UK Student Loans in - iMac time?

[0dev]

Correction. All debt is bad debt.

Well technically, yes, but in economic terms it isn't bad debt. That just means it won't make you look bad in credit reports and therefore affect your chances of getting a credit card, a loan, or a mortgage later on if you're still paying it back. It's not counted in the same way traditional debt from banks is. If it's not all paid back within 30 years the remainder is just written off, too.

I think the reason a lot of people are going all mad with financial advice in this thread is because they're not aware of this, they just think OP is getting loans from a bank as you have to do in the US and then spending that loaned money on frivolous gadgets. That isn't the case here.

 

[Carlanga]

Also consider the amount of 'debt' you will come out with. I had £35,000 of loans and a £2,000 overdraft...

How much is the interest rate in the UK and how many years they let you pay it off?

That's a good loan amount! Easier to handle than mine; I have a 6 figure loan

 

[Ap0ks]

How much is the interest rate in the UK and how many years they let you pay it off?

That's a good loan amount! Easier to handle than mine; I have a 6 figure loan

1.5% this year which can change yearly, after which you pay back 9% of your gross earnings over £15795 per annum. When you start repaying (once you're earning above the threshold) the money is taken directly from your wages until it is either paid or 25 years have passed, after which the debt is written off.

If you can afford it, you may as well make the most of it. OP are you a first year or later?

@Apple fanboy - Debt you can't afford is bad debt, not all debt is bad

 

[mrbash]

Generally speaking, the creative software you get on Macs is better and is the industry standard. It's the one business where Macs are more popular than PCs.

OP, if you can afford it and still pay your rent and buy food and such then I say do it, especially since you seem to have a valid reason to own the computer.

This is incorrect. The industry standard is Avid & Adobe CS. True many businesses run Adobe CS on Macs, but you get the same functionality on a PC. And as an FYI, many companies are dumping Final Cut after FCX was released.

I look at it this way, the taxpayers in the UK give students a loan. If a carpenter believes that using a Bosch power tool is going to make them a better at their job than a Rigid, they are fooling themselves and maybe the UK taxpayer.

Loosing 9% of your earnings over 15k because you took on debt you didn't need just seems illogical.

 

[0dev]

This is incorrect. The industry standard is Avid & Adobe CS. True many businesses run Adobe CS on Macs, but you get the same functionality on a PC. And as an FYI, many companies are dumping Final Cut after FCX was released.

I can't really comment on that because I'm not an expert, I just know a lot of big studios and graphics companies and so on use Macs.

I look at it this way, the taxpayers in the UK give students a loan. If a carpenter believes that using a Bosch power tool is going to make them a better at their job than a Rigid, they are fooling themselves and maybe the UK taxpayer.

Loosing 9% of your earnings over 15k because you took on debt you didn't need just seems illogical.

The Student Loans Company provides two loans to each student (should they choose to take them). One is to pay fees for their course and one is for living, called a maintenance loan. This maintenance isn't simply "borrow whatever you want", it's a single fixed amount per year calculated based on where you're living, what area your university is in, and what your household income for your parents is (which I think is stupid, but I digress).

Though you can choose to get below what your entitled to, doing so makes little sense considering how tight student budgets generally are. The maximum maintenance loan you can get without having your household income assessed is about £3,500 for the whole year. It's not like you can borrow an extra £1,000 to buy a Mac whenever you want, that's not how it works.

As for it being funded by the tax payer... Well, the money gets paid back along with your taxes, taken straight from your pay. It's not like they're handing out free money (the government used to pay university education directly so there were no course fees at all but those days are now gone unless you're Scottish).

 

[NextGenApple]

Maintenance loan in the UK is for living purposes. Example buying clothes,food,general living etc. if the OP chooses to buy an iMac with the money it's his problem. I would way up what I need/had before spending that sort of amount on a product while still a student.

If its needed for course etc then it's worth it. It takes a brave person not to follow fads and be in with the in crowd. Apple products are becoming more "must have" in some eyes. Even though all they use it for us Twitter,Facebook etc. An iPad would be sufficient but that won't wow their mates. As Steve said "think different" which I like to do from time to time.

Just like the Dre beats. I see some people walking around looking unhygienic with dirty clothes & think wouldnt it of been better to spend those headphones money on looking better? Each to their own but I wont kill my self to follow fashion then look like a tramp or have no money or food to eat.

 

[afd]

I seem to remember spending my student loan on an Amiga 1200…

 

[phonitron]

Well technically, yes, but in economic terms it isn't bad debt. That just means it won't make you look bad in credit reports and therefore affect your chances of getting a credit card, a loan, or a mortgage later on if you're still paying it back. It's not counted in the same way traditional debt from banks is. If it's not all paid back within 30 years the remainder is just written off, too.

I think the reason a lot of people are going all mad with financial advice in this thread is because they're not aware of this, they just think OP is getting loans from a bank as you have to do in the US and then spending that loaned money on frivolous gadgets. That isn't the case here.

Debt debt debt. If I were at the traditional Uni age right now there is not a cat in hell's chance that I'd be taking on debt like most students have to, which would have meant that I wouldn't have done my degree. At the uni i was at I'd have been looking at almost £30k for the course alone and that farking stinks! I was fortunate enough to have the state pay for my education and i worked a lot of part-time evening and weekend hours to fund my own lifestyle (which was still pretty basic), and meant I was a very busy boy back in the day. Whilst I got my degree, I just fell short of getting a 1st which is what I was aiming for, but the upside is that I did not have any debt at the end of my studies.

Whichever way you look at it - good debt, bad debt, whatever - its more than likely gonna be paid back. I cant imagine many students doing a degree to get a job earning less than £20k. Increasingly though, getting a masters degree or other post grad qualification is what will help new graduates stand out now since the bar has effectively been raised because everyone is going for a degree so the debt will only go up!

But getting back to my original point regarding all this debt, it's a real bad thing and I'm surprised that we, the UK general public (or at least us English and Welsh lot) have let it get this far. By the time new graduates get a job, they are already burdened by many tens of thousands of pounds and that's before they take on a mortgage. It stinks.

All it takes is a united front from good old Joe Public and the government would get the message. But people are too comfortable at home with their iPads and iPhones and iMacs and PS3s and big screen TVs etc etc. Because debt is so easy to come by, people can get all these things, be comfortable, have distractions, and worry about paying them back later. Years ago, people couldn't get into that much debt because the banks wouldnt let you, so people struggled and had no alternative but to speak up and speak up loudly. Now though, most people are all nicely pacified because of our little gadgets and things on TV. There's a lot to be said for a minimalistic and basic lifestyle...

Anyway OP, if your coursework all has to be done on a mac, get one. Just try to be a frugal as you can and not be lumbered with too much of a financial burden that you will have to repay. If you can work and still study, do it.

Good luck.

 

[Mirai 11]

I wish they'd hurry up with the release, I really want to wait to see what they're going to bring out. I'd kick myself if I bought one now this money is in my account, but I don't know.

I want to wait but money burns a hole in my pocket, I may have to give the money to a family member to look after lmao.

I keep checking this site every day for any updates

Are you mental?

I'm a first year uni student now, and i'm using my loans for basically just paying rent.
Save up money for a laptop, and use this loan for emergency, just in case. Trust me.

 

[DanPosMaytee]

Are you mental?

I'm a first year uni student now, and i'm using my loans for basically just paying rent.
Save up money for a laptop, and use this loan for emergency, just in case. Trust me.

People are taking this WAY out of proportion, I won't be in debt, I'll only be spending around £500 of my own money, £600 max, I get the full amount of loan (which I have to pay back eventually) and the full amount of grant (which for those who don't know you don't have to pay back) I also get a £386 grant for University (again don't have to pay this back) and I also get my birthday money etc.

I'm not stupid I make sure I can afford stuff, I'm going into my fourth year of University next year and in a room for £50 a week including all bills I can't go wrong aha.

A good thing about iMacs (and most apple products) is that they retain their value which really means this iMac will be an investment, buy it now for £880 sell it in 3-4 years for £500 and then only have to put a minimal amount back onto a new mac etc.

Again I have lived on my own for the past 3 years fine with purchases I'm sure I know what I am doing.

As repeated throughout this was obviously a mistaken thread, I figured other like minded students may be here thinking the same (whether they would or not go and buy a mac is a different matter) obviously that was a mistake.

 

[rdubmu]

We get a tuition loan and a maintainance loan in the UK. You can spend the maintenance loan on anything you want. A lot of stupid people blow it all on alcohol etc.

I need to move to the UK!

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We get a tuition loan and a maintainance loan in the UK. You can spend the maintenance loan on anything you want. A lot of stupid people blow it all on alcohol etc.

I need to move to the UK!

 

[boy-better-know]

I need to move to the UK!

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I need to move to the UK!

Haha, you do have to pay it back though!

 

[enfanteribl]

Dude, if you need, want, can afford one, buy it. Not sure why everyone is preaching about fiscal responsibilty. Looks like you have a good case for one.

 

[0dev]

Debt debt debt. If I were at the traditional Uni age right now there is not a cat in hell's chance that I'd be taking on debt like most students have to, which would have meant that I wouldn't have done my degree. At the uni i was at I'd have been looking at almost £30k for the course alone and that farking stinks! I was fortunate enough to have the state pay for my education and i worked a lot of part-time evening and weekend hours to fund my own lifestyle (which was still pretty basic), and meant I was a very busy boy back in the day. Whilst I got my degree, I just fell short of getting a 1st which is what I was aiming for, but the upside is that I did not have any debt at the end of my studies.

Whichever way you look at it - good debt, bad debt, whatever - its more than likely gonna be paid back. I cant imagine many students doing a degree to get a job earning less than £20k. Increasingly though, getting a masters degree or other post grad qualification is what will help new graduates stand out now since the bar has effectively been raised because everyone is going for a degree so the debt will only go up!

But getting back to my original point regarding all this debt, it's a real bad thing and I'm surprised that we, the UK general public (or at least us English and Welsh lot) have let it get this far. By the time new graduates get a job, they are already burdened by many tens of thousands of pounds and that's before they take on a mortgage. It stinks.

All it takes is a united front from good old Joe Public and the government would get the message. But people are too comfortable at home with their iPads and iPhones and iMacs and PS3s and big screen TVs etc etc. Because debt is so easy to come by, people can get all these things, be comfortable, have distractions, and worry about paying them back later. Years ago, people couldn't get into that much debt because the banks wouldnt let you, so people struggled and had no alternative but to speak up and speak up loudly. Now though, most people are all nicely pacified because of our little gadgets and things on TV. There's a lot to be said for a minimalistic and basic lifestyle...

Anyway OP, if your coursework all has to be done on a mac, get one. Just try to be a frugal as you can and not be lumbered with too much of a financial burden that you will have to repay. If you can work and still study, do it.

Good luck.

Speaking as a student, I simply do not care

Would it be nice if I had stacks of cash so I could pay for everything up front? Of course it would. But I'm not rich enough, so I have to borrow money, as do the majority of students in the country.

Now, if I were taking out a traditional bank loan I'd probably be more worried, but with the student loan scheme I'm just not. It's like paying slightly higher taxes for a bit effectively. I'll deal with that to get a higher paying job.

Getting a Saturday job as well is certainly a good idea but that alone won't cover all your living expenses by a long shot these days.

 

[phonitron]

Speaking as a student, I simply do not care

Would it be nice if I had stacks of cash so I could pay for everything up front? Of course it would. But I'm not rich enough, so I have to borrow money, as do the majority of students in the country.

You should care, because its your neck all that debt is going to be hanging around. Maybe when you are a little older and wiser you will care one day and please don't take that as me being patronising because that is really not my intention. The trouble with most people nowadays is that they want the good stuff straight away, and then worry about paying it back later as I said in my last post. That's a problem when the stuff people are buying do not contribute to the betterment of the person for example PS3s, Xboxes, fashionable and expensive clothes, designer this and that, expensive haircuts, handbags, and a whole host of fancy gadgets.

When I was a student, I felt it was important to reign in spending and be very frugal with my money, which is completely the opposite of what my peers were doing at the time. I was always clean and smart, made sure i had my course materials, and ate reasonably well but everything else after that was secondary and not important. I had to be philosophical about it and it paid dividends for me when bumping into my old Uni friends and finding out that they were paying out significant chunks of their salary at the end of the month.

Now, if I were taking out a traditional bank loan I'd probably be more worried, but with the student loan scheme I'm just not. It's like paying slightly higher taxes for a bit effectively. I'll deal with that to get a higher paying job.

You can dress it up how you like to make you feel better but at the end of the day it'll need repaid. It's still debt. It doesnt matter how any money lending institutions view it, it's how you view it. I personally would not feel comfortable getting into tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt for studies. I acknowledge that this is becoming the 'accepted way' these days but that doesn't mean I have to accept it myself. I guess I'm more of a socialist when it comes to education. Everyone should have the right to a free, good quality education.

Getting a Saturday job as well is certainly a good idea but that alone won't cover all your living expenses by a long shot these days.

You're right about that, which is why I had to work some evenings and Sunday's too. Even if it covers 50% of your living expenses, it's still less for you to pay back come the day. Don't mean to preach, but IMO its good advice for people to consider. Most people however, either just don't thnk about it enough or perhaps convince themselves that life without all these nice pretty things is not worth living. You can be frugal and happy if you think about it the right way. Don't just accept what you're being fed.

All the best.

 

[Ap0ks]

Everyone should have the right to a free, good quality education.

Who will be footing the bill for that then?

 

[G4DP]

Generally speaking, the creative software you get on Macs is better and is the industry standard. It's the one business where Macs are more popular than PCs.

OP, if you can afford it and still pay your rent and buy food and such then I say do it, especially since you seem to have a valid reason to own the computer.

Please tell me i'm missing the humour in this? Macs more popular than PC's? What planet are you on? Job's didn't even trust Macs enough to use them at Pixar. Apple did not use their own 'Server' products for god sake.

I was lucky at Uni, my tuition fee was only £1025 a term. So that and the student loan I only left with £18,000 to pay, that has since gone through the roof as only one job has paid well enough to even pay £10 a month back. I dread to think what the next statement from the SLC will say I owe them.

 

[peskaa]

Don't worry OP, I wish my student loan had come in so I could blow some of it on new toys.

For those who feel morally superior and wish to give financial advice...please don't.

 

[DavoteK]

Get the iMac fella. Whether you take the plunge now or when the update comes.

Best thing you'll ever do. Holds its price, so if in times of financial strife, offload it. But sounds like its burning a hole in your pocket (the money that is) as opposed to being a toss up between living expenses and buying a mac.

Again, get the iMac and ignore these killjoys

 

[phonitron]

Who will be footing the bill for that then?

Not the banks and bankers that's for sure. The taxpayer and student of course. Education is one of THE most important things in life and shouldn't come at such a high price. As I said earlier, I'm all for the student making a contribution, but not to the extent where they are left oweing tens of thousands of pounds. Pricing people out of an education is a step backwards IMO, and with the recent massive hikes in costs, that's exactly what has happened.

Don't worry OP, I wish my student loan had come in so I could blow some of it on new toys.

For those who feel morally superior and wish to give financial advice...please don't.

.

Get the iMac fella. Whether you take the plunge now or when the update comes.

Best thing you'll ever do. Holds its price, so if in times of financial strife, offload it. But sounds like its burning a hole in your pocket (the money that is) as opposed to being a toss up between living expenses and buying a mac.

Again, get the iMac and ignore these killjoys

It's not about feeling morally superior, or being a killjoy guys... Whilst I can't speak for others, I did try to reassure the OP that it wasn't my intention to come across this way. The fact is, this conversation is now committed permanently to the WWW and anyone else in a similar situation who comes across the discussion might question things a bit more before making big financial decisions. If it helps someone, great stuff. Whilst this is not a financial advice forum, it seemed appropriate to bring it up. Asking people not to give advice on a forum/thread that was asking for advice is a bit silly peskaa but hey ho...

When I was younger I was fortunate enough to:

• get a free education
• have good advice given to me (to take or leave)
• feel confident enough to make my own choices regardless of those around me

All the best

 

[Charcoalwerks]

It was only a sort of jokey post to begin with, I thought other students like myself may have thought the same thing aha, obviously not.

Also, it is the last loan before the year finishes in a months time, so I won't need anything. And I wouldn't be spending a £1000, with the discount it is around £880, and in June I turned 21 so will be getting money for my birthday etc.

I need a new computer as my signature suggests so spending around £500-£600 isn't really that big a deal as it will equip me with what I need for University etc.

Don't worry, I blew some of my grant money on an iMac in November. I needed a computer. I also work as a graphic designer and like to catch up on work at home. Plus, I can type research papers and I run a freelance portrait drawing business as well.

I say GO FOR IT!!

 

[Xikum]

I live in Scotland and my university education is 100% free. I also live at home, meaning I have absolutely no maintenance costs, and part of my degree is that I have a year out in industry and even get paid £20k for it. I just wanted to put that out there with everybody saying how much debt they had afar university

OP, I bought a Mac for uni; I don't regret it. If it won't interfere with your ability to pay rent/living costs etc, then why not? You will either drink the money or eat it in the form of junk food in the long run

 

[BA Baracus]

Long story short.

I graduated in 2000 owing a bank £2,000 and student loans company £5,000.

Bank wanted immediate repayment of the overdraft when I graduated and this year (12 years) I have finally paid off my student loan - yay!

The student loan over all these years averaged bout 2% interest each year - bargain - and one year it was negative %!!!

I left a full time job to become a full time student - and I found I had more disposable income and more spare time.

I worked in the summer months between semesters and I wanted to enjoy my time at uni, so while enjoying the academic side also went on skiing holidays, European city breaks etc etc.

I have no regrets in how I spent my money, thoroughly enjoyed the four years and has been the best part of my life so far.

I did not want to skimp and scrape and do nothing while at uni (would have been a miserable time) - you are only there once, enjoy the time while you are there as you will unlikely do it again.

Loans are a lot higher now, but students need to quit moaning and get on with it.

So, if you want an imac, then why not, buy it - who cares if it comes from a loan, this is part of life now.

Cheers.