possible new student - help!!!

Kippaxmum

Hiya all,

I have just applied to college to do the OCN Access to Higher Education Level 3 in Science and Health as a pre-cursor to doing a nursing degree/diploma.

I'm trying to get straight into my head what financial help is available to me. I'm married and have a little boy (3 next month) and we own our own home (mortgaged). Without my income - we cannot eat. Simple as. My wage currently pays the bills, dh's wage pays for food, going out, council tax (although mine will cover that now a loan has finished) and savings.

I have been having a scout round the net and it appears that from the direct.gov site, if I was to do the course full time, I would be entitled to:

Maintenance loan of : £3497
Fee loan of up to : £3225
Maintenance grant of: £2906
Total: £9628

Plus any increase in tax credits, plus the £30 per week adult learning allowance.

Is this right? Would the fee loan be payable as the course is not charged for? I dont have any childcare fees as my ds will be in nursery & my parents look after him when he's not. Also, if the course is not full time (but is classed as full time iykwim) will I still be able to get a part time job to help?

I'm trying to get this all worked out before putting my proposal to DH. I want a career not a job. The company I work for is off down the swanny so I want to have something in place. Its something I have wanted to do for a lot of years & now seems the right time to do it!

Thanks in advance (and any other 'adult learners' with hints & tips - would be great to hear from you!)

Donna
xx

the_annoyed_customer

I think at you can work as you are doing a part time course. Also I think you have to pay the course fees. But next year as you are doing a NHS course you won't be allowed to have a part time job due to placements but the good news is you don't have to pay the tution fees back

GlasweJen

I'm not great on funding for students outside scotland but i don't think your course is eligable for anything other than the £30 adult learning allowance as it's equivilent to A levels? In Scotland it must be HNC level or above to qualify for the grants and stuff and i assume it's a similar set up down south.

I'm sure someone more knowledgable will be able to help you better though.

Kippaxmum

Hiya,
Acording to the website for the college, the course fees are not applicable as the course is one of the access to higher education ones and as I will be over 25 and working towards my first full level 3 qualification. I will however have to pay exam fees (boo lol) Does this sound right?

Its all so confusing - see why I need to get it straight in my head before discussing with dh! lol

xx

clairec79

You can have a part time job while doing a nursing course, however it needs to be flexible so bank nursing auxillary is the best to fit in

Krasnoludek

Hi Kippaxmum

I am in the same position as you I am doing the same course to start a qualification to be an Occupational Therapist next year and am trying to find out what I am entitled to, I think you can only get the grants and stuff if you do the first year foundation course not the access course but the access course is only about £300 in fees but if its your first level 3 qual then as you say you wont have to pay, I am in exactly the same position except I have been made redundant and am now signing on till Sept. I have a 2 year old and a 7 year old and a mortgage, luckily my husband qualifies as an RMN next year so I will be ok from then on but this year is going to be very tight. I think you would be ok to get a part time job during the access/foundation year my sister in law did exactly the same route as me with a child of the same age and managed to work part time, its 15 hours a week so they still consider that full time but obviously if you have childcare you may be able to squeeze in some part time work, if I struggle I am going to apply to the local nurse bank for some hours, you only need to do a few days training to register and they do the CRB

Good luck and feel free to PM me - whereabouts are you in the UK

K x

Krasnoludek

Also you will be able to have a part time job doing your nurse training but it might be hard to fit it all in, the nurse bank may be worth considering. I know a lot of my DH colleagues work part time to supplement their income

K x

Kippaxmum

Hi K,

Thanks for that - I had a funny feeling that would be the position. I guess I'm jumping the gun as I would need to speak to the college first to find out how many hours the course needs.

then I will be able to see if there is any way of turning my current job part time (good for them as they have less wages!) or have to get something else (pub, call centre etc...)

I'm in Leeds so have applied to Thomas Danby College. Just gotta wait to hear from them! My friend has qualified as a nurse (she went straight on from A levels to Uni) and is a great help - I just don't know why I didnt do it sooner.

I think that its this 1 year of doing this access course thats going to be the big killer if you know what I mean! Hmmm..... so much to think about!
x

Taiko

You're not eligible for the loans for the access course. It's further, not higher, education. When you get to degree level, your support is mainly from the NHS bursaries.

Kippaxmum

I had a feeling that would be the case... so much to think about
x

Fire_Fox

Kippaxmum wrote: »

I'm in Leeds so have applied to Thomas Danby College. Just gotta wait to hear from them! My friend has qualified as a nurse (she went straight on from A levels to Uni) and is a great help - I just don't know why I didnt do it sooner.

I think that its this 1 year of doing this access course thats going to be the big killer if you know what I mean! Hmmm..... so much to think about!
x

I have studied fitness at Thomas Dandy, was very happy with the quality of teaching. If the access course is designated as full-time you will be exempt from council tax - so a 25% reduction if you live with your OH.

When you get onto the degree itself I don't think you will be entitled to working tax credits as well as the grant/ loan. But as you have a child you may be entitled to a different grant than the standard, which is more money. This all depends on how much your OH earns tho.