Hello All,

Sadly, I was rejected by the Student Finance Loan Company, only 3 weeks before the start of my PhD. I am currently unemployed, which makes the situation even harder. I have been researching alternative doctoral loans and came across many that have ridiculous interest fees (e.g. Future Finance). I am now looking into personal/ student loans from different banks, as well as charities/ trusts (though the pandemic forced many of them to suspend their activities).

I would appreciate any suggestions on alternative loans that would cover at least the first 2 years of my PhD (approx. £10000), as they seem very difficult to find. Thank you!

My only advice is to decline your place or defer for a year and to apply for all the funded PhDs you can. It is not worth getting into large amounts of debt to do a PhD in my opinion. I know this is not what you want to hear but honestly borrowing the money from a bank is a really bad idea as you will need to start repaying it before your studies are complete.