Alternatives to taking out a student loan

tyllwyd

Whether you agree with the student loan system or not, unless you can pay up front it is obvious that to go to university and pay tutition fees you have to borrow a lot of money, and you will end up paying back a lot of money.

So leaving the arguments over that to one side, I was trying to think whether there are any alternatives for someone who is academically able enough for university, but doesn't want to take out a student loan.

In the past I remember someone signing up to join the army, because they were going to sponsor him through university - does that still happen? Or would it be an option to find some kind of accountancy traineeship after A-levels that would give you professional qualifications while you work? Or are there grants and bursaries out there which you could apply for?

This is a money-saving website - rather than fixing on university and loans, what are the other money saving options for a bright 18-year-old?

Oldernotwiser

tyllwyd wrote: »

Whether you agree with the student loan system or not, unless you can pay up front it is obvious that to go to university and pay tutition fees you have to borrow a lot of money, and you will end up paying back a lot of money.

So leaving the arguments over that to one side, I was trying to think whether there are any alternatives for someone who is academically able enough for university, but doesn't want to take out a student loan.

In the past I remember someone signing up to join the army, because they were going to sponsor him through university - does that still happen? Or would it be an option to find some kind of accountancy traineeship after A-levels that would give you professional qualifications while you work? Or are there grants and bursaries out there which you could apply for?

This is a money-saving website - rather than fixing on university and loans, what are the other money saving options for a bright 18-year-old?

Many of the student sponsorships have been cut during the recession and they were mostly in technical areas like engineering anyway, however they do still exist.

http://www.merlinhelpsstudents.com/studentlife/yourfinances/studentfinance/financialsponsorship.asp

An example of one of the better sponsorships is,

http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/administration/careers/news/news_10-4-2008-16-19-25

Lokolo

tyllwyd wrote: »

This is a money-saving website - rather than fixing on university and loans, what are the other money saving options for a bright 18-year-old?

Exactly, so do the cheapest option available - which is take the student loan. If it was all about saving money the Savings board would be a lot more popular than it is.

However as you are so against it:

- Army yes they do help, not sure how much but it ties you up I believe.
- Apprenticeships are great, however not much use for accountancy where a lot of firms want you to have a degree, and as ACCA/ACA cost a lot of money, no-one will pay for that AND university.
- I believe some companies will pay for all/part of university
- Go as a mature student after working for a good few years saving up loads of money.
- A lot of ex-poly universities do work placements in 3rd year (4 year course) and you can earn quite a lot in these (I earned/earnt £17k in mine, you can get up to around £21k though)

The_One_Who

As ONW and Lokolo say, there are still some sponsorships available, but only really engineering and the like. As for the military, they do still offer something as far as I know, but that's only really an option if you can commit to entering the military once you graduate. Again, these might only be available for engineering and similar courses.

Another option is to study part-time and work to fund yourself through. Or take a few years out to work full-time and save for university.

Or just get lucky on the Lottery?

melancholly

http://www.army.mod.uk/join/20137.aspx
http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/careers/how-to-join/sponsorship/
http://www.raf.mod.uk/altitude/educationandcareers/university_air_squadron_bursary.cfm
http://www.raf.mod.uk/altitude/educationandcareers/defence_technical_undergraduate_scheme.cfm

i'm not entirely sure i'd encourage many 17 year olds to pick a course/sponsorship option that will tie them into active service until they're nearly 30 - that's not because i don't think the military is a good career, more that it's a massive commitment and so many uni students change their minds about careers during their course. it's just such a long time..... plus people would still need to make up some funding from elsewhere so i don't think it would completely avoid a loan. these also require planning and applying more than 10 mins before uni starts too. they are competitive as well.

if there was an easy solution to avoiding having to pay, i think it would already be in the MSE guide..........

tyllwyd

I've just seen this article (from a few months ago) about sponsorship by KPMG (and it also mentions some of the other company sponsorships already noted in the article linked by Lokolo)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jan/13/accountancy-firm-kpmg-sponsors-durham-degree

atypical

PwC also runs a similar scheme:
http://www.henley.reading.ac.uk/management/undergraduate/mgmt-BA-Accounting-and-Business.aspx

Barclays has a scheme where you work for them whilst completing your degree. They pay your fees and give you a salary:
http://www.barclaysdegree.com/

tyllwyd

I was thinking about other careers where joining from school might be an option. Joining the police occurred to me and I came across this thread
http://ww2.policeoracle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8418&PN=1&title=graduate-scheme
where the merits of having a degree when joining the police force are (quite forcefully) debated.

tyllwyd

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http://cscuk.dfid.gov.uk/apply/scholarships-uk-citizens/

tyllwyd

Study abroad?

http://www.topuniversities.com/studying-abroad

http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/ukstudent/index.php

tyllwyd

University of Kent is offering scholarships of £2000 per annum to AAA students for 2012

http://www.kent.ac.uk/scholarships/undergraduate/academic/english.html


http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jul/31/universities-buy-top-students