It is important to understand that if you decide for faith reasons not
to take a loan for your studies, this may have an effect on your eligibility
for other sources of funding. You would need to find alternative funding such
as family, friends, savings, etc, to cover the cost of your
education. Some factors you may wish to consider are:
- Oxford Brookes has University Financial Support to help students facing financial
difficulties. To become eligible to apply for funds under this scheme, you need (a) as an undergraduate student, to have applied for your full maintenance loan; or (b) if a postgraduate student you need to have made provision to pay your
tuition fees and basic living costs
- Banks often want to
see evidence of a Maintenance Loan before opening a student account with the
interest-free overdraft facility
- Some trusts and
charities specifically exclude students who are entitled to a Maintenance Loan,
whether they have taken it or not
- If you are entitled
to claim welfare benefits as a student, the office assessing your benefit claim
will assume you have taken your loan entitlement and will reduce your benefit
entitlement accordingly
However, it is worth noting
that some elements of government Student Finance are not repayable. These
include supplementary grants for dependants or disability related course costs.
If you started your course before 2016, you might qualify for a Maintenance
Grant, depending on your household income.