Mature Student

charlie007

hello, i am just finishing my course but have found it much easier then expected to pay for the house and the bills. There are loads of grants available for mature students, it is the best thing i ever did

susiesue_2

charlie007 wrote:

hello, i am just finishing my course but have found it much easier then expected to pay for the house and the bills. There are loads of grants available for mature students, it is the best thing i ever did

i get a bursary and half the student loan, what other grants do you get?
iam an oldie, mort, kids, soon to be single. i can claim wftc but is there anything else im missing?

djbd1973

This won't help those of you who are already mature students, but I am a final year degree student studying part time. I have a full time job, but I also teach for three hours at a college on a Saturday teaching my trade. Because I am a member of staff, they not only give me a discount on the yearly course fees for the degree that a university is offering through the college, but they also fund part of my course under staff development. I was teaching before I started my degree, and was offered a place which I grabbed with both hands. WARNING - It has NOT been easy for me doing a degree whilst working two jobs and running a house, but I am definitely better off for it and the teaching money more than pays for the outstanding fees I pay. All I am thinking of now is the fact that I finish this summer!! Can't wait!

millersaver

I'm a mature student too and have not told my mortgagae provider yet as I'm concerned they will think I am a riskier borrower that before and hike up my fees. I have a fixed, flexible mortgage at 4.99% with no tie in just a minor redemption fee of about £200 and I'd like to change my mortgage, keep it fixed but with a lower % there are a few out there. How do I go about this? My income is only about £9000 and that includes my student loan etc. Is it possible or will I be denied because of my low income?

Gem_

millersaver wrote:

I'm a mature student too and have not told my mortgagae provider yet as I'm concerned they will think I am a riskier borrower that before and hike up my fees. I have a fixed, flexible mortgage at 4.99% with no tie in just a minor redemption fee of about £200 and I'd like to change my mortgage, keep it fixed but with a lower % there are a few out there. How do I go about this? My income is only about £9000 and that includes my student loan etc. Is it possible or will I be denied because of my low income?

The danger is that the mortgage company will not regard the £9000 as income as it is a grant / loan not paye. I had this problem and it took a lot of leg work to get my mortgage. They will not change a deal that is already in place but if you want to move your mortgage then I suggest you do it before you give up work in the real world, that will put you in a stronger bargining position.

If I can help then PM me

G

llcoolfay

There are often extra grants available to mature students.

At my particular uni I applied for a hardship grant every year. If you were under 25 you could only get a hardship loan.

I appealed against the decision as a matter of course and every year I got an extra cheque a few weeks before summer.

One year it was 700. The other two years it was about 200. On top of the 2-300 I'd received in the first place.

As for work, I had some shares I cashed in which were ment to pay the rent for three years. I blew it in the first year and had to work second and third year.

First year can be a lot easier so if that's the case you might as well be out there working.

When I was at uni one of the things I'll look back at were the varried jobs I had over summer (tax free too!). Landscaping, driving a rough terrain fork lift, support crew for a camping company delivering holiday stuff all over Europe.

What I didn't enjoy was working split shifts in a warehouse while I had my final project to complete. Could have managed thoses kind of hours easy in first year though.

lj0405

Hi,

I'm a mature student and am just coming up to finishing my first year at uni. I was made redundant and received financial advice from an independant financial advisor.
He advised that the best home for my money would be ING DIRECT. You have access via the internet to move your money whenever you want to and interest is paid at the end of each month. I think it's currently 4.25%. Therefore this would be a useful home for your equity and you could move your money into a current account as and when you need it.

Hope this helps and good luck, it's hard work but I'm sure you will enjoy it!

Lj0405

annettek3707

Hi Whats this grocery challenge...???

Neeta

Savvy_Sue

annettek3707 wrote:

Hi Whats this grocery challenge...???

Probably over on the Old-Style board. You work out how much you're currently spending on food etc and set a lower target each month ... Something like that, anyway.