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Choosing the best Student Account (2009 – 2010)
Posted by David | Filed under Student Saving Tips, University Life
Home > Student Index > Choosing the right Student Account (2009 – 2010)
As a follow up to our article last year, here is our latest look at the student bank accounts for 2009 – 2010 students.
Why not discuss what Student Account to choose in our new forum!
It is important to also check with the bank you are going to chose what they think a student is! All the banks have their own definition, but if you go to University and are doing a Bachelor degree or a 5 year Medicine, Veterinary or Architecture course you will be fine as well.
| Bank | Unauthorised Overdraft (EAR) | Formal Overdraft Limit | ||||
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | ||
| NatWest | 17.81% | £1250 | £1400 | £1600 | £1800 | £2000 |
| HSBC | 3% above their Base Rate. | £1000 | £1250 | £1500 | £1750 | £2000 |
| Barclays*** | 8.9% | £1000 | £1250 | £1500 | £1750 | £2000 |
| Abbey** | 28.7% | £1000 | £1250 | £1500 | £1800 | £2000 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | 29.84% | £2750 | £2750 | £2750 | £2750 | £2750 |
| Lloyds TSB* | 8.2% | £1500 | £1500 | £1500 | £2000 | £2000 |
| Co-operative Bank | 15.9% | £1400 | £1700 | £2000 | £2000 | £2000 |
| Halifax (Your money awards 2008. Best student banking provider 2008) | 24.2% | £3000 | £3000 | £3000 | £3000 | £3000 |
*Lloyds TSB also offer an Islamic Students account at the same rates
** Abbey also offer a Postgraduate bank account with a maximum interest free overdraft in year 4 of study of £1800
*** At the time of writing Barclays have not fully decided on their student account deals, this is last years data. We will update this page once they have updated theirs!
It is strongly recommended you do not go above the overdraft limits of your account! Despite the numbers in the table above, many banks have stepped overdrafts which prevent you taking that sum at one time, usually its around £500 in the first six months and the remaining later in the year. Student accounts are not good for savers, if you are a saver consider an actual Savings Account as well as a student account.
Lloyds TSB student account offers a “Save the Pennies” type of scheme putting all the “change” you have left after a transaction into a savings account for you.
While high overdraft looks great, check out the charges if you do go into the unauthorised territory. They can be steep and they can be painful. HSBC do have a fair charging policy, and Lloyds TSB will forgive you charge wise the first time you go overboard! While RBS looks like a great overdraft it does have a very high EAR if you go over.
Freebies Table (Don’t use this to judge who to go for though!)
| Bank | Notable Freebies |
| NatWest |
|
| HSBC |
|
| Abbey |
|
| Royal Bank of Scotland |
|
| Lloyds TSB |
|
| Halifax |
|
| Co-op Bank |
|
| Barclays |
|
Don’t go for a bank because it offers lots of freebies! Unless of course you are happy you won’t be going into the deep red, then you can consider taking advantage. In particular you may like the NatWest railcard deal and Lloyds TSB £100 cash deal. Many of the others are rather gimmicky voucher deals. Just because a bank isn’t offering freebies doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a good overdraft amount. Beware though banks will commit you to a certain amount of money and to a certain number of transcations to get these freebies!
Abbey Student Competition
Abbey are currently running a competition that  can be found on Facebook, once you become a fan of Abbey Students you will be entered into the competition to win one of 31 Scalextric sets throughout August. and be one of the first to be informed on how to register for a chance to win £50, every hour, every day for 30 days. More information on the competition and cash give away can be found on the Facebook page and on our special Abbey Student Competition page.
My Recommendations
I would recommend choosing the bank that is in your banks union for convience sake if they have one! This will make paying in the cheques much easier. If you are going to be relying on an overdraft to pay for your time at university, then larger is obviously better, beware of the interest rates for going passed your agreed limit though, and make sure you read the small print, sometimes banks can ask for their money bank! An account that lets you pay back a year after you graduate would probably also be more beneficial if you are paying your entire way by overdraft!
If you have savings get an online savings account or save on the high street you will get a much better rate of interest than in a current or student account.
Bank Websites can be confusing, reading through all the bank websites to get this information took quite some time, if you think I’ve made a mistake please get in touch.
Loading ...Home > Student Index > Choosing the right Student Account (2009 – 2010)
Tags: banking, Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, NatWest, RBS, Student Account, Student Accounts, Student Bank Account, Student Bank Accounts, Student Current Accounts, Student Saving Tips, University Life
The Essential Student Cooking Guide (Roasted Vegetables)
Posted by David | Filed under The Essential Student Cooking Guide
Home > Student Cookbook > Recipes > Main Meals >Roasted Vegetables
Roasted Vegetables
Roasted vegetables is one of my favourite meals to cook around exam time, its so easy to cook and it tastes really good! Nearly all the ingredients below are optional, cook what you like! This is one of the best recipies to experiment with roasting veg! Some will turn out amazing, some will not turn out that well at all!
Ingredients (Serves 1 hungry person)
- 1/2 to 1/3 a Sweet Potato chopped into large chunks.
- 1/2 to 1/3 a Butternut Squash de-seeded and chopped into smaller chunks.
- 1/2 a red pepper chopped into strips.
- 1/2 a green/yellow pepper chopped into strips.
- 1/2 a chopped and peeled carrot.
- 5-10 cherry tomatoes.
- 1/2 to 1Â onion chopped into quarters.
- 1 Bird’s Eye chicken and broccoli lattice or other battered/breaded chicken such as Kiev or Corden Bleu.
- Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil, Paprika.
Recipe
- Chop up your veg as described above and place them on a baking pan, cover in olive oil, salt, pepper and some paprika and mix around to ensure all are evenly covered.
- The vegetables described above will be nicely caramelised within 45-50 minutes in the oven at around 180 degrees. However follow the packet when it comes to the chicken! Some vegetables such as the squash and sweet potato definitely need most of this time to soften, but if you don’t like your peppers a little charged it might be worth leaving them unti 20 minutes has elapsed!
- Just experiment with this one, its a great, simple quick recipe!
Home > Student Cookbook > Recipes > Main Meals >Roasted Vegetables
Tags: Butternut Squash, carrot, Cherry Tomatoes, Green Pepper, Onion, Red Pepper, Roasted Vegetables, Student Cooking Guide, Sweet Potato, The Essential Student Cooking Guide, Yellow Pepper
Advice for people applying for a science based (research) PhD
Posted by David | Filed under Postgraduate Life
Recent l I have applied successfully to do a 4 year funded PhD in a biochemistry related subject area. This article is designed to explain the process of applying for a science PhD, the funding and help anyone who is on the fence decide whether they want to do one or not!
Applying for a PhD or any other postgraduate study is slightly different and more longwinded than the UCAS application you would have made for your undergraduate degree. The process is unique and individual to each university, and applications must be done separately for each department, and each supervisor you wish to carry out a PhD with.
With a PhD it is important to remember that you are applying to carry out the degree in someones lab, it is therefore vital you get along with this person. You should arrange to meet any potential supervisors before applying for a PhD and get shown around their lab to get a feel of the place. I worked in my the lab of the supervisor I applied to for 10 weeks doing my undergraduate laboratory project in his lab prior to applying.
Finding a PhD you like
Finding a PhD you would be interested in can be quite difficult as they are often advertised specifically. Good places to start are the university websites, but also places like Nature.comand FindaPhD have a good selection of PhD available. If you are particularly interested in an area of research carried out by someone then it is definitely worth emailing them to ask if they have a PhD position available or would be interested in creating one as you are interested. The latter approach is more likely to occur in the institution you did your undergraduate degree in as you will know what some of professors work involves.
If you are unsure of who to then ask your tutor or a member of staff whose work you find interesting if they could help you find a PhD… you never know they may offer you one!
Applying for a PhD
Just like applying for a job you will need to ensure you have references a good CV and a cover letter saying why you think you should work, what you enjoy and why you want to go to that particular university to carry out your PhD. Your university department or careers department will be able to help you construct a CV for applying for a PhD, they are slightly different to a general one, expanding more on the modules you covered in your undergraduate degree and the research skills you picked up.
One good tip is to ensure your references know in advance you are applying for a PhD, or you have at least asked them to be your references even if it is standard university policy that your tutor is your reference it is polite to ask them anyway! In some cases you will likely need to harass your references, make sure you make things easy for them by supplying stamped addressed envelopes etc. for them.
If you are asked for an interview
If you are accepted, you will probably have to attend an interview, this can be quite daunting, make sure you are well dressed, even though you will probably wear a t-shirt and jeans every day of your PhD make sure you are wearing a suit and tie to your interview. Ensure you have read a large number of the papers produced by the lab you are applying to as well. Between myself and my friends who have applied for a PhD the interview has varied from a casual half an hour talk about what happens in the lab, to a 2 hour grissling by the supervisor and other members of the academic staff and funding board. One of my friends was also asked to produce a presentation on why they wished to work in the lab and go to the university.
If your interview is successful
You will hear back quite quickly if your interview was successful, if it was that is the first stage over! It may not be the only stage however. In some cases it will be, some universities will obtain funding then find applicants, others will find applicants then the funding, unfortunately there is little you can do (besides average a good 2nd year or final degree grade) to obtain the funding, it is mainly down to how good your supervisor to be is at negotiating!
If you can afford it you can do an unfunded PhD, however this would be extremely costly. Some universities may offer a bursary, this is where you fees are paid for but unlike other forms of funding you are not offered a stipend.
The perks of a funded PhD
If you are successful in acquiring both PhD and funding you are good to go, you also benefit from some of the following perks!
- Your still a student and can take advantage of student deals such as student discount
- You are still exempt from council tax.
- If you are funded by a research council your stipend is tax free, so if you earn around £12,940 this would be the equivalent of earning £16,000 in a standard taxed job.
- You can often do extra work in the university, bar work or other academic work for undergraduates.
Good Luck!
Good luck to anyone applying for a PhD, make sure its a degree you want to do and not one you are doing just because you can’t find anything else to do.
Tags: Applying for a PhD, PhD, Postgraduate Education, Should I do a PhD, University Life
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