'My boob job has done more for my career than any degree could': Katie Price fan went to uni for just TWO WEEKS so she could bag £14,000 student loan to pay for surgery
- Catherine Byrne applied to study psychology without any plan on attending
- Only wanted to be registered student to apply for loans for breast operation
- Forced to attend first two weeks of classes before leaving to pursue dream
- Ditched lectures after pocketing £7,000 - which she was given next year too
Catherine Byrne (pictured) spent student loans she was given despite only attending two weeks of classes having her breasts enlarged
A wannabe glamour model spent two weeks at university before ditching classes - just so she could apply for £14,000 worth of student loans to fund breast enlargement surgery.
Catherine Byrne spent the government loan - meant to fund tuition fees, rent and books - on boosting her B-cup breasts to a D.
She duped the University of East London into believing she wanted to study psychology, but only wanted to be accepted on to the course so she could apply for a student loan.
The day her letter of acceptance came through the post she immediately applied for a £7,000 loan.
Of the money, £4,000 was intended for maintenance and £3,000 was for tuition.
Tuition fee loans are paid directly to the university, and with maintenance loans going to the student directly.
The Katie Price fan says she then attended a fortnight of lectures before giving up on her classes and chasing her glamour modelling dreams.
With the money left over, the lad's mag hopeful bought Botox and fillers to further enhance the 'frozen' faced look she'd been longing after for years.
A year later, when the university informed her lack of attendance had meant she'd failed first year, the brunette applied for a second £7,000 loan to 'resit' the classes - and says she spent the money on more beauty treatments.
The 29-year-old's bust is now an H-cup - and she couldn't be happier.
Ms Byrne told The Sun: 'My boob job has done more for my career than any degree could.'
Student loans are required to be paid back as soon as the recipient starts earning more than £17,335.
However, amateur model Ms Byrne, from Billericay, Essex, does not intend to repay the money she was given.
Ms Byrne applied for her loan before changes to the student finance system and increased tuition fees were introduced in 2012. The terms of her loans mean they will be written off after 25 years if she remains under the pay threshold.
With that in mind, the mother-of-one is choosing to work just a select number of modelling jobs each month - meaning her wage hovers below the payback limit.
She duped the University of East London into believing she wanted to study psychology, knowing fine well she only wanted to be accepted on to the course so she could apply for a student loan to pay for new boobs
She said her modelling jobs are not very well paid and because she only takes a few jobs a month she does not believe she will ever earn enough money to pay off the loan.
Repayments on student loans are usually collected through the tax system by HM Revenue and Customs and automatically deducted from a recipient's pay, meaning loanees will not be visited by debt collectors. Student loans do not go on credit files.
Ms Byrne hatched her plan after being told by a student friend about the loans on offer to undergraduates.
She said she'd spent most of her teens and early 20s 'embarrassed' by her 'tiny' B-cup breasts, and the offer of ultimately free cash was too good to resist.
Aged 22, she then applied for any course that would accept her - just so she could get her money.
She said she was 'shocked' to be accepted on the course but then applied for her loan and as soon as the money was deposited into her account she booked in for her surgery.
Students receive the first installment of their loan money once they have enrolled at university and the money is paid in three chunks throughout the academic year, at the start of each term.
Just two weeks into her first year, Ms Byrne had already waved goodbye to her classes and paid £3,600 for her boob job, which she hoped would bring her as much success as her idol, Katie Price.
She said the enhancement sent her self-confidence through the roof, confirming her pre-held belief that it was better 'to invest in my body instead of my brain'.
Just two weeks into her first year, Catherine had already waved goodbye to her classes and splurged £3,600 - more than half of her loan - on her boob job. She said the enhancement sent her self-confidence through the roof, confirming her pre-held belief that it was better 'to invest in my body instead of my brain'
With the money left over from her loan, Ms Byrne finished off her new look with Botox injections in her face and collagen to plump her lips.
Nine months later, the university posted her a letter saying she'd failed her first year, having not attended any classes after the first fortnight.
However, far from being a reality check, the notice - which said she could resit both semesters - only spurred Ms Byrne's main ambition even more.
She said: 'I went to my tutor and told her a story about being overwhelmed in my first year.
'She believed me and I signed up to redo the first year again. This meant I could apply for another year of loans and within weeks I was approved for another £7,000.'
That money went on cosmetic procedures too, as well as new clothes and a brand new car.
Six years on and, despite being saddled with £17,572 of student debt, Catherine is prouder than ever of her choices
However, rather than spend another two weeks on campus, Ms Byrne says she simply didn't go at all second time around.
Six years on and, despite being saddled with £17,572 of student debt, the part-time model is prouder than ever of her choices.
She said: 'I'm the one who has really invested in my future because my bigger boobs have made me happier every single day.
'You always hear about people who leave university and can't get jobs. That just seems stupid to me.
'I'm probably happier than most of the people who enrolled on that course at the same time as me.'
A spokesman for the Student Loans Company told MailOnline: 'Student finance is provided to help students pay tuition fees and support the cost of living. Funding is only released after SLC receives confirmation from the college or university of the student’s attendance on their course.
'Each university or college is responsible for monitoring student attendance throughout the academic year and where a student does not attend, the institution is responsible for informing SLC to ensure that no further finance for that year is paid.
'Repaying your student loan is not optional and repayments will be taken when the borrower is earning over the threshold relevant to their loan. The threshold for starting to repay loans taken out before September 2012 is £17,335.
'We take our responsibility to collect every pound of taxpayers’ money that is due seriously and work with HMRC and other agencies to recover all monies owed.'
University of East London would not comment on Ms Byrne's claims.
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