Considering studying second BA in Engineering - Funding options?
Hello,
So I have been seriously considering going back to university recently. I graduated last year with a 2:1 from University of Westminster in Business management with Entrepreneurship. I studied 4 years including a year abroad in Australia, and accumulated a total debt of £60,616 through student finance (including interest).
I have a minimal interest in studying a post grad, as I am wanting to study engineering. Student finance will not support me anymore as I already have a degree. To my understanding you could get some sort of financial support for studying something like engineering/healthcare but apparently not.
To manage my debt the best alternative I have found is to study in Germany, or any other country where uni/living is free/cheap and the course is taught in English. What are the best options/companies for borrowing money for living costs? This alternative is the most cost efficient way of studying I realise, yet this is more risky and expensive to fund as I will not be receiving any grants/help from the government and most loans I have found require you to pay within 10 years and start paying back as soon as you have taken out the loan. I figure borrowing £20,000 to study over the course of 3 years with a 13% APR (offered by futurefinance) I could be paying back £450-£500 per month after I graduate. This is a lot of money, alongside paying off my other student loan and living costs.
Any financial or general advice would be much appreciated! I have just spoke to a few people and some friends have been very supportive, but I really wish to speak to someone with experience in this field.
So I have been seriously considering going back to university recently. I graduated last year with a 2:1 from University of Westminster in Business management with Entrepreneurship. I studied 4 years including a year abroad in Australia, and accumulated a total debt of £60,616 through student finance (including interest).
I have a minimal interest in studying a post grad, as I am wanting to study engineering. Student finance will not support me anymore as I already have a degree. To my understanding you could get some sort of financial support for studying something like engineering/healthcare but apparently not.
To manage my debt the best alternative I have found is to study in Germany, or any other country where uni/living is free/cheap and the course is taught in English. What are the best options/companies for borrowing money for living costs? This alternative is the most cost efficient way of studying I realise, yet this is more risky and expensive to fund as I will not be receiving any grants/help from the government and most loans I have found require you to pay within 10 years and start paying back as soon as you have taken out the loan. I figure borrowing £20,000 to study over the course of 3 years with a 13% APR (offered by futurefinance) I could be paying back £450-£500 per month after I graduate. This is a lot of money, alongside paying off my other student loan and living costs.
Any financial or general advice would be much appreciated! I have just spoke to a few people and some friends have been very supportive, but I really wish to speak to someone with experience in this field.
Original post by omgitsmewazap
Hello,
So I have been seriously considering going back to university recently. I graduated last year with a 2:1 from University of Westminster in Business management with Entrepreneurship. I studied 4 years including a year abroad in Australia, and accumulated a total debt of £60,616 through student finance (including interest).
I have a minimal interest in studying a post grad, as I am wanting to study engineering. Student finance will not support me anymore as I already have a degree. To my understanding you could get some sort of financial support for studying something like engineering/healthcare but apparently not.
To manage my debt the best alternative I have found is to study in Germany, or any other country where uni/living is free/cheap and the course is taught in English. What are the best options/companies for borrowing money for living costs? This alternative is the most cost efficient way of studying I realise, yet this is more risky and expensive to fund as I will not be receiving any grants/help from the government and most loans I have found require you to pay within 10 years and start paying back as soon as you have taken out the loan. I figure borrowing £20,000 to study over the course of 3 years with a 13% APR (offered by futurefinance) I could be paying back £450-£500 per month after I graduate. This is a lot of money, alongside paying off my other student loan and living costs.
Any financial or general advice would be much appreciated! I have just spoke to a few people and some friends have been very supportive, but I really wish to speak to someone with experience in this field.
So I have been seriously considering going back to university recently. I graduated last year with a 2:1 from University of Westminster in Business management with Entrepreneurship. I studied 4 years including a year abroad in Australia, and accumulated a total debt of £60,616 through student finance (including interest).
I have a minimal interest in studying a post grad, as I am wanting to study engineering. Student finance will not support me anymore as I already have a degree. To my understanding you could get some sort of financial support for studying something like engineering/healthcare but apparently not.
To manage my debt the best alternative I have found is to study in Germany, or any other country where uni/living is free/cheap and the course is taught in English. What are the best options/companies for borrowing money for living costs? This alternative is the most cost efficient way of studying I realise, yet this is more risky and expensive to fund as I will not be receiving any grants/help from the government and most loans I have found require you to pay within 10 years and start paying back as soon as you have taken out the loan. I figure borrowing £20,000 to study over the course of 3 years with a 13% APR (offered by futurefinance) I could be paying back £450-£500 per month after I graduate. This is a lot of money, alongside paying off my other student loan and living costs.
Any financial or general advice would be much appreciated! I have just spoke to a few people and some friends have been very supportive, but I really wish to speak to someone with experience in this field.
you can do it part time in the uk and get funding for the tuition fees. don't take out a loan that high without a guarantee you can pay it back, £500 a month is a lot to fork out if you live alone.
Original post by claireestelle
you can do it part time in the uk and get funding for the tuition fees. don't take out a loan that high without a guarantee you can pay it back, £500 a month is a lot to fork out if you live alone.
The problem with part time is it takes longer, and I would like to finish this degree ASAP (I will be 28/29 by the time of graduation). Also I can study for free in Germany, so I completely avoid tuition fees. I just need some sort of maintenance loan.
I would note that a degree in engineering along is not sufficient to go into the engineering field. It's very important you get relevant work experience - which a part time course is ideally placed to allow you to do. Doing a part time course over 6 years (for example) while also getting increasingly relevant work experience in the sector would make you a much more attractive option for employers than someone who did a BEng and maybe has one or two placements in the summers.
Beyond that, age is relative. Employers can't discriminate on the basis of age in the UK (and in most developed countries), and doing the course part time would only result in it taking 1-3 more years (depending on course intensity, e.g. if you did it at 75% intensity rather than 50% intensity it would take less time) at a brick and mortar university. Against the whole length of your prospective career this is a negligible amount of time.
It may be worth considering that all courses, regardless of intensity of study, at the OU are considered part time. So you can study a course at the same "speed" as a full time course at the OU and it will still be classified as part time study by SFE, and hence eligible for second degree funding. This may also be an option (and even at 100% intensity may be more amenable to longer term work/work experience in the sector due to the fact the study is more flexibly arranged and really determined by when you choose to do it, subject to deadlines and exam dates).
Beyond that, age is relative. Employers can't discriminate on the basis of age in the UK (and in most developed countries), and doing the course part time would only result in it taking 1-3 more years (depending on course intensity, e.g. if you did it at 75% intensity rather than 50% intensity it would take less time) at a brick and mortar university. Against the whole length of your prospective career this is a negligible amount of time.
It may be worth considering that all courses, regardless of intensity of study, at the OU are considered part time. So you can study a course at the same "speed" as a full time course at the OU and it will still be classified as part time study by SFE, and hence eligible for second degree funding. This may also be an option (and even at 100% intensity may be more amenable to longer term work/work experience in the sector due to the fact the study is more flexibly arranged and really determined by when you choose to do it, subject to deadlines and exam dates).
Original post by omgitsmewazap
The problem with part time is it takes longer, and I would like to finish this degree ASAP (I will be 28/29 by the time of graduation). Also I can study for free in Germany, so I completely avoid tuition fees. I just need some sort of maintenance loan.
With a debt like that, although you d finish faster you would then because of a loan with repayments that high could mean being stopped from getting your own place is that's something you want.
Do 120 credits a year at OU and you can stay in the UK.
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