mature student funding,,,help

jayne1

Im 39 and have given up work and presently doing an access course for bournemouth uni, Ive been offered a place commencing sept 07. for four years. I know that Im going to be extremely stretched as I have a mortgage along with normal living costs. I am presently applying for tuition costs but REALLY need advice and help on what other financial advise is available.
Would be grateful for any good advice

Impet_Limpet

is your course full time?
what is your household income?
do you have any dependants?
do you uni offer busarys or grants?

EEK!!!

I'm off to Bournemouth in Sept as a mature student (28). I've found this website really useful;

http://www.studentfinancedirect.co.uk

Hope this helps.
What course are you studying?

newmum1

You should try applying to the acess to learning fund and most uni's have there own hardship fund, there is no age limit for this, plus also your usual student loan. Hope this helps in some way.

jayne1

EEK!!! wrote:

I'm off to Bournemouth in Sept as a mature student (28). I've found this website really useful;

http://www.studentfinancedirect.co.uk

Hope this helps.
What course are you studying?

going to attend AECC to become a chiropractor

jayne1

Having problems with replies at the moment..doesnt bode well, but thank you for advise

Oldernotwiser

jayne1 wrote:

Having problems with replies at the moment..doesnt bode well, but thank you for advise

Have you looked at the website suggested; it pretty well covers all the information. Also, could you give more information about your situation (as asked above) or it's really hard to give you any advice.

jayne1

Im looking at site at the moment, thank you very much

Dee15

I'm 42 and would like to do a degree, I've no idea where to start with regards to loans and grants etc. I rent a house and live with my 2 grown up children. I have no income at the moment (apart from JSA) as I recently finished a temporary position. I would like to get a part time job that fits around a course. But don't know if I need to apply for places first or to ensure I get financial help first. Would I get housing benefit?

MrsManda

Dee15 wrote: »

I'm 42 and would like to do a degree, I've no idea where to start with regards to loans and grants etc. I rent a house and live with my 2 grown up children. I have no income at the moment (apart from JSA) as I recently finished a temporary position. I would like to get a part time job that fits around a course. But don't know if I need to apply for places first or to ensure I get financial help first. Would I get housing benefit?

Do you know what you want to do? What previous education have you had? when was the last time you studied?
Generally you apply to the universities and then apply for funding though you don't need to have a place in order to apply for student finance. Dependent on your income and previous education you'll get a tuition loan, maintanence loan and maintanence grant. Whether you get housing benefit etc... is dependent on your income just like it is now except that your income will include the loans and grants from the student finance company. You can fill out a calculator on the direct.gov website HERE
which will give you a rough idea of the grants and loans you'll be entitled to.

student_advisor

MrsManda wrote: »

Whether you get housing benefit etc... is dependent on your income just like it is now except that your income will include the loans and grants from the student finance company.

From what you have said, you won't qualify for housing benefit. Full-time students are generally not allowed to claim housing benefit unless they are lone parents or claim disability benefits. To qualify as a lone parent, (at least one of) your children would need to be under 20 and on a full-time further education course they had started before their 19th birthday.

Do you know what course you would like to do? You may benefit from seeing a careers advisor, and it may be too late to get a place for 2010/11 (depends on the subject, some courses will now be full). If you think it is very likely you will be going to uni in Sept/Oct 2010, you should apply for your funding as soon as possible (as Mrs. M. says, you don't need a place) and certainly before the last Friday in June.

Depending on your previous qualifications and the length of time you have been out of education, you may need to do some preliminary study before you are accepted onto a degree course. Most admissions departments will be happy to discuss this with you before you apply.

Good luck!