Is my credit score good enough to get a PCDL Loan in 2015 to finance MSc?

Hi all,

I would like to join a course this September, but I don't have the money and have been thinking about applying for a PCDL from Barclays or Co-op. I'm just trying to understand if I have much chance of getting a loan for the full £10k as I've read on here of people who have good credit scores still getting declined.

I have a 'good' score of 898. I had an old mobile account back in 2010 which i closed after 1 month and never ever even used the sim. I cancelled the order within the cooling off period but they put an entry in my credit file that is inaccurate and contradictory. It states that I had the mobile account open for 1 month only, yet also states that I had made 4 payments and was late with two payments though the account is 'satisfied'. The fact is that I never even used this mobile sim and don't recall making any payments at all let alone 4 months! Anyway, I'm disputing this and hoping that I might get it removed from my credit file to improve my score over the next few months.

Apart from this, I don't have any current debts and have never overdrawn my current account. I have the usual credit with mobile, internet etc which I have always paid on time but that's about it.

Can anyone say if they managed to get a PCDL recently with a 'good' credit score as low as mine? (The highest score possible is 999 on Experian and i'm way off that).

Thanks

Hi, have you checked your score on experian? Could you say what it actually is as I'm trying to figure out what the threshold score might be.

Do you know what your roommate's actual score was?

I don't think getting more credit will help my score at the moment and could harm my chances as its now within 6 months of me making the application for the loan. Apparently if your report shows applications for credit within 6 months of applying for a loan it demonstrates that you are 'desperate for credit' and lenders consider this risky! Well the truth is I am desperate otherwise I would not be seeking a 10k loan!
It should help your score though. As you applied back in November you won't appear desperate for credit!

I already have a contract mobile, pay monthly for my internet services etc. The problem for me is that a 'closed' mobile account is bringing down my overall score as it has the effect of reducing the 'average age' of my credit accounts. But if I can get this entry removed (as its wrong anyway) my score should improve.

Please keep me updated on this thread as I would like to see the outcome of all this in August/ September.

(hey, if you quote me when you want my attention i'll reply faster )

My score was 745 (middle of 'fair') when I checked in january. This was before my phone contract so I'm hoping it'll be a bit better when I get around to applying.

My roommate doesn't remember her exact score but she says it was in the 'good' region (upper end). As I already mentioned though, she's never actually had anything to build her credit with; no contracts or credit cards etc. She had a student overdraft and nothing else. It's for this reason I don't think there is a 'cut off' limit, as much as they look at your history and how reliable you might be.

Fair point about the applying for credit card thing though -- I didn't realise this and I went kinda crazy when I applied for a credit card (literally applied to ten different places because I kept getting rejected) so you can imagine how that looked on my credit score. Quite funny. I must've applied earlier than November (September maybe?) because they're gone from my profile now. It's good that you're disputing the mobile account; I think if you manage to get that cleared from your history you should be in with a very good chance of getting the loan?

I don't know. TBH it's mostly speculation. There's a longass thread about the CDL here which I must've read through about four times. I guess all we can do is wait & hope for the best.

You know I find this credit score business really strange. For one thing I can tell you that it is far from accurate. In the last 6 years i've had 2 mobile contracts which i completed with virgin mobile. None of that is even in my credit file! I only have one entry from virgin media which is for my landline, internet & cable tv service - which is entirely separate from my mobile accounts. Also, like i said O2 has put some crap in my file which is totally wrong as I never had any business with them!

I recommend you check your file again around June - you can get another free trial with equifax if you have already used experiean. This is what I'm planning to do once I finish complaining about the mistake on my file.

Your overdraft & student debt won't count against you judging from the comments I've read on here about successful applicants. Just be extra careful over the next 3 months or so to make sure you don't do anything out of the ordinary that might hack the bank off!

Unfortunately, I've been obsessing over this whole issue a bit too much lately. I too have read that long thread on this issue a few times. This is just such a horrible situation to be in. There is no certainty at all and many people wont know for sure if they get financing until a week or two before the course is due to start - particularly if there is a rejection from barclays first then having to apply to co-op with only weeks to spare. The whole system of postgraduate finance is a joke. There should be a better and fairer system in place. I graduated a long time ago and there were very few people I know who came out of undergraduate study with an intact 'good' credit rating. The people that did have good credit scores, would never need to borrow money from a bank to pay for a post grad course. I don't see either why the banks are playing this cloak and dagger game. They should publish their lending criteria and be more helpful pre- application, so people can be clear from the outset whether they are likely to be accepted without getting hopes up and wasting time applying.

When you do finally apply, i've read that you should also send a cover letter with your application to the bank. In that letter you should explain what course your going to do and why you think it will help your future career. Also, spell out your plans for preparing for work as your course is coming to a close. I think it would help if you explain that you will be dilligent about seeking and accepting alternative work even if you don't get your ideal job. At the end of it all, the banks want to know that you will pay them back and a cover letter might help if the decision is a borderline case.

What course are planning on doing? Have you applied as yet? I'm hoping to do an MSc in Computer Science and applied to the university last weekend. I'm hoping to get a decision by around May.

Agreed. Especially with the part in bold. If I don't get the PCDL I won't have any other means of funding it so I'll have to drop out of the course -- I'm not sure what to do with regards to accommodation etc, particularly because as a postgrad I'm going to be looking at renting privately so I can't just 'drop out' of the contract. Looks like I'm going to have to wait and see whether I get the loan, and if I do I'll have a few weeks to sort out some accommodation. I suppose the best case scenario, if the bank doesn't mess you around, is hearing back from them mid-August. I guess that leaves about a month to get accomm. and stuff sorted. It's just stressful; it's mostly the uncertainty that's frustrating because I reeeally want to do this course.

Yeah, I've already applied. Similar to you actually! I was originally gonna apply for comp sci (did physics as an undergrad) but I decided to do something a bit more specialised and instead applied for programming (with a focus on games). Newcastle have already offered me a place and they were my first choice so I'm really happy. Where have you applied? Best of luck with your application!

Thanks for the cover letter tips. I'm planning on just trying to make my career plans as clear as possible to them. I was hoping to get a job over the summer to earn some money, but then I'm only eligible for 80% of the tuition fees from the PCDL, so I'd get more money by remaining unemployed... Unless I'm rejected, ofc. It's such a ****ing stupid system.

Ah well. I guess there's not much we can do for now. I even went into the branches (both of them) and asked about the CDL, but they knew literally nothing. My course starts at the end of Sept so I can't apply until June 28th. Still got about 3 months to wait, lmao.

I studied as an undergrad in Newcastle and lived in Jesmond and Sandyford. Luckily it has a large student community and I expect there is a lot of good student accommodation available. Even in the worst case scenario (if you don't get a decision until the week or so before you start) I would book into a uni hall of residence for a few days while looking for somewhere to rent. Normally unis will rent out rooms in halls quite cheaply on an as needed basis before the start of term.

But I really hope you get the funding to do your course which sounds very interesting. Do you know what language you will be expected to learn? I've applied to Birmingham for the MSc Computer Science 'conversion' course which is designed for graduates from non computer subjects. My first degree was in law. I know on this course that it is different from a 'computing' or 'IT' degree in that they teach programming and software development methods. I will have to learn to program using Java.

I hear what you are saying that you really want to do your course. Believe me, I feel exactly the same.

I've been thinking that If things don't go to plan and this PCDL does not come through although there is the option of deferring entry for a year if you get an offer of a place trying to save £10k+ in one year is no easy feat unless in a well paid job. For me, I would probably have to work at least for two years to come close to saving that amount which would mean making a fresh application to the University. Two years from now my circumstances might be such that further full time study is just not possible... so this PCDL thing is quite a big deal unfortunately.

Haha, sweet. It's pretty funny - I almost went into Law too, had a couple of interviews last month, but the reality is I'd much rather go into programming/something computery. Newcastle seems like a pretty awesome place. I've just been looking at accommodation -- as a UK postgrad student I can't get accomm through the uni -- and tbh I'm probably going to apply for Parrish Court. It looks a bit ****ty but it's £60 pw including bills and daaamn, not gonna pass up on that. Don't even care if I'm stuck with a bunch of freshers.

I think we'll be okay! Let's be positive, lmao. The course I've applied for focuses on C++, since that's the most used language for software development. The other modules are related to physics, enterprise skills and the such. There are also workshops for rendering, porting to different platforms, debugging, plus some other middleware stuff. The main reason I was attracted to the course is because it's led by a board of companies in the industry; really hoping this course will be a stepping stone into a job.

On another note, have you considered Manchester uni? They do a two year course; the first is a foundation year where you study 2-4 modules online, meaning you could stay at home and not have to pay rent etc, and the fees are £638 per module. Which, yeah it's expensive, but if you get rejected for the PCDL it's a viable route. It's part time so you'll be able to get a job and start saving for year 2 which is advanced computer science (£9000 for that year). Not sure if you'd be interested, but it's something to consider.

Law is interesting but the training prospects for potential lawyers is a bit unpredictable and it can be a risk to get all the debt and not get a job at the end. I too prefer something more tech / computer related.

Yes Newcastle is a great place to study. There are a lot of things to do in spare time. Great places to visit like Whitley Bay or a day trip to Edinburgh!

Your right we should be positive about this and just hope for the best! Your course sounds far more technical than mine, but then you are a scientist! I've been interested in C++ as a hobby for a while and been trying to learn it from books. I'd really like to get good enough at it so I could join in on coding for some interesting open source project. It all just seems so complex so I'm hoping that once I do my MSc I will feel much more confident about things like contributing to open source. Have you started learning C++ as yet? I'm holding back on starting Java until I know for sure I'm going to do the course.

I'm sure you will get the job you hope for. You just need to stay ahead of the game and keep focused on attaining your goals.

I'll take a look at the Manchester course you mentioned.

Haha, I know what you mean. I want to get involved in projects and start building my CV but I don't feel confident enough yet. I'm hoping that once I begin the course my lecturers might be able to advise me on ways to get experience while still a beginner.

I'd definitely recommend looking into some MOOCs (Coursera, FutureLearn, edX are my favourites). They're essentially free online courses and they're great for learning the basics (and even the more advanced) stuff. I've done courses in Python, game theory and C#, and I'm currently learning C++ (but I'm using a website, it's not an actual course). FutureLearn had a really interesting looking course on Java but I didn't have time for it; it's a shame I couldn't have mentioned it to you a few weeks ago because it probably would've been great for you.

Well i checked my credit rating again a few days ago and was surprised to find that it had shot up to a strong 'good' of 922 points. It said that it had gone up because I had paid some bill and reduced my monthly balance. Anyway, I thought that if I could also get rid of some inaccurate information from O2 on my credit file (which i explained above), then my score would increase to 'excellent'.

I contacted O2 last week expecting a long ongoing battle before they would agree to remove their data of this 'settled' account. They replied a few days later and said that they had removed their data without launching a full investigation as it was nearly 6 years ago and only a small amount of money was allegedly involved. So I was delighted and eagerly checked my credit report again this morning. The data from O2 has now gone, but my score went down 42 points to 880 and is now in the 'fair' category. There is also now '1 negative' point on my credit file; namely that I have no record of a settled account!

This whole thing is crazy. I got inaccurate information removed from my credit file which suggested I had made late payments when I never did, only to find that it's removal has now adversely affected my credit score!

Once I get a copy of my statutory credit report, I'm just going to stop worrying about all of this and just apply for the PCDL when the time comes. If I get it great. If I don't, well I'm not going to beat myself up over it as there does not seem to be anything that I can do about my credit file anyway...the more I interfere, the more likely I am to mess things up even more. I wish I had just left it all alone from the start.