Postgraduate Loans were introduced in the UK in the 2016-17 academic year. They were a welcome move- providing an extra source of support for students and have provided an alternative from high-interest private loans targeted at students. However, we must be mindful that students are now being encouraged to incur even more debt, to the extent that somebody who takes out loans for Bachelors, Masters, and PhD may find themselves owing £70,000 or more before they begin earning. That being said, one might ask- what is the point of the Alternative Guide if we have a loans system?
The first reason is that many students are not eligible for support. International students, students living outside England, and students already in receipt of government funding. That's probably approaching 50% of the current postgraduate student body. Read more on eligibility here.
The second reason for this is that the loans fall far short of bankrolling a whole course. After Masters fees have been paid, the full loan of approximately £13,000 will leave (at best) a few thousand left for a student’s maintenance. For many courses, paying the fees will consume the entire loan. For a PhD, the full loan of approximately £30,000 will average £10,000 a year if the doctorate takes three years and £7,500 a year if it takes four. This, similarly, will leave precious little (if any) money after fees are paid. The Alternative Guide's role is obviously to supplement this loan funding. Indeed, it must be stressed that charity awards are almost always supplementary- that is to say that charities have always been likelier to back students who had some other income (whether other grants, part time work, savings, or loans from a respectable source) rather than those who present them with a black hole and no other means to fill it. The loans system makes partial funding much easier to get, which in turn makes charities much likelier to offer supplementary funding.
The third reason - and one our customers in postgraduate recruitment are naturally very mindful of - is that supply has generated its own demand. The number of students wanting to study for Masters and PhD degrees has increased since the loans were launched. There are now many more partially-funded students around, who need extra funding to bridge the gap between what their loan gives them, and what they actually need. Again, the value of flexible supplementary grant funding - a few thousand pounds here and there - becomes more pronounced than ever before. And that’s where charities, and the Alternative Guide, excels.
The fourth reason is simply that we offer grants, not loans. While superficially attractive, encouraging students to incur ever-more mountainous debt is inherently problematic, and many students will want an alternative in the form of grants.
The Alternative Guide - in both book and web resource versions - has been updated to take into account the new loans system, with an emphasis on how students can use loans (if they decide to take them out) to unlock further funds through charity.
Read our advice to students on postgraduate loans here.