Maintenance grants for mature students?

Is this availible for mature students?
And how about foundation degrees?

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They are available, if you're talking about the government based ones. Also some Mature Students get extra money, but this varies form uni to uni, so check with them. i know Loughborough give mature students £1000 extra when compared to younger students.

Reply 2

Greenmile

Yes, you get the same funding. The exact amount will depend on your personal circumstances. The only time you may not get it is if you have had previous study.

Reply 3

VENIVIDIVICI

Greenmile

Yes, you get the same funding. The exact amount will depend on your personal circumstances. The only time you may not get it is if you have had previous study.

May I just add to Greenmile's post by saying if you had previous study (e.g. undergraduate degree) outside the UK, you will still qualify for funding.

Reply 4

Yep..its available.....

I'm 23 and have got the whole "sha-bang" as they say....maintenance loan of £2700 odd plus maintenance loan......then the university bursary..which i get an additional £1000 a year......pots of money available...

Your best going to visit your local lea, sit down with someone from student finance and they will help you, and also give you an idea of what your able to apply for loan/grant wise as there are many other grants etc beside the maintenance one.

Foundation degrees are eligible for full student support as you would with a bsc/ba etc....so no worries there for you.

Reply 5

Hands_Clean

Whats the difference between a student loan and a maintenance grant?

Reply 6

daggy

A maintenance grant is just that, a grant!! So it's non-repayable. You can get a maintenance grant and I think also a maintenance loan if you'd like to on top of the student loan for course fees...

These are the types of support available:

•

Tuition Fee loan

•

Maintenance Loan

•

Aditional Maintenance Loan(income assessed)

•

Speial Support Grant (income assessed)

•

Maintenance Grant (income assessed)

click here for more info on student finance!!

on top of all that there are a few other ones plus anything your uni will give you!! :smile:

Reply 7

Cocainee

Wow, thank You all for answers :smile:

Reply 8

Miss_Alice

I feel this topic needs to be revived.

I undertook study in 2001-2002, and now as an over 25 (mature/independant student), I want to give University another try in 2009/10. I didnt get a degree before. I left Uni after deciding the course was not for me.

Now I want to return. They work it out as follows - length of degree you want to take, plus one extra year.
Mine is a 4 yr Pharmacy + 1 year = 5 years.
Minus years already studied. Partial years are counted as a whole. In my case 2 years.

5-2 = 3 years of support remaining. This is shorter than my chosen degree.

So in year one of my degree this year, I am ineligiable for Fee Loan or Maintence Grant. Luckily I have savings to pay my fees or I'd be in a real mess! The Govenment system seems to discourage mature students who've had previous study from trying again later in life. So people like myself have needed to delay their entry for an extra year to work double time and save up the money for fees alone.

However, I can still get the Maintence LOAN. I can also still apply for the University Bursary.

As someone from a low-income family (I'll be earning just 2K a year working while studying), I find it rather harsh that the Govenment deducts aid later in life based on mistakes you made as a teen to young adult. Since I first left Uni I have worked and paid taxes, never claimed benefits, always earning less than 12k a year, not married, no kids! If it weren't for careful savings, there would be no hope for mature students coming from low-income backgrounds who have made mistakes picking the wrong degree in the past.

I'll be living at home with my mother to try and make ends meet; bless her heart she is taking on so much of my burden so I can go back to University and try and improve my life. Hopefully an improved pay can benefit her as much as me <3

Reply 9

ipswichblade

Miss_Alice

Just wanted to say I am doing a similar thing. I did 2 years of a course 2005-2007 and then left without a qualification. I am going back this year and starting again. Like you, I can get the maintenance loan and bursary (£500 if I go to Worcester) but not the fee loan or maintenance grant. I've saved up enough to cover my fees for the first year thankfully. I'll also be a mature student and independent imo (well, that's a bit more complicated and will be to prove as I'm not 25 or over).

Good luck with your course! It's nice to know I am not the only one who has dropped out and wants to go back.

Reply 10

Shirin

I'm in a same situation. I'm currently doing a biomedical degree at birmingham (am in my final year) and have applied to do a M.Pharm pharmacy course, but can't get funding and am from a low income family. I'll probably defer entry for a year so i can work and hopefully earn enough money, but tuition fees will be higher cos im doing a second degree so not sure if i can afford all four years....so may need to defer entry for a few years before i can afford it.

Wish the goverment did fund second degree because when i left college i had no idea what i wanted to do, and studied biomedical science because i enjoyed bio and chem and it wasnt until i did this course and studied the pharmacology modules did i consider doing pharmacy...i know now that i'll enjoy being a pharmacist but not everybody at 18 knows what they wanna do and i didn't want drop out from my current degree when i spent soo much hard work and effort to get this far.

Reply 11

lodge

Oh!

It never occured to me that going back I would have a problem getting a tuition fee loan!
From what I found on the direct gov website it said that they would accept my application as im going back to do an undergraduate degree not a graduate one.

This means I will be short on year of tution fees and thats if I've worked it out correctly.

I originally did a foundation degree (2 years) but was originally going to go on to continue onto the three year course but didn't.

So would that be considered a three year course? which would mean 3+1 (extra year) -2 (already studied)

Or 2+1 (extra year) -2 (already studied)?
Does that make sense?

Reply 12

cjhami

I'm really confused, I am 22 and left uni after my 1st year because teaching was not the career for me. I have since re-evaluated my whole life and found a course I know I will love. The problem I have is regarding tuition fees, will I have to pay for my first year or will i get funding. My new course is full time and for 3 years.

Reply 13

lodge

cjhami

I decided to give student loans a ring. After taking 4 hours to get through lol.
Don't worry you should get funding for all of yours.
They work it out by taking the length of you new course, plus one year for restarts and then minus any years already taken.

In my case I get 2 out of 3 years funding.

You would get the full three years as you have only studied one year.

It's taken me forever to work that out in my head lol

Reply 14

Greenmile

cjhami

As you only did 1 year you will still get the funding for the whole of your course (unless you have to repeat any years).

Reply 15

cjhami

ah that good then i can get all excited for september now thanx bud

Reply 16

sallen

cjhami

ah that good then i can get all excited for september now thanx bud

Yeah they'll fund a max of four years so it's all good.

Reply 17

falcieri

I'm terrified of the debt I'll get into getting grants and loans. The interest rate means they are not 'free' loans or 'you only pay back what you borrow'. They describe them as non profit loans but at about £134 a year in interest on two loans on the current interest rate I can't afford to come out in 3 years with £20,000 of debt plus all the other bits so I've scraped and saved so I can hopefully get by. I have a partner in full time work too so hopefully we can manage.

It's scary stuff, especially when you're older and you've learnt to manage your finances and keep your slate clean.

Reply 18

Miss_Alice

falcieri

I was also worried about it, but have come to an agreement with my family: borrowing money from them at a rate higher than the interest on their savings, but lower than the interest on the loan. I'd much rather give my hard earned money to my family any day!

Reply 19

Mature.student

I have applied for a couple of courses that also contain a foundation year, so that would make it a four year degree even though it would normaly only be three years, will I still be entitled to an extra years worth of funding incase I need to retake a year?