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funding oxford masters??? helpp

Hey

So I have been offered a place to study an MSc in Archaeological Science at Oxford but I am now stressing so much because the fees are extortionate £17,000 plus £10,000 maintenence, and although you can get upto £12,000 gov loan, that's is nowhere near affording it. I'm at a loss since I would be devastated to have to reject the offer on a finincial basis. I've looked at some of the scholarships Oxford offer but most of them are for minority groups or overseas students which I am not. I come from a low income household but this wasn't asked about in the application process.

Does anyone have anyyyyy ideas on how I may fund this :frown:

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Reply 1

(Oxon)

Original post by Babooooshka

Hey

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Hi, firstly congratulations on your offer, that is an amazing achievement. I am sorry to hear about your situation and unfortunately it is not an uncommon one.

It seems you have about a £15k difference to make up once you take £12k the government loan. First and foremost, definitely steer clear from any loans that aren't from the government, those are just not worth it at all even for Oxford. Do keep taking a look at any scholarships that you might be able to qualify for and get your application in as soon as possible for those. If you are able to source funding from your parents/guardians, do see if it's a possible option and also work out how many savings you have that could potentially go towards funding this course. These are probably the immediate things you can do to figure out how much you realistically need to earn.

My next thought goes to the timeframe in which you can earn the £15k or less - would it be possible to defer your offer and work for a year and save up? If so then that might be the most sensible option as it's enough time to earn, plus you'd gain experience in the meantime as well. However if deferral isn't an option, then from now until your course start date, which I imagine will be October, you have almost 6 months. I'm not sure when you have to show your college that you have the relevant finances to pay for the course, but for me it was late August/early September, so maybe it's more like 5 months. It is a tall order to earn £15kish in that time period (about £3k a month) but perhaps you could try to earn at least £10k (£2k a month) and use savings/scholarships for the rest. Of course if you have a lot of living expenses then this may be difficult to achieve and may well require more than one job, but I'm just trying to brainstorm a possible option to ensure you can take up your offer.

What I would do is definitely communicate your concern to your college at some point, perhaps not straight away, but maybe once you've figured out whether it is realistic for you to earn what you need to earn in order to pay for the university fees. Colleges do have hardship funds etc. but they're usually reserved for current undergraduates. You might also be able to crowdsource cash if your story is compelling enough, but I'd say that is a last resort. Anyway I do hope you figure it out - don't give up hope and do try to earn as much as you can regardless as you'll build up a nice nest egg of cash in doing so :smile: