Possible mature student

riabie

Just a quick post... I'm a qualified teacher living in Wales but have recently come to the decision that I'd like to retrain as a nurse. The lack of teaching jobs (primary) doubled with my lack of drive to carry on with supply and part time work to make ends meet has made me seek out a new career path to nursing, something I'm very excited about. I'm hopefully going to see a careers advisor this week to see how I go about applying etc. I am aware that there is a bursary available and if i am correct there are no tuition fees as these are paid by the health board. I'm currently living single although will be living with my partner by the time studies start (fingers crossed i get accepted). My partner is on an average wage of £22 k a year. Just wondering firstly if anyone has any advice on which route to take - diploma vs degree and secondly on the financial aspect such as the bursary, are there any other available grants/loans (although still paying off my first one but I'm down to my last few hundred pounds on it). Is it benefical for me stay in Wales or does it matter if I train in England. My partner lives in England so I will be applying for both the uni near me and the uni near him. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Oldernotwiser

As nursing is soon to become an all graduate profession I think that you would need a very strong reason to choose the diploma rather than the degree route, which could be financial. You get a higher bursary for the diploma but you can get a loan as well for the degree.

I'm afraid that I don't know much about the situation in Wales but I'm sure that your Careers Adviser will be able to explain this to you.