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- by Charlotte King
- In Funding, Study Advice
Posted April 21, 2021
Student loans for postgraduates
When you are considering postgraduate study, funding is often right at the top of the list.
There are lots of funding options available for postgraduate students, including postgraduate loans and bursaries, and you should view borrowing money to study as an investment in your future, but you need to get all the information before making a decision.
Think like an entrepreneur
It's all about the return on your investment versus your cash flow. The return on your investment (ROI) is the salary you will earn once you have gained your postgraduate qualification, or if you're starting up in business after your postgraduate study, your profit. Spend time researching potential future salaries, speak with colleagues and your employer to understand fully what you will probably earn both directly after graduation and a few years later as well. It’s no secret that cash flow is vital for a business to succeed and deciding to take out a loan for your postgraduate studies is an important part of your overall decision-making process. The cost of the loan must be balanced with both your potential future earnings and expected future expenses with the cost of the repayments. Also, you have the difficult measurement of being able to focus on your studies rather than working or being able to undertake the course now instead of when you've saved the money. It's best to borrow money at the lowest cost possible and depending on your circumstances you might have plenty of choices. International students often have limited options, but companies like Lendwise and Prodigy Finance are expecting applications from international students with little or no credit history and tailor-make their loans to fit in with the student. They are private loans companies that are specifically designed for funding students, they tend to offer favourable repayment terms suitable to a student’s lifestyle and earning capacity.
Peer-to-peer loans
Private loans companies such as Lendwise facilitate peer-to-peer loans with protection for both the borrower and the investor. They particularly like to lend to postgraduate students as they view their future earning potential as an excellent investment opportunity, and therefore tend to offer postgraduates flexible loans at favourable rates. Lendwise offers loans of between £5,000 and £100,000 with an APR of around 10% and postgraduate students can borrow the money for up to 10 years. Eligibility assessments are done quickly and most postgraduate students receive their funds within two weeks.
Traditional PG loans
Prodigy Finance is a more traditional postgraduate student loans provider with a wealth of experience and their loans are available to students around the world as they operate in more than 140 countries They can offer all sorts of advice and if you are an international student, they can offer you a loan in more than one country if you travel to different places to study. Prodigy Finance supports over 750 different academic institutions in the UK, USA and worldwide and doesn't require a co-signor or a guarantor. The APR for a Prodigy Finance loan starts at 6.7%.
Government loans
If you are studying at home or in a country that you've lived in for many years and where you have residential status, then you might be able to borrow money from your local or national government – for example the Student Loans Company in England. Government loans are often provided to postgraduate students at very reasonable rates, but not all government loans are cheaper than other loan providers and this means you need to read the terms and conditions carefully.
Cost of living
After tuition fees, where you live and your cost of living can have a big impact on how much you need to borrow – here are the top 10 most affordable student cities according to a recent survey.
Disclaimer: Prodigy Finance and Lendwise are two of many potential funding options for postgraduate students. Other student funding options are available; research all your options thoroughly before making a commitment. Please be aware that Postgrad Solutions Ltd receives a commission from both parties for any successful loan applications taken out by Postgrad.com and LLMstudy.com users. Postgrad Solutions accepts no responsibility for your choice of loan and does not endorse or support Prodigy Finance or Lendwise. Prodigy Finance Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and entered on the Financial Services Register under firm registration number 612713. Lendwise Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm registration number 782496
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