how do i become a mature student?

SensibleSarah

El_Rey wrote: »

SensibleSarah - It's great to hear that going to uni as a mature student worked out well for you. Out of interest, what did you study and what do you do for a living now?

Did an English Lit degree so as wishy washy as you like.
This led to a career in copywriting/content creation for online brands. I would never had got my foot in the door without having the degree on my CV - even if it hasn't practically helped me that much.

shortcrust

As long as your mortgage isn't massive you'll be able to cover it with the loans and part time work. I've been a mature student and it lends itself well to living a relatively frugal lifestyle. And it's not forever. When there's a goal in sight you can put up with a few holes in your jumpers! Your younger course mates will think they've got so many lectures and so much work to do, but I think if you're used to full time work it seems like a holiday.

Have you thought about spreading the financial pain by saving like mad for a couple of years before starting?

Savvy_Sue

shortcrust wrote: »

Have you thought about spreading the financial pain by saving like mad for a couple of years before starting?

This. If you've got a reasonably well paid job and no savings, it should be possible and is definitely advisable to do something about the savings situation! apart from anything else, living on less than you earn is good preparation for earning less.

riotlady

My partner is doing an online access course with a view to going to uni afterwards- you don't get any loans/grants for the access course but you can fit it around working and pay in monthly installments.

Once you start university you'll be entitled to tuition fee and maintenance loans- get a rough idea here https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator
Plus you'll be able to fit in part time work around studying if needed.

KiKi

You say OU is "soooooo" expensive, but it's a darn sight cheaper than a brick uni. And you can work around your study.

Depending on what you want to study, there is no easy answer - if you don't have savings to pay your mortgage, you will almost certainly have to work part time whilst you study. You could change your lifestyle to spend less; save like mad first; get a lodger; let your property whilst you houseshare whilst you study (risky, though).

Most people work whilst at uni - that's just what you have to do to pay the bills. And don't forget, uni in particular has long holidays, so you need to find full time work during those time.

No easy answer, I'm afraid, unless you're prepared to radically change your life or work part time!

Loanranger

Open university was designed for people who work full time. OU is far cheaper in the long run when you don't have to give up your income to study.