AIB student loans

Merrion10598

i applied for a student loan from the UCD branch last thursday with a guarantor and they still havent got back to me. Is this normal. I would have thought it would have been pretty straight forward. I rang them twice, tues and wed, with a "we'll get back to you" but still nothing.

Would like to book my holiday

seraphimvc

ah that will take at least 1 week or two,take it easy

Chakar

What are the differences between student loans and other loans?

johnnyflav

Student loans are interest free.

Chakar

johnnyflav wrote: »

Student loans are interest free.

Can you also delay paying off the loans until after your college education?

Stabshauptmann

johnnyflav wrote: »

Student loans are interest free.

Not necessarily.

I've heard stories about a BoI student loan a few years back that was advertised as no interest for 2 years. In reality the interest was calculated for the 2 years (at a higher rate than the going rate) but you didnt have to pay it until year 3.

Someone told me theres a 1yr student loan from BoI at the moment thats interest free up to 2k, Ive been meaning to look into it if anyone knows the ins and outs.

tywy

9 month interest free travel loan with BoI. Just got one last month. If you don't pay it back within the 9 months, then they just restructure it from there I think...

bobbi

AIB student loans are a joke.I would suggest BOI anyday. The interest rates are quite high if u go over a 1k loan i'm talking around 9% and they are not very helpful if you need to restructure or miss a payment.

jasmitwalkar

I want to go to school to become an RN. I heard that there are Grants available from the Federal Government to help with school costs. But everyone I talk with says Grants are a ridiculous situation. Really need to find a way to get some help. Financial Aid is a joke. I need some free money if there is such a thing? Has anyone received a Grant from the Federal Government?

tywy

jasmitwalkar wrote: »

I want to go to school to become an RN. I heard that there are Grants available from the Federal Government to help with school costs. But everyone I talk with says Grants are a ridiculous situation. Really need to find a way to get some help. Financial Aid is a joke. I need some free money if there is such a thing? Has anyone received a Grant from the Federal Government?

I don't know if you're asking about the US or Ireland... but in Ireland, grants are means tested, they don't give free money for nothing... unless of course you think that's what a scholarship is but I don't really know the story with them either.

Baddabooom

Hi, how long did you have to wait to get the loan after all? I have made an application for a loan from AIB myself and got in all the information last week but still haven't heard a reply. On what grounds would they refuse you a loan (would they refuse if you currently have a loan with someone else)? My reason for my loan is pretty urgent - have to catch up with rent.

the evil lime

jasmitwalkar wrote: »

Federal Government

Last I checked, Ireland wasn't a federal state. There hasn't been some sort of revolution while I was gone, has there?

Économiste Monétaire

jasmitwalkar wrote: »

I want to go to school to become an RN. I heard that there are Grants available from the Federal Government to help with school costs. But everyone I talk with says Grants are a ridiculous situation. Really need to find a way to get some help. Financial Aid is a joke. I need some free money if there is such a thing? Has anyone received a Grant from the Federal Government?

There is no such thing as free money. There is no federal government. If you are not an Irish citizen then you are most likely no entitled to a local authority grant. Unless you mean the 'free fees' programme which Irish citizens are only entitled to.

The local authority grant is used for the registration fees. There is a student support fund in UCD which you could inquire into.

bassman22

UCD_Econ wrote: »

There is no such thing as free money. There is no federal government. If you are not an Irish citizen then you are most likely no entitled to a local authority grant. Unless you mean the 'free fees' programme which Irish citizens are only entitled to.

The local authority grant is used for the registration fees. There is a student support fund in UCD which you could inquire into.

As far as I am aware, the 'free fees' are for any EU citizen not just any irish citizen, however I'm too lazy to actually look this up to make sure so I'm open to correction

tinabarina

Sad to say but a lot of people are now entitled to free fees espically those who've only recently arrived in the country and never paid a penny of taxes into the system.
My college is full of African students who have pad little or no taxes are supposedly refugees and getting a free education that Irish taxpayers are payng for.

bnt

Student loans are definitely not interest-free: just ask AIB. They are quoting 9.79% APR, saying that's 1.5% off their usual personal loan rate. It's variable too, so it might go up.

If third-level fees are introduced, I expect the govt. will have something to say about that. Or, they will set up something like the Student Loans Company in England, which has far better terms (really low interest, option to defer repayment until you make money).

PS: at the moment, free fees are offered if you're an EU citizen or asylum seeker and it's your first degree: that's it. I've heard some folks say "mature students pay fees", but age has nothing to do with it, it's just that most mature students are doing a second degree. (Not all people get to go to university straight from school, even if they qualify academically: money can still be a problem.)

CMML

I've heard a lot of rumours about interest free loans that are available to Irish medical students. Does anyone know the conditions of these loans and how what the maximum amount you can borrow is?

El Siglo

CMML wrote: »

I've heard a lot of rumours about interest free loans that are available to Irish medical students. Does anyone know the conditions of these loans and how what the maximum amount you can borrow is?

It's to pay for the graduate entry into medicine, essentially this course costs 100 grand (25 grand/annum) if I'm not mistaken. The HSE pays half of your fees so that's 12,500/annum and the BOI gives you a loan of the same amount for each year. However, you've to immediately start making repayments once you qualify.

uppishhauk

when i applied i was told there and then that i had it but this was in 2008 when it was easier, i was talking to my bank about loan options and they said that aib is really cutting back big time and they will only really give you a loan if you can prove that you are capable of paying back and at that its still hard

With AIB student loans you can put off repayments for a max of 5 years i think but keep in mind that the more to put if off the more interest there will be.

the interest is at a reduced rate and when they say its interest free for one year they mean at the end of the year they add on the interest the loan would of collected at your rate, this means that you you manage to pay off within a year then you pay off the exact amount you borrowed but as soon as one year is up the interest will pile on as if the interest had been there in the first place.

El Siglo

uppishhauk wrote: »

when i applied i was told there and then that i had it but this was in 2008 when it was easier, i was talking to my bank about loan options and they said that aib is really cutting back big time and they will only really give you a loan if you can prove that you are capable of paying back and at that its still hard

With AIB student loans you can put off repayments for a max of 5 years i think but keep in mind that the more to put if off the more interest there will be.

the interest is at a reduced rate and when they say its interest free for one year they mean at the end of the year they add on the interest the loan would of collected at your rate, this means that you you manage to pay off within a year then you pay off the exact amount you borrowed but as soon as one year is up the interest will pile on as if the interest had been there in the first place.

Don't you really hate banks when you read stuff like that.

BOI are easier to get a loan off but they don't do the interest free thing for the year. I put off a loan there for a year and they're hitting me with the interest as soon as I start paying it off.

Do BOI do that putting off repayments for a max of 5 years do you know?

uppishhauk

El Siglo wrote: »

Do BOI do that putting off repayments for a max of 5 years do you know?

i'm not sure but i think i can remember adverts where they stated that you could hold off payment until you've finished college and found work etc but this would of been a couple of years ago so things might of changed since then.

El Siglo

uppishhauk wrote: »

i'm not sure but i think i can remember adverts where they stated that you could hold off payment until you've finished college and found work etc but this would of been a couple of years ago so things might of changed since then.

Well I'm starting a PhD in September so might have to put them on the long finger for another while at the very least!:pac:

SexyD4Lady

I applied for a loan to pay for tuition fees there last Wednesday online, and was told I'd be contacted within 24 hours... no sign. Does that mean I can can kiss my chances of an approval goodbye? If so, I'm really up the swanny

El Siglo

SexyD4Lady wrote: »

I applied for a loan to pay for tuition fees there last Wednesday online, and was told I'd be contacted within 24 hours... no sign. Does that mean I can can kiss my chances of an approval goodbye? If so, I'm really up the swanny

Just ring them up again and keep onto them, go into the branch even.

Einstein?

Économiste Monétaire wrote: »

There is no such thing as free money. There is no federal government. If you are not an Irish citizen then you are most likely no entitled to a local authority grant. Unless you mean the 'free fees' programme which Irish citizens are only entitled to.

The local authority grant is used for the registration fees. There is a student support fund in UCD which you could inquire into.

post above me was absolutely right. you can go back to your village farm with your irish citizen only entitlements. firstly, all EU citizens are entitled to share the same benefits that an irish citizen is. secondly, all the grant money wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the EU. so get your facts rights.

and that federal government post made me lols

bnt

Well, I know that EU citizens are entitled to free fees, since I've been receiving them for three years now. I'm from the UK, and a mature student to boot, but it works for me because this is my first degree.

As for asylum seekers, here's the official line:

Asylum seekers are not entitled to further or third level education until they obtain refugee status. Refugees have the same entitlements to further and third level education as Irish citizens. However, if they wish to avail of free third level education under the Free Fees Initiative they must have attained refugee status at least three years prior to the commencement of the course.
Where a person is not eligible for free tuition under the Free Fees Initiative and is pursuing an approved course at undergraduate level, the local authority may award a full or part grant in respect of the candidate's lecture fee, under the Higher Education Grants Scheme which is means tested.

In my post above I said "asylum seeker" when I meant "refugee" - the latter is an official status as defined under EU rules, while "asylum seeker" is just someone seeking asylum.

Souless

SexyD4Lady wrote: »

I applied for a loan to pay for tuition fees there last Wednesday online, and was told I'd be contacted within 24 hours... no sign. Does that mean I can can kiss my chances of an approval goodbye? If so, I'm really up the swanny

You'd nearly want to be ringing them every day! I applied for my AIB student loan on July16. I didn't hear anything back for the first week so I went down and was told that my application form had been lost and I'd have to re-apply, it turned out that this was not infact the case though after I talked to the woman who was dealing with my application so my heart attack had been averted for the time being. Then began the calls daily about when it would be sent off they were waiting on a character refernce from my mothers bank who is meant to be my guarentor for the loan, she sent it off and it was lost apparently twice! but it eventually came back to AIB and they had to send it off to the branch where I opened my account. It was apparently sent there last Wednesday and I've rang the DCU branch since then and there's still no sign off it I get told that I'll probably have to refill-out the application form again and re-apply all over again!

Needless to say I would suggest to anyone here what ever you do do not go with AIB for a student loan as the people who are employed there don't seem to have a clue and post gets eatten by a mysterious monster who deals with their mail!

Good luck to anyone else who's waiting on a student-loan for next semester I know I'm gonna need it!

Rant finished