| After all the late night partying of | | | | earnings above £15,000 will be taken |
| university, what is the one major hang over | | | | to repay the loans. The interest is also |
| that most students are complaining about when | | | | quite preferable. |
| its all over and they’ve | | | | |
| graduated? The answer is student debt. | | | | While this seems to be a fairly gentle way of |
| Student debt levels continue to rise every | | | | repaying student loans, it should be |
| year as banks and other lenders throw more | | | | remembered that these not the only debts that |
| and more credit their way while they are | | | | students have. Student overdrafts of up to |
| still studying. It seems as if the banks have | | | | £2,000, which are interest free, are |
| plenty of faith in graduates being able to | | | | now fairly standard practice. Almost every |
| pay back the loans, and most graduates would | | | | student will be given one when they open a |
| confirm this. What is causing graduates | | | | student bank account and |
| stress is not toe overall levels of debt they | | | | it’s rare to find a student |
| have racked up while studying, which still | | | | who hasn’t spent it all. |
| averages under £15,000, but the fact | | | | |
| that they have to pay such a high proportion | | | | Then there are credit cards and store cards, |
| of their new wages in debt servicing. | | | | which are increasingly easy to get your hands |
| | | | on. Add to this the expenses of moving home |
| Graduation and the start of your working life | | | | when you graduate, starting a new job, |
| are supposed to be a time of relative | | | | getting a new place to live, and its no |
| prosperity and the privations and economies | | | | wonder that most graduates feel every bit as |
| of the student years should finally be over. | | | | financially constrained as when they were |
| However, more and more graduates are | | | | still studying. |
| reporting that they have to pay so much in | | | | |
| loan repayments that they are just as badly | | | | There are graduate loans available however |
| off as when they are students. | | | | which can be used to ease your way into |
| | | | working life. These offer postponed repayment |
| For example, a huge proportion of student | | | | terms so you have some time before you have |
| debt is made up of government sponsored | | | | to start repaying them all. The interest |
| student loans, which come from the Student | | | | rates are generally pretty favourable and |
| Loan Company. The repayment rules for these | | | | combined with the repayment holiday, which |
| loans are quite lenient. Beginning in the | | | | might be up to two years from graduation, you |
| April after you graduate, 9% of all your | | | | can really ease your way into working life. |