Mature Student with kids?!?!?!

tonevyse

Hello all and Happy New Year:beer:

New year and new beginnings and all that, I am considering a career change and starting at Leeds University to do a masters in QS.

My main question to start with is:

Part time or Full time?

I am married with 1 child. My wife works part time and Im currently not working. I was self employed but things have more or less died there now but the odd day or two of work does come in. We unfortunately dont have any savings put aside to cover living costs for the time Im at university, these have been swallowed up during the quiet spells at work. So If I go part time which is one day a week I'll have to try find some part time job or if I go full time are there any benefits out there that anyone knows of that we could claim?

Many thanks in advance!

Sarahsaver

I think you may get tax credits. Ask the uni, they should be helpful because they want bums on seats after all!
I think you would be better off doing it full time as it's quicker therefore sooner to being qualified = money or saving for a year then doing it. Any 'full time' course is not 'full time' unless its medicine or teaching and a few others. You would have time to get a PT job.
A close friend of mine is a mature student, she has got 3 kids and is a single mum.

D_e_n_i_s_e

a close friend, aged 33 has just gone back into studying. his mrs is a housewife with a 2 year old girl. he works just the weekends (and one weekday evening) at currys (i think!), arond 22 hours a week in total. anyway he applied for something called the adult learning fund at the university. The adult learning fund is a non-repayable grant which the uni give from the uni bursary, he got £2200 for the year.

ask at your uni they will have this!!!

tracyh_3

With a masters you will have to consider not only the cost of the course (post grad is normally self funded) but also the intense workload compared to undergraduate. Probably best going to a post grad open day at your chosen uni and ask some existing students about whether they can combine work, study and a family - my friend is doing his masters full time and working around 26 hours which leaves him no time at present but its only for a year....

Mr_Crafty

I'm doing a part-time MSc in Leeds on top of a full-time job and with 3 kids. Be prepared for a heavy workload.

My advice: If you're committed to what this course can offer you, do it full-time and get earning. If you're not, don't do it. Better to spend the time with your kid, and work somewhere convenient i.e. rubbish. Like Tesco.