private fee loans for a graduate doing undergraduate medicine

grr1991

Hi, I wasn't sure if this should be here or in the loans section.
I'm about to graduate (hopefully!) in the summer from an undergrad biomed degree. I've applied for graduate medicine (a101) and undergraduate medicine (a100) starting in 2013.

Funding for a101 is pretty good as you can get NHS bursaries and SFE fee loans, however I would have to fund the first 4 years of a100 fees my self so about £36k from my understanding of the SFE site.
So:
Is a bank loan the best way to go about this?
Are there special loans for this?
Are there other ways to fund it?

I work part time but £9000 is a lot to come up with each year upfront

agrinnall

The best type of bank loan is a Career Development Loan as the interest is paid by the government while you're studying, but it doesn't look like you would qualify to get one as the course has to be no more than 3 years long, and the maximum you can borrow is £10K anyway. Hopefully other people who have done what you plan to can advise, but whatever is suggested it looks like it'll be expensive for you. I take it you've applied for both as there are more places available for A100 than A101?

dizzyrascal

Your best bet is to do the graduate course and not the undergrad as you will get more NHS funding for the clinical years. Also, as a biomed student you would just end up repeating the same stuff as you follow similar tracks for the first year or two (depending on the module/university)
The undergrad route as a second degree is now essentially only for the wealthy as it is mostly done by students who have parental support (and the finances to go with it)
The Career Development Loan is not an option as has been pointed out as you have to pay it back at about £200 a month (or more)
Get along to see your university careers adviser who will tell you what funding is available and the timetable of applying as it is different to normal UCAS applications. Talk to the med school and see what funding they have available in the form of bursaries and charitable funding bodies.
Have you got tons of work experience to put into your application? If not, you need it

grr1991

Thanks guys,
Yes agrinnall I've already applied to both as theoretically I'm more likely to get a place on an undergrad course(I've applied two of each). An undergrad spot isn't ideal, but I've got take any opportunity I get!

dizzyrascal : From SFE I'd get £2843 maintenance, but no fee loan. Basically any funding available from the uni's isn't really very substantial and it tends to be means tested so as I'm dependent on my parents chances are I won't get anything

Voyager2002

As others have said, the graduate route makes far more sense for you.

If that doesn't work out, consider going overseas. There are some excellent English-medium universities that offer medical training in countries such as India and Thailand, and above all the Philippines (where all medical courses are graduate-entry so the curriculum would be appropriate for you). Since costs in these countries are generally low, your total debt when you qualified would be a good deal less than the £36K you would pay in tuition fees here.

grr1991

Voyager2002 wrote: »

As others have said, the graduate route makes far more sense for you.

If that doesn't work out, consider going overseas. There are some excellent English-medium universities that offer medical training in countries such as India and Thailand, and above all the Philippines (where all medical courses are graduate-entry so the curriculum would be appropriate for you). Since costs in these countries are generally low, your total debt when you qualified would be a good deal less than the £36K you would pay in tuition fees here.

Would I be qualified to practice in England though?

amiehall

If you moved to Scotland before you applied, the fee at a Scottish university would be around £1800 a year.

dizzyrascal

grr1991 wrote: »

Would I be qualified to practice in England though?

No you would have to be reassessed to check your clinical skills so that you can get registered and insured.
You might have problems gaining access to the foundation training programme as well.
So this is probably a pointless route.

agrinnall

amiehall wrote: »

If you moved to Scotland before you applied, the fee at a Scottish university would be around £1800 a year.

While I haven't checked recently there used to be a three year residence requirement before qualifying as a Scottish student for fee purposes.

amiehall

agrinnall wrote: »

While I haven't checked recently there used to be a three year residence requirement before qualifying as a Scottish student for fee purposes.

The phrase is "ordinarily resident" and it is not clearly defined. If you can show you were living in the country prior to starting study and didn't simply move to start the study, there should be no problem.

agrinnall

amiehall wrote: »

The phrase is "ordinarily resident" and it is not clearly defined. If you can show you were living in the country prior to starting study and didn't simply move to start the study, there should be no problem.

Yes, I think I must have got the three years bit from the requirement to have lived in the UK for that time before starting the course. However, while "ordinarily resident" isn't fully defined, I would say the OP would fail to qualify for the interpretation given by the courts as quoted on the SAAS website unless the start of the course was delayed beyond 2013:

Ordinarily resident has been defined in the courts as 'habitual and normal residence in one place'. It basically means that you, your parents or your husband, wife or civil partner live in a country year after year by choice throughout a set period, apart from temporary or occasional absences such as holidays or business trips. Living here totally or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education does not count as being ordinarily resident.
We will not treat you as being ordinarily resident in Scotland if your main purpose in coming here has been to receive full-time education and that you would have otherwise been living elsewhere.

http://www.saas.gov.uk/student_support/residence_conditions.htm