Thanks for your responses. I am seriously thinking of applying for one of these loans. I'm going to a postgrad open evening next week at my local university so I can find out more about them there. My main concern is that unlike for example private bank loans, they can change the terms and conditions afterwards, such as the payback threshold and the percentage. But it's something to take advantage of as they weren't available at one time and they might not be available in the future.

Hi, I wondered if anyone has experience of the postgraduate loan scheme that the Government launched a few years back? Currently you can borrow up to £10,609 to pay for a Masters degree or £25,00 for a PhD. You start paying the loan back when you've completed your course and you're on a salary of £21,000 or above (which seems a bit low to me..) You pay back 6% of your income over the minimum amount (‘threshold’) of £21,000.
I was thinking of taking out one of these loans as I've always wanted to do a Masters or maybe even a PhD but have never been able to afford it. I've done some research on these loans and read both good and bad opinions - what worries me most is that the Government can change the terms and conditions of the repayment amounts, which is scary as I'm already in debt with my undergraduate loan and am not on a great income (currently just over £22,000 so I'd have to start paying the loan back straight away) and am not in good financial circumstances. I'd like to hear anyone's opinions / experience of this loan scheme as it's a big decision for me, but I'm wondering if I should take advantage of these loans whilst they're available. And also before it's too late, as I graduated with my first degree in 2002 and I'm now 48.

Thanks , I just started the application and it says I need to submit a research proposal and a personal statement. Not sure how to go about doing the research proposal. It doesn't state any word count required etc, but I just read that they're usually around 3000 words long?

Thanks for the reply. The studentships are in health inequalities and obesity in my city. This is related to my degree. I hail from the area of deprivation that will be studied. I have also been working in the NHS for nearly 10 years, this should go in my favour? I'm a clinical audit facilitator.

Hi I am new to this forum. I have always wanted to do postgrad study but am out of the loop having graduated with my first degree quite some time ago! I graduated with a BA Hons in Applied Social Science back in 2002. I achieved a good 2:1 despite many odds against me and I and dearly wanted to go on to further study but, to cut a long story short, I didn't have a clue how to do this. I had no support and life was difficult (none of my peers wanted to do postgrad study; I was the first in my family to go to university; I was a single parent of a young boy with autism; I had no money). I have always bitterly regretted not studying further, it is the only reason I went to uni to be honest. My ambition and passion was to be an academic. After speaking to a university lecturer recently who handles applications he assured me that it's not too late to apply again.. however I don't have the funds to pay for a postgrad course myself. I've seen 2 funded PhD studentships at my local university which I'd like to apply for but the closing date is a week today.. don't know if I should take the plunge and apply, can anyone advise or recommend any sources of help with applications in my situation? Thanks! :)