Funding a Masters

ashleyhyde

Hi
I am a 3rd year medical sciences student graduating in July. In October I am starting a course in Assisted Reproductive technology (IVF). Through out my medical sciences degree I work part time during term time and full time during holidays, as a result I do not have any student debt. I bought a house with my fiancé last summer. When I start my Masters I will be travelling over a 120 mile round trip everyday therefore for will not be able to keep a job along side the work load. The tuition fee is £7,900 which I can not afford to pay upfront. A £3,000 grant is available for some student however this is a very limited number.

Can you please tell me if there are any other grants available? I am aware as a post graduate I am not eligible for any student loans. As the Masters I am looking to do is a relativity new course many bank are not currently aware of it. Can you recommend any post graduate loans or bank loans with a suspended repayment period of up to 18months?

Thank You

Ashley

Gingernutmeg

There are quite a few grants available from various bodies, particluarly for science students, but I *suspect* that you may have missed most of the application deadlines for this September. It might be worthwhole going along to your university careers service though, and seeing if they what's on offer - I think that there's a big handbook that lists all of the grant-giving organisations, or failing that there are lots of leaflets. The Prospects website is handy too.

There are no student loans for post-grad studies, sadly. Have you looked into a career development loan? I'm not sure what the repayment terms are like on these but it might be worth investigating.

rubuhoeikanaika

Not intending to be snarky (OK, a little bit!) but there have been several posts on this kind of thing recently. This is a reality check. The advice that follows is based on my experience with a certain subject and may not generalise fully.

The short of it is that yes, there are plenty of charitable grants and things out there, but they are very difficult to get and you've missed almost all the deadlines now.

Two suggestions:
- the search function is at the top. I typed a brief summary on masters funding a few days ago. You won't get too many replies unless you ask a new, specific question.

- if you are serious about charitable funding and feel you would qualify and don't want debt: defer your masters, work for a year, save at least 1/3 of your income (@min. wage, £4k or so?), and get on the charity bandwagon in February at the latest. You are looking at £14k+ including fees depending on city, so consider an evening job in a pub or whatever for extra savings during your year out- if you can start your masters with £6k in your pocket and not £0, not only will it take the pressure off, but your charity applications will look more convincing.

There are many talented, deserving people chasing not so much money. A posting on a message board in mid May for courses that start in September isn't going to cut it, I'm afraid.

If you are serious about going ahead this year, consider US student loans or a CDL.

YMMV