4 year degree now on to a Master how to fund it?

Mr_Warren_2

Hi all. Our eldest daughter will soon be graduating from Edinburgh Uni after a 4 year degree course. She has now been accepted to do a Masters at LSE (London School of Economics) and we are all shuffed about it......except that her Masters is costing £10k and accommodation will be £560 per month......

Would anyone know what loans/grant/burseries are available for that kind of Masters course?

Oldernotwiser

What class degree did she get? Is it a taught or research Masters?

The_One_Who

Little to none. The department or university website should have details of any and all bursaries/scholarships available. Really, the only funding available (and is very hotly contested) is for those intending to pursue a PhD under the 1+3 scheme. The other option is a Career Development Loan, but the maximum is £10,000 (I believe) and should only be taken as a last resort and if you know you'll have a reasonably well-paying job upon graduation.

Getting onto a Masters course isn't the hard part, it's funding it.

Mr_Warren_2

Thanks all, she is predicted a 2:1 bordering a 1st. She will be studying 3rd world development at LSE starting October (this is a taught Masters).

Voyager2002

I am not aware of any funding schemes that would help her, but there might be suggestions on the main LSE web-site or the particular web page for her course.

The fees for Master's courses at LSE are outrageous, and you might like to apply a value-for-money test. I work as a researcher in Third World Development, and the university departments in the field that I rate most highly are at the University of East Anglia and the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University, although most well-informed observers would give pride of place to Queen Elizabeth House in the University of Oxford. I suspect that LSE charges three times as much as these for its tuition fee, and I doubt whether the quality of the course is three times as high.

melancholly

the only chance is that LSE *might* have some funding.... but that is unlikely.... not much money out there for masters..... can she take a year out and save up some money?

Voyager2002

melancholly wrote: »

the only chance is that LSE *might* have some funding.... but that is unlikely.... not much money out there for masters..... can she take a year out and save up some money?

It sounds as if the total cost of her course would be around twenty thousand pounds: if you know any jobs open to a new graduate that would enable her to save this much during a year out, then please let me know!

melancholly

Voyager2002 wrote: »

It sounds as if the total cost of her course would be around twenty thousand pounds: if you know any jobs open to a new graduate that would enable her to save this much during a year out, then please let me know!

living at home..... not going out..... might be able to save a fair proportion of it with an 'average' wage job, then a part time job during the course to help make up the difference? it's possible.... maybe not probable, but better than parents picking up the massive tab!

Oldernotwiser

melancholly wrote: »

living at home..... not going out..... might be able to save a fair proportion of it with an 'average' wage job, then a part time job during the course to help make up the difference? it's possible.... maybe not probable, but better than parents picking up the massive tab!

Don't forget that the student's going to have to support themselves out of this part time job and pay London rents. Precious little chance of topping up sayings to pay the fees.

melancholly

well i guess i think the student should have thought about this beforehand then

Voyager2002

melancholly wrote: »

well i guess i think the student should have thought about this beforehand then

Yes, but now is a good time to consider the matter. I don't think that this course is the best of its kind in the UK, but the tuition fee is about three times that for comparable courses. And of course London rents, and living costs generally, are higher than those in Norwich, or even Oxford and Brighton. (Although the Oxford course is strictly only for students with a first in their first degree, and so might not be an option.)