Going to university is a time where many students can feel stressed. These are the years where the decisions you make will impact your future, and it’s also the first time many students have been away from home.
A recent survey by MyVoucherCodes revealed that university students aren’t receiving their payments on time, something which may not be a problem for students with a financial safety net (either a lot of savings or mum and dad), but for students who were disadvantaged to begin with, this could greatly impact whether or not they can study.
MyVoucherCodes spoke with close to 600 students, those who were either planning to go to university, currently studying at university or had already graduated, and found that the number of students who were worried about their loan applications was much higher than expected.
The article is interesting reading. When asked if they had had any issues with getting their student loan, 38% of students agreed, with 23% saying that they were also forced to wait up to three months for their loans to come through. They’re the lucky ones compared to the 5% who had waited for up to six months for theirs.
While getting any type of loan can be something which takes time, MyVoucherCodes also asked students to rate their student loan experience from easy to quite difficult, with 19% agreeing with the later.
Mark Pearson is the founder of MyVoucherCodes, and he said that when the cost of getting a degree is increasing (and so are living costs), it’s important that they receive their loans on time and when they need them, and with as little stress as possible.
Mr Pearson pointed out that there is a lot to consider for students about to go to university, and it’s shocking that so many students are having issues securing their loans. He also called it “frustrating” that students are finding the process difficult, since they have so many other things to worry about it should be an easy process.
But who really suffers when student loans become more difficult to attain? Students who already come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
When students like Amy Marie Walsh have trouble with their loans (she started university in September and didn’t receive her loan until January due to address problems and having to reapply), they are able to take a loan from the bank of mum and dad, and pay them back when their loan arrives.
But for students from lower incomes or one-parent families, this is often not a possibility. Parents often can’t afford to pay living costs for students and this can mean that they don’t get to study that year.
This is a disgrace. While it’s easy to say that students should have a safety net of savings, it’s important to consider their age- many students have just gotten out of high school and haven’t yet moved into the full-time workforce. How many people could say that they can support themselves with no income for months?
