the initial sum borrowed. Thanks for your help

Additionally (sorry that's a typo it's 150k on top) , it's 4.3% a year over 40 years, the monthly interest is about £580 at the moment and our monthly payment is £667 , it adds up.
Original post by claireestelle
Additionally (sorry that's a typo it's 150k on top) , it's 4.3% a year over 40 years, the monthly interest is about £580 at the moment and our monthly payment is £667 , it adds up.

Wow never thought into it that deeply, It really does add up. Guess the best thing to do would be build up as big of a deposit as possible so you borrow less. Out of interest, would the percentage interest they charge be lower if you choose to repay back in say 20/30 years instead of a 40 year plan? Anyway thanks for the advice you've given
Original post by john_iqbal786
Wow never thought into it that deeply, It really does add up. Guess the best thing to do would be build up as big of a deposit as possible so you borrow less. Out of interest, would the percentage interest they charge be lower if you choose to repay back in say 20/30 years instead of a 40 year plan? Anyway thanks for the advice you've given

Yes the interest can be lower on shorter terms
Do you not even need to pay it back?

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