When I began thinking about going back to Uni, I fretted about whether my postgraduate studies would be covered by HECS or FEE-HELP.  I had utilised HECS-HELP loans to fund the tuition for my undergraduate bachelor of laws.  In addition, I had also utilised FEE-HELP to fund two graduate certificates.

All up I had borrowed around $60,000.00 worth of HELP loans.  I vaguely understood there was a life-long limit that you could reach where HELP loans would no longer be available to you and I certainly wasn’t in a position pay the MBA fees outright.   I know of people who preferred to self-fund their MBA as an added incentive to do well in the course.  Financially, that’s not an option for me so I’m very grateful for these study assistance schemes.  Further, I have been regularly paying my HELP debt back since 2009 (hellooo, disappointing tax returns) so I don’t miss that (capped) 8% chunk from my pay these days. (more…)