Mature student to be who has already done a degree

student_advisor

frostyglow wrote: »

I have already been accepted on an Art Access course, despite my previous degree qualification, due to the difference in the two subjects I guess.

The higher fees do not apply to the Access course (or A-Levels) as they are at Level 3 which is further education. They will only apply to higher education and will apply regardless of whether you will be full or part-time, though they are at the discretion of the institution (my institution charges international fees in these circumstances). If you can find a relevant foundation degree, these are currently exempt from these previous qualification rules.

Are you will not be able to receive any funding towards your second degree either? This means you need to be able to self-fund your fees and your living costs.

I think you need to start speaking to your chosen universities to find out what fees they will charge and whether there will be any other funding they will be able to offer you. It is unlikely that you would qualify for their institutional bursary either.

There are some charities that will help students change career direction, but these often do not fund degrees.

frostyglow

olly300 wrote: »

Have you checked there are no colleges near you that do part-time Art 'A' level or equivalent?

That way you could still work and study.

I knew someone who did this before doing a part-time Art degree. They were lucky as they lived near a college where it was feasible to do this.

Thanks, but unfortunately the degrees Interior Architecture and especially Modelmaking are not so easy to come by. The nearest college to me would still mean a long commute or moving to that area.

The Access course I'm doing this year is part time (3 days a week) and I can therefore work at the same time. It's only university which concerns me.

frostyglow

student_advisor wrote: »

The higher fees do not apply to the Access course (or A-Levels) as they are at Level 3 which is further education. They will only apply to higher education and will apply regardless of whether you will be full or part-time, though they are at the discretion of the institution (my institution charges international fees in these circumstances). If you can find a relevant foundation degree, these are currently exempt from these previous qualification rules.

Are you will not be able to receive any funding towards your second degree either? This means you need to be able to self-fund your fees and your living costs.

Thanks, I know what the fees for the Access course are going to be, this is not a problem as I can work part time to pay for them.

I'm not 100% sure there is no funding I can get for my 2nd degree, this is why I wanted to post in here to see if anyone had any ideas. But it is looking more and more likely that I will have to pay for the whole thing myself. This was my first thought and, given how determined I am to follow this dream of mine, I will find a way to fund it somehow. This is not something I am going to give up on

stingeylass

Have you considered doing your degree part time? That way you would be able to work at the same time and wouldn't have to save up for everything right now.

frostyglow

stingeylass wrote: »

Have you considered doing your degree part time? That way you would be able to work at the same time and wouldn't have to save up for everything right now.

Thank you, this is another option I will consider. I'll have to find out when I contact the universities if they would be able to let me do the courses part time as they're not all readily offered as a part time option.

The only downside to this is that I would have to work full time to be able to pay the potential tuition fees or work part time and supplement my income from some other source. Also if I work full time I'm worried I won't have enough time to get the most out of my course.

But I will be asking the uni's about this so thanks

dally1

The institution I work for also charges full fees (the same as international students) for those who already have a first degree. I'd advise looking into a Foundation Degree, these take 2 years and can be 'topped up' to a degree in the final year (at full cost). As a previous poster says, foundation degrees are currently exempt from the full fee rules and as a bonus many places only charge about half the cost of the usual undergraduate fees. Some unis do offer bursaries to full-fee students which might help a bit but wouldn't usually cover the whole of the difference.

frostyglow

dally1 wrote: »

The institution I work for also charges full fees (the same as international students) for those who already have a first degree. I'd advise looking into a Foundation Degree, these take 2 years and can be 'topped up' to a degree in the final year (at full cost). As a previous poster says, foundation degrees are currently exempt from the full fee rules and as a bonus many places only charge about half the cost of the usual undergraduate fees. Some unis do offer bursaries to full-fee students which might help a bit but wouldn't usually cover the whole of the difference.

Thanks - I didn't think know there was so much choice with regards to Foundation Degrees. I've just looked on UCAS and not only do they have degrees which fit my area of study, they have degrees I can study at the universities where the subjects I want to study are offered! This has made me much more optimistic!!

student_advisor

student_advisor wrote: »

Are you will not be able to receive any funding towards your second degree either? This means you need to be able to self-fund your fees and your living costs.

Sorry (was posting past bed-time!).

This should read:

Are you aware that you will not be able to receive any funding towards your second degree either? This means you need to be able to self-fund both your fees and your living costs.

Hopefully did not confuse too much

bestpud

koopa_coffee wrote: »

Universities may not charge international fees but if you have an equivalent qualification to the one you will be undertaking i.e. in your case a BSc/BA, then they will charge you more than the standard amount of tuition.

Not always - mine doesn't.

bestpud

student_advisor wrote: »

Sorry (was posting past bed-time!).

This should read:

Are you aware that you will not be able to receive any funding towards your second degree either? This means you need to be able to self-fund both your fees and your living costs.

Hopefully did not confuse too much

I thought they could apply for the basic maintenance loan?

Or is that just people who did not actually complete their first degree and have to fund part of their second attempt?