Access Course - With credit card debt

SuperCat007

Tasmond wrote: »

Done some digging and it seems there's a quandry over this subject.

So a lot of people basically use the system to claim JSA while doing access and the woman at my local college obviously was advising what a lot of kids probably do.

But I am quite skilled and intelligent and would have to leave a job to do it so basically I will not be going on JSA.

I will have to work. But the problem is that my careers person at college said that I would find it impossible to work and do the course.

I guess I can find somewhere really cheap to live and do 25 hours a week work alongside the course.

It's a bit of a joke how little support there is for someone to do an access course. You're options are cheat the system, kill yourself working and doing the course and probably do a crap job at both and just somehow scrape by.

I don't get why you don't get some tax relief and some support? Why is it so hard to do an access course and pay your way at once?

The thing with claiming JSA is that you need to be studying for less than 16 hours a week AND be willing to drop your course if a full time job comes up, or sacrifice the benefit. Many, many years ago I managed to come to an agreement whilst on JSA (and actually too ill to work full time, but not eligible for ESA) about part time JSA. So I got less money per week but was only expected to look for jobs up to 16 hours a week alongside my 8-12 hour a week course. That may be something to discuss.

You will get a certificate to send off to the council stating you're a full time student so you will get a council tax reduction, but that's where it gets tricky with the Job Centre. If they find out you've got that reduction, and hence are a full time student, you will lose your JSA.

Ask about what kind of grants the college does. I got nearly £1000 per year for travelling costs from my college because I was on a low income.

You can work whilst doing an Access course, plenty of people do. But you NEED to keep on top of the work. They aren't overly difficult, but it will be a shock to the system if you've been out of education. But if you can keep on top of it and start all assignments the second they're given out you shouldn't really have a problem with up to 20(ish) hours work as well. Then for exams in the summer you can take 2-3 weeks holiday/move shifts around so you have more time to focus on revision.

lovemywestie

You could:
Do the Access course part time (if offered by your chosen college). You could work around it then and have a lower coursework workload. Some colleges offer an evening or weekend attendance pattern, would this fit around your work pattern? This would take you two years as opposed to one year, however.
Could you do the open university instead? Fits perfectly around your work commitments and it is possible to complete the course in 4 years with a lot of work and commitment. Same time commitment as the Access course plus degree.
A final option (depending on the degree you wish to read) would to do a foundation course offered by the uni. My local uni offers a foundation course which is funded through student finance so you get loans to live on plus your fees paid. Downside to this is you will graduate with a lot more debt. However, it would be possible to gain the student loan to live on, plus carry on with your part time work as the foundation year is not as difficult as an Access course. This could help deal with credit card debt...

Tasmond

The college say that the job centre look at someone who has no job on JSA who starts a course they will look at it as they are seeking employment by doing the course!!

But you can't leave a full time job to do a course and claim JSA.

The problem for me is I have worked my whole life and it's killing me and I could really do with focusing on a course, I will have to find a PT job to coincide with starting the course somehow but that's going to be tough, start a new PT role and an access course all at once.

If I just start the course and leave my FT job.

I think I would rather work and stay clear of the whole benefit system for my whole life if I can but I’m scared of managing the course and the job and finding a job in perfect time to do alongside the course.

Seems harsh also that someone who has worked for years should have to be in such a touch situation and if you have claimed JSA for years you can just take up a course and plod on. I should be able to leave work for education imo.

tomtontom

The college need to leave benefits advice to someone that knows what they are talking about! How many hours is the course, including independent study? Is it advertised as full or part time?

You can leave work for education, just not at the expense of the state.

Tasmond

It's 15 hours.

I think what I need to know is how do I segway from FT work to a course seamlessly?

It looks to me the onus is on me to find a PT job as the course starts or I am screwed.

tomtontom

Tasmond wrote: »

It's 15 hours.

I think what I need to know is how do I segway from FT work to a course seamlessly?

It looks to me the onus is on me to find a PT job as the course starts or I am screwed.

If it is only 15 hours why are they saying they'll struggle to work at the same time? Many of us have done 15 hours study on top of full time work, not instead of!

SuperCat007

Tasmond wrote: »

The college say that the job centre look at someone who has no job on JSA who starts a course they will look at it as they are seeking employment by doing the course!!

But you can't leave a full time job to do a course and claim JSA.

The problem for me is I have worked my whole life and it's killing me and I could really do with focusing on a course, I will have to find a PT job to coincide with starting the course somehow but that's going to be tough, start a new PT role and an access course all at once.

If I just start the course and leave my FT job.

I think I would rather work and stay clear of the whole benefit system for my whole life if I can but I’m scared of managing the course and the job and finding a job in perfect time to do alongside the course.

Seems harsh also that someone who has worked for years should have to be in such a touch situation and if you have claimed JSA for years you can just take up a course and plod on. I should be able to leave work for education imo.

Even through the school system you aren't paid living costs. This only happens if you're lucky enough for SFE to grant you funding when you go to uni.

It's tough, but you have to do it. If you aren't starting the course until next year you could always find out from the college which texts/topics you'll be covering and get ahead now. Or find a tutor to help you get ahead so it's not such a shock to the system.

Education is a privilege which gets harder to appreciate as you get older and have more financial commitments.