In debt but want to go back to uni.....

Secret1234

Hi there, i'm about £17,000 in debt but its all under control at the moment and i'm making all the repayments on time and paying more than the minimum. I owe £12,000 to HSBC as a loan and £5,000 in a credit card also to HSBC. I am already a graduate having completed a rather useless degree in 2003 (i've not included my student debt in my overall debt :eek: ). I'm hoping to apply for a course in Occupational Therapy to start in September, it was originally what i wanted to do but i messed up my application at the time. It wil mean giving up a reasonably paid job

I'm just wondering if anyone else has started a course whilst already in debt. I know i will be able to work part time as much as possible but its still worrying. I have to start as soon as really as i eventually want to start a family and i don't want to keep putting it off and regretting it in the long run.

Any advice as to what i can do as i don't want to end up in worse debt. The good thing is though is its an NHS course therefore i do not pay tuition fees and i will get a bursary which will help a little.

I guess i'm just looking for reassurance

Jen x

lynzpower

jen

Ive done a course that was part time adn paid for elsewhere, and I had half the debt you do. is that 17 including your student debt ( loans/ fees) or not?

Have you worked out whether you can service the debt while not earning?

Have you done a SOA?

Secret1234

No it doesn't include my previous student debt of £9k unfortunately , i would hope to avoid getting another student loan this time round and do a lot of extra work in my spare time, my sister did the same course and the actual time spent at university is pretty minimal.

I'm going to do a SOA when i get home from work, but to be honest i don't have many outgoings. I'm also going to speak to the bnk to see if they could put things on hold for 12 months or so.

My outgoings are about £500 per month but that will drop down to £300 once i get rid of my credit cards which i'm hoping to do before i start the course.

Glitterari

The time spent in lectures and stuff might be minimal, but what about the work you have to produce, the reading, etc?

I'm doing a MA in social work and I have no time at all for a part-time job, but then my actual time table is very full, and we have to do so much reading! The number of assignments we have to do is not that many, but I couldn't fit in a job too - I think I would end up having a breakdown trying to cope with it all!

I am not sure if the bank will put things 'on hold' for you though it's certainly worth asking. If they do put things on 'hold' I doubt very much they would be fully on hold - ie the interest will probably still be mounting up.

Is there no way you could undertake the course through an employer - with social work you can do the MA through your work and you still get a wage.

I didn't have as much debt as you, but I still chose to clear everything bar my student loan before I started my ma. This meant that I started the ma a year after I would have liked and was supposed to have started, as I deferred my place.