Can I Apply for a Bank Loan to Fund My Postgraduate Studies?

You may be among a group of students that is not eligible for a government grant, does not qualify for a scholarship in your chosen field and could be another three years working to save the money to pay for your postgraduate studies – so is a loan from an established financial institution a good option for you?

Bank of Ireland’s advisor, Lucia McCauley advises “When borrowing money – check out the interest rate, how long you have to pay it back, when you have to start paying it back and how much you can borrow.” When you borrow from a financial institution, not only are you borrowing money from that institution itself, you are borrowing that money from your future self and relying on your future earnings to allow you to repay the loan. That being said, there are a range of options for postgraduate students who are in need of financial assistance to fund their studies – here is just a handful of them.

Bank of Ireland offers a postgraduate loan of up to €10,000 for students undertaking full-time 1-year postgraduate course. The loan can be repaid monthly over terms of 1 to 5 years. There is also an option to defer the first 12 monthly repayments.  This loan is designed to cover the fees associated with undertaking a full-time postgraduate course and is available to Bank of Ireland 3rd level student personal current account holders.  For more information on Bank of Ireland postgraduate loans, click here.

AIB First Loan offers loans to Student Plus account holders who wish to borrow amounts from €1,000 - €50,000. There’s an option to repay over a term from 12 to 60 months. You can calculate your loan repayments on their dedicated loan calculator.

Other options available include local Credit Unions, which may also offer competitive terms. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has a handy student loan comparison tool that may help you make your decision.