Could I be a mature student?

MissMuppet

This is something I've thought about over the years, I left school at 15, started work a day after my 16th birthday and have been slogging away ever since. Oh and I'm 31 in a few weeks...

I really would love to get a degree but because of my financial situation (for various reasons) I just couldn't afford to give up full-time work and study. I went bankrupt last year after much stress and I am currently waiting to hear from my current job whether I will be made redundant.

I guess my questions are, will I get my tuition fees paid for? Where should I go to investigate this? Is studying full-time and working feasible? Will my bankruptcy effect my chances of getting help with my fees? Can I claim JSA while studying? Am I mad? :rotfl:

Thanks in advance...

Wiggynut

MissMuppet wrote: »

This is something I've thought about over the years, I left school at 15, started work a day after my 16th birthday and have been slogging away ever since. Oh and I'm 31 in a few weeks...

I really would love to get a degree but because of my financial situation (for various reasons) I just couldn't afford to give up full-time work and study. I went bankrupt last year after much stress and I am currently waiting to hear from my current job whether I will be made redundant.

I guess my questions are, will I get my tuition fees paid for? Where should I go to investigate this? Is studying full-time and working feasible? Will my bankruptcy effect my chances of getting help with my fees? Can I claim JSA while studying? Am I mad? :rotfl:

Thanks in advance...

I'm going in Sept 08!
I'll be 37 by the time I start and I left school at 15... went to lots of schools and missed a year too so didn't have the confidence to go.

worked for 22 years.. train up graduates and do all the urgent work but yet get paid £10,000 per year less than them! I'm also bored out of my mind so hoping I can develop some new confidence and habits while at uni!

I wont have any money when I start either.. .I've just traced my brother via facebook and he has lent me some money to cover my debts until after uni (interest free!!) which was a very nice surprise so at least I wont have debts to start off with!

I've sorted my finance out and this is what I'll be getting:-
Assessment of Entitlement to Student Finance for Academic Year 2008/09.

Basic Loan (non-income assessed) £4,855.00
Plus loan subject to income assessment £1,620.00
Less loan substituted for grant £1,260.00
Max loan available: £5,215.00

Maintenance Grant: £2,835.00 (dont' pay this back)

That basically gives me £8,050.00 to live on - rent will take most of that, the rest living expenses (London).

Uni's give out bursaries too which you don't have to pay back (I've manage to pick one that pays the least! £300 per year!)

You can't get job seekers unless you work less than 16 hours a week and looking for a job... not totally sure if this applies to part time but definitly not full time study! you can work in the holidays though and you don't pay tax if you earn under £5,000 (approx... can't remember exact amount)

I would advice going around the Uni Open days now and have a nice look round - they will have graduate shows (depends on what course you want to do)

a lot of people do access courses but I've been doing the Open Uni courses (10pts) to help me write essays and study skills... very helpful.
also, you could look at studying through the Open University as you can get a degree from them.

There are also grants, and loans for part time study.

have a look at this site for money to do with all studying.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/index.htm

I've chickend out for years but I just filled out the UCAS bit and it's done... so can't back out now I'm sure you can out do 18 year olds anyway so what do you have to lose!
try it and see :j
you will never have any confidence until you actually try it!

(if you have gone backrupt then that means you have no debts now (?) I owe a little bit but I don't have to pay it back until I'm working again - so figure out what your expenses will be ie: rent, mobile (can you get it cheaper etc) and food... I think you get £2,400 for 3 months or 4 (oops sorry, need to check that) and you can top it up with a part time job or/and working in holidays).
I actually think I'll have slightly more to spend each week than I do at present! lol)

skintstudentnurse

Go for it! I started studying access to higher education in September 06. That was part time and I worked 2 nights a week. Applied through UCAS January 07 and started uni September 07. I get a bursary of about £6,500 a year, it has been a struggle financially but I love the course. I'm looking around for a job at the moment cos I've got 5 weeks off in the summer and the cash will in handy ready for Christmas. I'm 30 by the way and have DD1 (9) and DD2 (3) and my fabulous husband to support me.

savingsuperstar

You won't get your tuition fees paid for- no-one does anymore, except medical students.

You can study full-time and work, I have for the first two years of my degree, up to about 20 hours a week (although I can guarantee your work will sufer in your second year if you do that much), and in my final year i'm hoping to keep it under 10 hours a week because I want a good degree.

You can't claim JSA, not even in the holidays (galling, I know) but you can (read have to) work, and it may well be worth your while getting work experience too as this almost guarantees you a better job in the end.

And no, you're not mad. The sens of achievement and personal pride when you get a good grade, pass a module well, pass a year well, is worth all the hard work and the debt. I'd go for it, I don't know anyone who's regretted going back to uni.

lilysgarden

Simple answer - YES!!!!

I say go for it, being a mature student was the best thing I ever did! I'd give the same advice as the others, but also mention that if your struggling in anyway, speak to the uni! They are so understanding, especially of mature students and will do anything they can to help. At the end of the day, uni's are a business so they benefit from getting everyone through their degree's! Student services can also help with things like hardship funds if you really struggle (but these can be tough to get).

As for other costs, it depends what you want to study. I've just finished my social work degree and all of my tuition fee's were covered because they needed people to get this degree. The guys a year behind me didn't get any fee's, whereas I've spoken with first year social work students and some of them do get help with fee's. You can also be tested for stuff like dyslexia if you're concerned about that and if your 'statemented' (or in english, given a letter saying this) you can get extra help with the cost of books, pc equipment etc. If not, don't panic, you can get student loans to cover things like fee's anyway, and those don't get repaid until you've finished and earning over a certain amount!

Nik xx

Dick_here

How about Open University, then you can keep on earning too.

bringmeshoes

I went to uni when I was 23, I had been homeless, lived in a hostel and still had some debts when i went to uni. As my credit score was in pieces i couldnt even get a student bank account. I had my student loan and had to get a job, i worked pretty much full time hours for the full 3 years of my degree, i disagree with the poster who said that your degree will suffer if you work, i worked more than 20 hours and my degree didnt suffer, and i was in uni 5 days a week and still managed to have a social life aswell.
go for it and you may well have 3 of the best years of your life!

Theboys!

Go for it!
I am 29 and going into the second year of my degree this year, it was the best thing I have ever done.
I am a discharged bankrupt and the only thing this has prevented me from doing is getting a student bank account, but to be honest I really don't care about not having an overdraft etc anyway.
Good luck

pandora205

I agree - go for it!

I'm not in your position but I am mature (50s) and currently studying part-time for a doctorate while I work full time... and I'm a single parent with older kids.

MissMuppet

Thanks for all your replies, it looks like I maybe able to do it after all... I found out Friday that I get to keep my job, so I might look at doing something next year when I've had time to think about everything a bit more.

dorry_2

hi miss muppet :wave:

go for it! You will never look back.

you could apply to one of the nhs courses that pay a bursary for you to go. I got £439 a month, plus £200 a month student loan, that was with my hubbys wage, who gets a good wage. so you would probably get more.

i did the social work and learning disabiliy degree, you could do mental health nursing and social work, that type of thing. The average wage an social work agency pays is around £23 a hour after a year. my friend was on £28 per hour in durham.

I didn't really loose out going, cos my wage then was only £600 a month anyway.

let me know if you want any other info

good luck xxxx

ps. I am nearly 45 and your never too old !!!