Student Loans

Flexible 'lifetime' student loans, increased rights for renters, leasehold reform, and more protection for those using the internet were among the plans revealed by the Queen today during the state reopening of Parliament.

Student loan interest rates are set to drop for many students from September. Current students in England and Wales, for example, can expect to see the interest rate they're charged fall from 5.6% to 4.5%. Meanwhile, many former students with outstanding loans will likely see their rates dip too – though the changes are yet to be finalised by the Government, so for now we can only predict what'll happen.

MoneySavingExpert.com, together with the Russell Group of universities, is calling on the Government to scrap the current student loan statement, after 90% of respondents to our poll question said our redesigned version of the statement helped them understand the student loans system. 

The Government has set out plans for accelerated two-year degrees which it claims will save students at least £5,500 in tuition fees compared to a three-year course. But Martin Lewis has warned that while it means lower living costs at uni, many students won't pay any less for their studies.

Student loan repayment thresholds will rise by hundreds of pounds next April, but many students and former students from England and Wales will see interest rates increase to 6.3% in September – here's why you shouldn't panic.

Students who missed out on teaching time during university strikes earlier this year are trying to get compensation, with more than 5,000 signing up to a proposed group legal action and hundreds more filing individual claims.

Universities say students and prospective students need clearer and better-targeted financial advice on the full implications of taking out a student loan - a call which is backed by MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis.

The interest rate charged on post-2012 student loans should be reduced to 1.5%, a parliamentary committee has said.

The Bank of England has today decided keep the base rate at 0.5%.

Student loan interest rates, already a source of much anger and a Government review, are set to rise again in September. Current students from England and Wales will almost certainly see the rate rise from 6.1% to 6.3% - and many former students with outstanding loans will see their rates rise too.