Returning to Education after 13 years!

Mean_Green

I am having a complete change of career and returning to University to complete a full time MSc (1 year).

Since I graduated from my under-graduate studies in 1999 things have changed - so what can I claim and are there any perks, freebies or discounts that I should be aware of.

I am married, have 2 school age kids and intend to work part time to help fund the course.

I live in Scotland and am particularly interested in help with childcare etc and any other options to save some money.

I do not intend to take a student loan - but if it opens up opportunities to claim other things then I am open to it.

Suggestions gratefully received.

agrinnall

13 years is nothing I did my MSc 29 years after my first degree, and I'm sure plenty of people will have left it even longer! Unfortunately since I did mine, when my fees were paid by SAAS, things have tightened up, and I would be pretty surprised if you were able to get funding now - the university should be able to advise if it's available at all for your course.

Student loans don't apply to postgraduate study, so if you did need a loan you'd have to look at something like a Career Development Loan. The university may have some bursaries available to help with funding, and it's possible that there may be some level of funding available from external bodies (but be aware that the competition for it is likely to be fierce).

Can't help you with childcare, but I'm sure somebody will be able to give some information on that.

As for perks etc., the big one is probably council tax exemption - so your husband/wife will be able to apply for the 25% single person discount. Other things include eligibility for a student railcard, plus discounts on things like cinema tickets and haircuts. One that was quite a big saver for me was a discount on glasses from one of the big chains - once you've got your student card it's always worth asking if it's cheaper for students.

Good luck with your studies, it'll be hard work but I'm sure you'll get there in the end (although you may want to find out what the work load will be before committing to part time work).