Being a university student can be an expensive undertaking, with ever increasing tuition fees and living costs meaning most will need to take out a student loan.
If you complete your studies, then with a little luck and hard work, you have a good chance of being able to earn enough to be able to pay back your loans. If you do not end up earning enough, then eventually they will be written off.
However, what if you don’t complete your studies? Some people find themselves in debt to Student Loans UK, because they received student finance, but then suspended or left their studies.
If you decide to leave or suspend your studies, it is essential that you stop your student finance as soon as possible. This will give you the best chance of not receiving monies that you are not entitled to. This includes, Tuition Fees Loan, Maintenances Loans and and Grants or Bursaries you may be receiving.
If you suspend your studies as opposed to leaving them entirely, then you could postpone your finance as well, meaning it could resume when your studies do.
If you have received finance intended to cover a period that includes time after you have left, then you will be expected to pay that money back.
Your university willl provide Student Loans UK with a leaving date which allows them to calculate how much you need to give back.
For example:
You get a Maintenance Loan of £1,200 to cover a 12 week term (£100 a week) and you leave your course after 8 weeks.
You can keep £800 of the loan (8 weeks X £100 = £800), but you need to repay the remaining £400 straight away as this counts as an overpayment (4 weeks X £100 = £400).
You repay the rest of the loan (£800) in the usual way.
If you still have the finance in your account, then you can simply pay back in one go, however if you have already spent some or all of the money, then you should be able to set up a payment plan.
To find out more visit our Student Loan Debt page. You can also visit the Government website.