Funding College

ARB_MAN

Hi i am studying A higher national diploma in aboriculture/horticulture , does anyone know of any grants available to help with cost of equipment and also cost of accomodation.
Thanks

Taiko

Providing your course is full time, and is designated for funding, plus you meet the other eligibility criteria, you can apply for student loans through www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance.

If you're on a part-time course, you can also apply through the above site for part time support, however it's a lot lower than the full time for obvious reasons.

ARB_MAN

To be honest i dont really want to take a loan because personally i cant take money from anyone as to me it is like a debt , any grants or funds availible?

alyth

I used to work for a law firm and we administered several trusts that gave grants to students - some of them had extremely weird requirements, such as one only gave a grant to someone with the surname Menzies!

Your college might have details of such trusts, both otherwise as a mature student myself you're on your jack jones! I get a bursary as I am single but I work damn hard to ensure I don't take on any debt, and I have another 5.5 years of studying to get through!

How are you supporting yourself at the moment - presumably your are on a two year course that started in September?

ARB_MAN

yeh i am on the two year course but will be continuing further on another course when finished, the only support i get at the moment is saturday job but i worked it out the other day the course for just the two year will cost me approx £5,000 , what was the name of your company please just so i can see if i am eliable for any of the grants
many thanks

alyth

I'm afraid my law firm was in Scotland and I suspect you are down south, do correct me if I am wrong though.

I'm guessing you are young and still living at home if you have a Saturday job. Do you mean that you will have to pay fees for your course of £5K - sorry, the education system in Scotland is really different from England, we all get bursaries of maybe around £400 a month!

If you contact your local authority, god only knows what department it would be though, then they might know of local trusts that give money to students. For example, SAC up in Scotland have details on their website that if you are doing a certain course you may be eligible for a grant or bursary from a company that is sponsoring or helping the course in some way.

Good luck, it's tough, I'm 39 and on an access course and I work extremely hard and study maybe 40 hours a week, to ensure that I never leave uni with any debt!

ARB_MAN

haha everything you guessed was correct. The £5,000 covers cost of equipment take tests and course enrolement and transport costs. Its seems alot but i look at it and there are no shortcuts i need to pay everything , i think i will get in touch with my local council and see what they have to offer thanks for your help .
:T

Oldernotwiser

Full time higher education is funded by loans for both fees and maintenance and there would be no alternative funding available for somebody trying to avoid taking these out. Even college hardship funds aren't available to you unless you've taken out all the funding that you're eligible for!

I get the impression that you don't know very much about the system of student loans, which would suggest that it might be a good idea for you to find out about them. They are so different from normal debt that students with wealthy, supporting parents take out the loans to put into savings accounts!

ARB_MAN

Thanks But i know Alot more than the average tom about student accounts and while they are good for some people i beleive that Any form of borrowing is the same as debt because ultimately you ow someone money.

alyth

how old are you ARB? You know my age, I'm self-funding my way through six years of study but will still take the student loan, as ONW says I will put it into a ISA and get some interest on it!

I hate to be harsh, but if you know a lot more than the average person about student accounts then why are you asking on this site whether you can get a grant for being a student? Everyone has to borrow at some stage, when you are older you will require a mortgage or a car, it's a nice ideal to think that you can get by in the world without credit, unfortunately you can't.

Oldernotwiser

ARB_MAN wrote: »

Thanks But i know Alot more than the average tom about student accounts and while they are good for some people i beleive that Any form of borrowing is the same as debt because ultimately you ow someone money.

Tom??

Student accounts??

What's the point in asking for advice and then ignoring it??