Hi efective and welcome to the forum
You are eligible to apply for Student Loans and Grants, but if you are in an IVA you must advise the loans/grants companies of your financial status.
An IVA is indeed a contract between debtor and creditors. Given your circumstances, I do not really feel that an IVA would be the right solution for you, as you ought to be concentrating on your studies without the distraction of having to work at the same time merely to fund debt repayments. Do you have anything particularly averse to bankruptcy proceedings, which might be a better option for you.
Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.
For further details contact me at
http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at:
http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk