Student loan - second degree in healthcare for mature student

Rosie_Posy

Hi everyone
I've been offered a place at university to study for an allied healthcare course.  This will be a second degree and I'm a mature student (will be 50 when I start!).  I'm trying to work out what to do in terms of the finances.
As it is a healthcare course, it looks like I can apply for a student loan for both maintenance and tuition fees.  I should also be able to apply for the £5000 training grant from the NHS Learning Support Fund.
Financially, we are not too badly off (married with no kids) and I am planning to use this degree to keep on working for as long as possible (full or part-time).
What would be the best thing to do in terms of the student loan?  I'm fairly certain I will apply to cover the tuition fees.  I'm just not sure about the maintenance loan as we could survive without it but having watched Martin's student loan video I'm wondering if it's a no brainer and I should apply.
Any advice would be appreciated!

DrEskimo

Are you sure you are eligible? What level was your first degree and what degree is your allied healthcare course for?

EDIT: Nevermind, I see they changed it in 2017:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-bursary-reform/nhs-bursary-reform

Think it makes sense to take the loans from student finance personally. 

peteuk

I will echo Dr Eskimo Are you sure your are eligible?

Bursary was reformed in 2017 but brought back for nurses in 2020.  (You've said allied healthcare course - which branch)

But equally Student Finance doesn't tend to cover second degrees. Student finance: Eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Eligibility for the NHS Learning support fund is somewhat dependent on Student Finance. NHS Learning Support Fund | NHSBSA

Equally if you take a bursary ( which I know you've not mentioned) then you cant take the HNS LSF. 
At the bottom of the NHS LSF page it states "NHS Bursary students are not eligible for NHS Learning Support Fund."

Beetroot_24

I'm a mature student studying an allied healthcare course. Not nursing or midwifery, and I'm kinda guessing that you're not going to be studying those either as most nursing and midwifery students refer to themselves as such, not allied healthcare students! 

It's the second time I have been to uni as I did the same course 10 years ago but had to leave due to personal reasons. The first time, the degree was funded by the NHS (I completed two years), and I never took out the maintenance loan, this time I applied for a tuition fees loan. I wasn't sure whether or not I would be eligible as it was my second time studying, but I was. Other students on my course have degrees, and they were eligible too. 

The LSF is not means-tested but you do have to be in receipt of student finance to receive it, whether that be for tuition fees, maintenance, or both. It's better than the old bursary for me, as I was not eligible last time, even though my husband wasn't earning very much (he was in the Army, one of the reasons I had to quit), now he earns twice as much but I'm eligible for £7k as we have two children. The LSF is paid in three parts, late September, January/February and I think the third one is in July.

As for the maintenance loan, that's up to you. My friend is 50 and he took one out even though he didn't need it, simply because it would get written off when he retires so he wouldn't have to pay it back! 

Mrs_Ryan

peteuk said:

I will echo Dr Eskimo Are you sure your are eligible?

Bursary was reformed in 2017 but brought back for nurses in 2020.  (You've said allied healthcare course - which branch)

But equally Student Finance doesn't tend to cover second degrees. Student finance: Eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Eligibility for the NHS Learning support fund is somewhat dependent on Student Finance. NHS Learning Support Fund | NHSBSA

Equally if you take a bursary ( which I know you've not mentioned) then you cant take the HNS LSF. 
At the bottom of the NHS LSF page it states "NHS Bursary students are not eligible for NHS Learning Support Fund."

It’s all changed now- second degrees in nursing, midwifery and subjects allied to medicine (physio, OT etc) are covered. 

Also p/t STEM degrees (but only p/t for some reason) can be fully funded as a second degree. I’m certain of this as I am in receipt of full funding for a Sports Science degree through the OU which is my second undergrad degree. I can’t remember what year it changed- 2017 is ringing a bell- but the government decided to fund second degrees in certain subjects due to extreme shortages of graduates in certain areas. Nursing etc and subjects allied to medicine (or healthcare however you want to look at it) is one such area.