Mature student - Second Degree

jackieblack

thegreenone wrote: »

But surely that depends on the OP's husband's job too? We're in the South East because that is where the work is for my DH. Upping sticks is not always the straight forward option.

Maybe not straightforward, but a lot of people have to commute to work from an area where house prices are lower than areas closer by.


Again, it's a question of compromise

Mummy_Jo

I am currently a mature student studying for a PhD. I returned to Uni after 15 years following a serious car accident many years ago and I completed a Masters degree first.

There are several ways you can tackle this!
Universities have schemes called Accreditation of Prior Learning which can be used to offset some of the credits that you need to pass the degree- you can usually get up to 1/3 credited. What this means is that you your employment may count towards your chosen study (they obviously have to be related). Criminology - Forensic Psychology could be options here.

I don't think you would need to do another undergraduate course - you have proven you are capable on UG study - Do you know what area you want to study? PG courses are often a lot cheaper than UG ones. I did mine part time and I would definitely recommend this route - yes I realise it is two years instead of one but as I had had a long time away from Uni (like you) I used the extra time to bring myself up to speed and it took the pressure off from the deadlines as they were spread out. My lectures were all on one day a week (common for PG courses) meaning I could work for a couple of days a week too. If you can narrow down what you want to do then it is worth contacting the Uni and chatting with the lecturer in charge of Post Grad study.

Some Universities offer scholarships towards the fees. This is worth looking into.

Some Universities offer modular degrees which can be completed part time. You pay for each module and gradually build up from a Post Grad Certificate, to a Post grad Diploma and eventually a Masters. You just pay each time you start a new module.

You can also choose distance learning and still work - though this can be a tough option.

Open University is an option

If you want to get some skills there are online companies which bring Universities together and offer courses which are taught completely over the internet. I use these as a way of improving my basic skill set. I use Coursera. For the courses I have taken you do not have to pay unless you want the certificate of attendance and a grade. If you do pay it is £32 per course and in my opinion it is worth it. The quality of the teaching has been amazing - but that is just for the courses that I have done.

You may even be able to do some related to the police and get it funded by the police force?

I guess what I am trying to say is that there are LOADS of options and when I started out I had no idea there were so many ways of tackling it. If you want send me a PM and we can discuss the things I have come across.

Good Luck - sometimes it feels overwhelming but finding out the facts can often make the decisions easier.

Smegreg

Thanks for the ideas folks. I decided to take the plunge and just started the UG course anyway,..

I am studying graphic design which some may scoff at as its another arts course. However, it seems to be something that I am good at and there are genuine jobs out the other side.

I chose UG because I have had no formal arts training and so want to learn the basic skills that the UG course covers. PG would not match the skill level I currently have.

Anyway, I managed to save my year one fees prior to starting and am already on the road to year two.

My family have agreed to help me with year 3 and I am searching for possible awards and entering design competitions to try and raise a little funds elsewhere.

For those asking about my priorities, trust me I had done all of the above already. I dropped out of my pension and save money wherever I can - hence being on MSE! And my wages may seem like a lot but the deductions for police officers are quite obscene when you take away life insurance, medical, pensions, subs etc so my take away is more similar to someone on at least 10000 less a year. However, that is besides the point - I am doing everything I can to save money to pay for this, and was just after funding ideas from anyone with similar experiences.

Thank you for the suggestions, I have signed up to the scholarship hub as well recently, so may find some other avenues there as well.