Bank Accounts at Uni

A lot of students upgrade their account to a student account. This gives them an interest free overdraft.

Should I get a new account for the student loan or just use the same account?

If you want to stay with the same bank and with the same account details/ debit card and all that then you can ask your bank to upgrade you to a student account.

If you want to shop around however for a different student account as they offer different perks you can do that also. For example different banks may offer different overdraft amounts and some offer things like a free rail card for something like 1/3 off travel expenses which could be useful if you're travelling a lot or far for uni. If you want to do that then don't forget to change your bank details on student finance however so that they match the details of whatever student bank account you open, as pretty much all of them have the condition of your student account being your main account that student finance gets paid into, if you don't meet these conditions they can take the student account perks away from you.

As Tiger Rag said the only thing you need is an account which accepts BACS payments which you almost certainly already have. But if you are unsure contact your bank and ask. The rest is completely up to you as to whether you want a student account or not. I personally would advise setting up a student account though as the overdrafts can be a life saver in between student finance payments if you don't get financial support from family. And I always say it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.