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Back-log in Student Loan Applications Causes Concern

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A large number of students are still waiting to hear back on the progress of their maintenance and tuition fee loans from the Student Loans Company just weeks before their courses are due to begin.

It has been reported that tens of thousands of student loan applicants are yet to receive conformation on loans. The head of the body responsible for administering student loans today issued an "unreserved apology" for the backlog, after the Student Loans Company admitted it had been experiencing difficulties processing all the applications before the start of the new term.

Ralph Seymour-Jackson, chief executive of the Student Loans Company said the setback was due to an increase in late applications, largely as a result of the recession. He revealed that as many as 170,000 students are still waiting to find out if their application has been approved, while he also admitted that many have struggled to contact the organisation's phone lines, after they have been experiencing high volumes of calls.

The Student Loans Company has already had over a million loan applications this year, the highest amount since the organisation took on the process from local authorities. This marks a 16% rise in applications even though the increase in students is only 10%. It has been suggested that this could be down to a rise in people looking to take out loans in the recession.

Around 830,000 applications have already been processes by the organisation, but it has been estimated that 170,000 have yet to be completed. In some cases, some may decide to drop out and many left it as late as last week to apply despite the deadline for applications set for June. Seymour-Jackson said: "The problems with phone lines are real. We're not pretending any different. Students are struggling to get through and we can't pretend otherwise. For that we apologise unreservedly and ask people to use the website as much as they can. We guarantee that all students who applied before the deadline have already been processed."

He added that there were data processing issues earlier in the year, but said that around 450,000 applications were completed by the deadline, some 50,000 more than at the same point last year.

"We've certainly struggled with the telephones and processing. The workload is very hard. We are telling out staff they can have all the overtime they want. But the applications are unprecedented."

Students are required to provide a letter on conformation to prove they have sufficient funding in order to enrol for their first term. Universities have taken the late completion of applications into consideration and have assured students caught up in the problems that they will not be penalised. The majority of universities in the UK do not require fees until the end of the university year, but some students will be relying on the loans to pay for rent and living costs.

But don't worry, help is at hand! Check out our Top Student Bank Accounts and apply for a 0% overdraft to help see you through until your loan arrives!

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