In serious debt and starting University - Advice needed!

belfastgirl23

You have a lot to think about and it's good that you're getting your plans into place now.

I really think your first port of call should be your student welfare or finance office. Just because you aren't enrolled yet doesn't mean you can't avail of their services. They may be able to advise if there are banks who will offer you a student bank account for example. the other thing you could enquire about is whether the university offers jobs to students - I know our local unis do and they are often better employers than others as they really stick with good employment practices. They are also set up to support students and you might find that you learn useful things and get better experience than in other jobs - you might also find that you get first call on other opportunities like internships etc just because you're around.

Your other priority needs to be to pay down your debt. Is there any chance of your current job giving you some extra hours til you start uni even though you've handed in your notice? Every little really does help!

There are two other conflicting pieces of advice to give you. One of which is don't run up too much debt - you do have to repay it (I think you've learned this lesson though!). The other is to grab every opportunity you can to build skills and experience. You will know already that your degree is not going to get you a job on its own. So go to the careers events, do the additional training, if they offer workshops or development courses go along. Make yourself known to your careers department - you are at a slight advantage with being a few years older here and will possibly stick out in their minds anyway. This will not be possible if you're working 30 hours a week alongside doing your degree, so whilst you do need a part time job of some sort, the last thing you need is a job that will give you a lot of hours however tempting that might be.

Very last point, you are making yourself quite easily identifiable here by giving your age, degree programme and uni You might want to revise your original post a little if you aren't comfortable with this.

Lots of luck!

Martin660

Thanks for all the advice guys, super helpful!


I've just found out something which has made me slightly sick haha!

If I had applied to Swansea University instead of Cardiff I would have been eligible for a £3000 scholarship!

"You need 33 Distinctions and 9 Merits from the Access course to qualify for the excellence scholarship."

I find it annoying that different Uni's take different stances when it comes to the acceptable equivalents accepted to A-levels when awarding scholarships! Cardiff Uni have told me that they definitely do not accept the Access to Higher Education diploma when considering them.

GoldenShadow

Everyone I know who went to uni got into debt despite student loans, so I would focus really hard on getting a job secured before freshers if you can. Like others have said, everyone will be trying to get jobs and competition for it will be harder.

I dropped out six weeks into my course at uni because it was costing so much to live and crippling any enjoyment I might have got from it. I had £19 a week to buy books, food etc and that was forgetting going home at xmas and things like that. I was struggling to get a job because all my friends were applying for them all as well and my lectures took 28 hours of time per week with extra work on top, it was hard to see a way through with no job. I started at another uni from home (only 12 hours per week despite being full time and the same degree), got a job and managed to be the only one of my friends that didn't leave uni with any debt besides the tuition fee/maintenance loans.

Tesco (Express for flexibility) pay well for little and are usually quite happy to take on students. Best part time job I could have had.

The point of my post is basically that no matter how great their intentions, all of my friends ended up spending way more than ever intended so I would try and get on a good track with this now, not during freshers.

barbarawright

Martin660 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice guys, super helpful!


I've just found out something which has made me slightly sick haha!

If I had applied to Swansea University instead of Cardiff I would have been eligible for a £3000 scholarship!

"You need 33 Distinctions and 9 Merits from the Access course to qualify for the excellence scholarship."

I find it annoying that different Uni's take different stances when it comes to the acceptable equivalents accepted to A-levels when awarding scholarships! Cardiff Uni have told me that they definitely do not accept the Access to Higher Education diploma when considering them.

Go to your nearest large reference library and go through the Educational Grants Directory and anything else they've got with a fine-tooth comb. There are a lot of scholarships out there - some are very specific ('Men of good character living in the Parish of X who wish to study YY') and some of them don't have any applicants because people won't put in the effort applying. Check everywhere - the University website, your school and college website. There is money out there for people who ask for it. The're a student board here that may give you some ideas

AspiringButAnxious

Bar work is supposed to be good for sociable types, because you apparently don't feel so left out when you have to work evenings and weekends while everyone else seems to be having a good time. It really suited my cousin — though as an introvert, it's my idea of a nightmare!

I'd recommend buying textbooks (preferably used) in areas in which you have a strong interest and buy more if/when needed. That way, you can do some background reading straight away and get a feel for the work, but won't be spending a fortune.

It's the "little" expenses which seem to add up: buying any food or drink on campus, getting takeaways (I lived at home, but heard this is a huge trap when living around other people who buy lots of takeaways), getting several too many drinks when you go out, grabbing convenient snacks like crisps and chocolate bars (which made me gain loads of weight too), etc. I think that's another advantage of bar work: it removes you from a lot of the situations where the people around you are spending with wild abandon!

You won't be the only one dealing with a tricky situation — many other people have financial difficulties. Try to avoid flashy types who spend money like it's going out of fashion. I knew a guy whose father gave him £10,000 when he started university and told him it was the only money he was going to get, but it was up to him how to spend it — he blew the lot before the end of his first term, doing stupid stuff like buying bottles of champagne in nightclubs for the "friends" his behaviour attracted. So whenever your situation gets you down, remember this cautionary tale and thank goodness you're not such an idiot!

gettingtheresometime

Can you definitely take your car?

Only parking at the halls in Cardiff will be at a premium. tbh the transport links around Cardiff are excellent and it sounds like an awful expense just to be able to drive home occasionally

cybertortoise

I'm off to uni in September as well. I started last year but had to defer my place.


My advice is:


NEVER buy books from the campus shop! You can get cheaper online guaranteed. If it's not cheaper online then wait, borrow it from the library, digital or paper copy. I had one book I needed that was £119 from campus, 4 weeks into the course they were selling it for £39. I bought mine online for around £48.


Don't buy stationary, snacks, drinks etc on campus either. You should be fine as you live nearby but just grabbing something between lectures adds up.


Invest in a small slow cooker. You can stick it on with soup or stew in and grab some for lunch, then dinner with a minimum of effort. Probably even have some left for next days lunch.


How far are your family from the nearest train station? Could you get a train to within a few miles and bike the rest? Bare in mind student finance is paid on the first day of term not of Freshers week so you'll be there a week before you get any money. I get paid on the 5th of October this year.


I would say create a budget, stick to it and any money left over pay onto one of your debts. At least they will be going down gradually then without wiping you out.

tintoys

My daughter is starting uni in September - she already has most of her timetable on her student personal profile so dont wait until freshers week to get a job, there will be a lot of competition and do not forget Wales is a high unemploymeny area. My daughters boyfriend got his summer job by applying early and they did the interview over Skype. So if I were you, I would get online look up the nearest bars/ hotels / wetherspoons /or even bugerking or mcdonalds asap and start applying . This will give you a head start. Home Bargains is in Canton which is so much cheaper than supermarkets. Find out which local shop there is near to your halls, if its Tesco express make sure you get a loyalty card - £5 vouchers gets you £20 to spend at Bella Italia and you just print it out . Download the app CheckoutSmart, lots of free items and monetry rewards just by photographing your receipts, then claim back at £20 . Most of all check MSE every day,all the days bargains are there, sometimes it pays just to buy a paper to get the free food( often at Greggs) .And finally , pick up every free offer at Freshers week - even a can of Baked Beans helps.

In the meantime, check noone needs any temporary help locally before you go to uni.

Youll love Cardiff , have fun, hope that helps

Martin660

Thanks everyone- big help!

Have started the job hunting- My brother was recently the area manager for a supermarket chain down in south wales, and has said if I want a job working there once I've moved he'll put in a good word for me! :P (I've worked at the company myself for 6 years so I guess experience would be in my favour hopefully!)

I'm also helping out part time at the sweet shop at the moment so that's helping to pay my payday loans off

Had a meeting with the bank manager today at TSB (who I bank with) about setting up an overdraft for my student account, but it was unfortunately declined. He even rang up to see if he could get the decision reversed and I was sat there for 20 minutes listening to him pleading my case to them and their supervisor, but to no avail and I need to try again in 3 months.

I've sold all the items I can think of this past year (my digital piano, nintendo 3DS and have done a couple of car boot sales to try to get rid of some junk), but I think I've pretty much hit a brick wall now!

I really wish the bursary was in September rather than January as that would have been a huge help ! :P

Nethertheless, I'm not going to let it get to me and want to not stress myself out too much and enjoy the first couple of weeks at least, since I'm proud that I've actually managed to get this far finally!

Thanks again for all your replies guys, means a lot