BPP, Investec extend law loan to part-time students

In partnership with Investec, the LPC giant has also reduced the loan’s five-year fixed interest rate from 9.5 per cent to 7.7 per cent.

Chief executive and dean of BPP Peter Crisp said: “I am pleased to be able to extend the initiative further, as part of our commitment to supporting and training future lawyers, and hope that students will benefit from the lower interest rate.

“For Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) students, this is the only fully funded law loan available, and we hope that this will encourage more people to enter the profession.”

The Law loan was launched last year for full time students on the GDL, LPC or BPTC course only at an annual percentage rate of 9.9 per cent (6 July 2011).

Students can borrow between £1,000 and £25,000 each, and will be able to apply for an amount to cover all or part of their course fees, plus living expenses of up to 20 per cent of the cost of the course.

Other features of the BPP/Investec loan include an 18-month repayment holiday from the start date of the loan and no early repayment fees.

The news follows the latest Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) bi-annual survey revealing an expected decrease in graduate vacancies in law firms by 16.5 per cent this year, despite a predicted decrease of just 0.6 per cent in available jobs across all sectors (4 July 2012).