MA financing suggestions please

teadrinkingdinosaur

Hello,
I have been offered a place on a 2 year MA course for which work initially suggested ‘would cover the tuition fees’. The offer was revoked due to budget cuts so I deferred for the year and am now hoping to fund the course myself (commencing sept 17) but am becoming increasingly pessimistic the closer the start date looms! I need 18k for the tuition fees and the gov MA loan is a maximum of 10 (which is also dolled out in instalments across the two years which is problematic as the course fees need to be paid upfront). By my financial calculations, I'll need roughly 32K to complete the 2 years (that includes the tuition fees and a basic London rent gestimation of £600 p/m. I haven’t included any travel, utilities or other misc in that sum). Although it is an NHS approved course (art psychotherapy) it doesn't fall under the umbrella of qualifying for NHS financial support/ bursary. I work full time on a low wage, which is making saving incredibly difficult (after rent and bills I've been managing to put £100 away a month which is a drop in the ocean in comparison to what I need for the course).
Has anyone got any ideas or suggestions for other sorts of funding/ loans/ bursaries I can look into?
This is something I've been working very hard towards for a very long time, so I really can't give up on it now. A lot of the work I've been doing the past few years to gain experience has been charity/ volunteer based which I'll continue regardless because this is a vocation from my heart. But to find something you love that resonates so profoundly with you - and to be given the opportunity to pursue it as a real paid career and not try? That to me sounds crazier than trying to find these seemingly impossible funds so I have to try! Thank you in advance for any wisdom you can share with me. x

sourcrates

Hi,

There are no magic solutions unfortunately, it all boils down to increasing your income, and reducing your outgoings.

Can you get a second job ?

Realistically you cannot hope to save anywhere near that much money in the next 9 months, I suspect you may have to downgrade your plans, or at least put them on hold for a few years, at your current savings level it will be approx 30 years before you have the amount required !!!!!!

Sam29

When i did my masters i took out a career development loan. Mine was with lloyds bank but there are a few banks that do them see https://www.gov.uk/career-development-loans/overview

Basically its a loan where payments are deferreed until the end of your course by which time you agree to pay back the loan plus any interest. Worked out for me as i was able to comeplete my full time course and pay back once full time emplyed. Just make sure you pay back as soon as poss so it doesnt become a millstone around your neck!

BrassicWoman

do it part time in Wales at £3k course fees a year and you can work while doing it. It ony adds an extra year.

Bogalot

BrassicWoman wrote: »

do it part time in Wales at £3k course fees a year and you can work while doing it. It ony adds an extra year.

Excellent idea, plus with the lower living costs the overall saving will be a small fortune!

teadrinkingdinosaur

The idea to Study in Wales is something I’m now looking into (brassicwoman). Previously when I applied, there were only two HCPC approved courses available (To practice as an art therapist, you must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). And in order to register with the HCPC, you must first successfully complete an approved postgraduate qualification in art therapy). So it’s great to see more springing up!
In the meantime I’ll also be taking on the second job (sourcrates) and looking into career development loans (sam29) because ideally if I can, albeit starting later than planned (maybe deferring for another year?), I hope to uphold the placement I’ve been accepted onto due to the prestige of the university (which can be an enabler career wise). And also for the amount of hope and dreams I’ve perhaps invested into the specific course syllabus and building itself during visits (and in the 6 hour interview) over the past year.

Maybe it’s wishful thinking but I feel that’s where I’m supposed to go. I’m familiarised with my future tutors and have started on the course reading list already so will definitely keep this as my ‘first choice’ and continue to work on building my funds for one more year. I think that will be a good time frame to then sit down and have a financial reconnaissance and decide from there whether to move the course location.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to brainstorm with me :A It’s been reassuring to have some extra voices on the matter! x

ERICS_MUM

I hope this doesn't sound crass ! Do you want this qualification because it will lead directly to a job/career that pays more than your current role ? That is - will the MA pay for itself in the medium term e.g. 5 years ?

Or is it more something you want to do because you are interested in the subject, almost as an academic challenge rather than a means to an end ?

teadrinkingdinosaur

Good question (Erics Mum). Both! :j I’ve been interested in the therapeutic power of art since secondary school and through my degree too, I’d been fascinated by the idea of art as therapy (my dissertation was inspired by artists who used their art as a form of catharsis).

I graduated in 2010 and during a work experience at a school (I was intending to do a PGCE) I did observations with an intervention group to help children who struggled with a lack of social skills. The experience made me feel I could make a greater difference with this student group than I could by qualifying as a mainstream teacher but at this point I wasn’t aware art psychotherapy existed as a subject. So following some research, I discovered the course (and had that moment where you realise that this is what it had all been building up to).

I’ve since spent my time building up experience within the field - working in placements with learning disabilities, mental health and autism and in my free time have been working as an assistant to an established art psychotherapist and with a creative arts charity (both the latter being voluntary work).

I love it to bits but am at the point where I need to move forward, I know I have the ability to qualify myself. And it makes a lot of sense to – because if I can qualify, I’ll be earning a good wage for doing something I love (and yes, a lot more than I currently earn so it will undoubtedly pay for itself in the long run)! x

Wyndham

Just check whether the course fees need to be paid up front as you said? I'm surprised by that, and would expect you to be able to pay it in four installments over the two years, or at the very least, one installment a year.

Of course, it still needs to be paid, so you still have to find it, but maybe it can give you a bit more breathing space.

If they want all the money up front, then I'd be asking questions about the validity of the institution - sorry to be blunt about this, but have you done any checks?

ERICS_MUM

Wyndham wrote: »

Just check whether the course fees need to be paid up front as you said? I'm surprised by that, and would expect you to be able to pay it in four installments over the two years, or at the very least, one installment a year.

Of course, it still needs to be paid, so you still have to find it, but maybe it can give you a bit more breathing space.

If they want all the money up front, then I'd be asking questions about the validity of the institution - sorry to be blunt about this, but have you done any checks?

I thought the same but didn't know how to put it - thanks Wyndham.

BrassicWoman

my MA was 3 instalments a year in Sept, Nov and Feb