Despite a huge increase in the number of applications and the number of calls the Student Loan Company has received for this new academic year, it insists it is "not overloaded".

However, the rise in the number of applications has meant that rumours have surfaced that there are a backlog of applications and students will not receive their loans on time. 

Although the SLC denies this, it does admit there has been a huge increase in the number of applications. It does, however, state that only late applicants may not get their full loans in time. 

Student forums everywhere are full of students and parents alike asking questions about when the loans will be paid. 

A spokesperson for the company said that its systems where holding up well with all the new applications. 

The SLC statement said:

We’re sorry that our customers are experiencing difficulties getting through to our customer advisors at Student Finance England. This year, we have received record numbers of applications and calls. We have processed the majority of applications from across the UK and we are processing thousands more every day. We are currently processing late applications that were submitted in mid-late August. Any customer who has applied on time should be paid on time, once they have registered at university.

We are encouraging students to review the status of their application online and also to check the website where we will be posting regular updates.

We acknowledge that this will be a worrying time for those students affected. We will process applications and deal with enquiries as quickly as possible. Would-be students are advised to check www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance.

In order to deal with the increased requests, the SLC has increased its call-centre capacity. The company also warns not to be fooled by phishing emails that request fake security answers. 

To summarise, the SLC has said that there should be no delay for all the applicants that were on time, but there may be a delay for the late applicants. We will have to wait and see whether this is true or not.