mature student financial advice please

love_lifer

hello everyone

im hoping to take a 2 year foundation degree starting this september. Im 41. i did a degree in 1987 and received a grant.
does this mean i am not eligible for a grant this time round? and are there any other ways of financing my degree apart from loans and hard work???

thanks in anticipation

Gingernutmeg

Best thing to do is check with your LEA - they'll be able to give you more information. It's possible though that you may not be entitled to a grant as you've had one before, although there are exceptions to this rule for certain courses (not entirely sure if this applies to foundation degrees though). Some LEAs do (or did, when I applied a few years ago) give mature students extra discretionary grants, but they're not huge - mine is about £200 a term.

If things do get tight, don't forget about your university's Access to Learning Fund, and don't forget to see if you're entitled to any funding from your uni, as a lot are offering grants, awards and 'scholarships'.

melancholly

gingernutmeg has it pretty covered, but i just wanted to point you in the direction of this thread, which has a lot of useful information about the Access to Learning funds and how to apply.

kr15snw

Someone I went to colege with last year wanted to do a foundation degree with me this year, but couldnt afford it.

As he already had a degree he wasnt entitled to a grant or any type of loan This meant he had to pay the tuition fee's himself and get no other loans to help. Obviously there are some funds that are available, but nowhere near as much as would be available if it was your first time around!

But every lea is different. Best of luck though

love_lifer

thanks for advice so far. however i dont have debts so i imagine i wont be eligible for access to learning funding...i'll have a go.
anything i have missed? otherwise its looking mighty expensive

Oldernotwiser

Why do you want to do a foundation degree when you're already a graduate? If you're making a change of direction there are often alternatives. What are your plans and what is your original degree in?

love_lifer

i want to do it in an entirely different area- a complete career change- from social care to furniture making. and the foundation degree looks like the best option in my region in terms of quality vocational training in the subject. ive been for adult careers advice and they gave me reams of info on courses
what are your thoughts?

kr15snw

If you feel like going for it then do Maybe it would be an idea to not do it yet, and take some time saving up for the fees? Seeing as its going to be quite a bit This is what the guy I mentioned in an earlier post is currently doing. Hes working full time this year and will return next year to do the course once he has some cash behind him to get him through.

They are a few mature students on my foundation degree and theyve all agreed it does help you gain the skills. I have a feeling that you would be in the same situation as me. Im on a graphic design course and although there is no need for me to have qualifications to get into the industry I just need the relevant skills. Well I found the best way to get the skills was to do this foundation degree

Most of the creative ones are very practical based (ours is), which is def what you want when you are just trying to gain new skills

Best of luck

mark1024

Would the student loans company necessarily know anything about a degree from many years ago ?

love_lifer

hello mark yes this has been mentioned before by a friend but it makes me a bit uneasy for a variety of reasons...i will bear your comments in mind

mark1024

Yes, I just thought I would raise the question - I'm not advocating making an unscrupulous loan application.

I do believe taking second degrees, for a change or career or otherwise, is a very challenging thing to do ! Good luck with funding.