Crumbs. I've got a funding award.

[tufty79]

if you're over 25 you can get a mature students grant, which isn't payable back (unless you leave yer course early, i think)*

contact yer LEA and see what they suggest

edit* i got me fees paid, plus a grand a year just for being old. this was all on a BA full time degree course.

 

[mrs quoad]

Yetman - it really depends what you're looking at. Give us some more info - are you looking at an access course, bachelors, masters, PhD, what?

What I've just got is (specifically) a postgraduate scholarship; as such, it's an award, I have to give absolutely nothing back.

There are a whole bunch of research grants / awards out there particularly for people looking at postgrad study; on my route I've applied for and had irritatingly-close degrees of success with three awards. Those awards are also area-specific; so, for example, I applied for an ESRC Quota studentship - that's 13k (ish) + course fees for people looking to do a Masters + PhD (or just a PhD). But in order to do that, you need a pretty solid Bachelors - my high first (mean mark 78%) put me fourth in the running for one of 3 places available at Cambridge. A high 2:1 would often stand a chance, I was just shooting as high as I could, fully aware that meant I stood less chance of being funded.

ESRC = economics and research council.

There are (I think) 7 research councils:

AHRC
Arts & Humanities Research Council

BBSRC
Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council

EPSRC
Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council

ESRC
Economic & Social Research Council

MRC
Medical Research Council

NERC
Natural Environment Research Council

STFC
Science and Technology Facilities Council

And each of those awards a limited number of research studentships in their specific field.

At a Bachelors level, I'm less sure. I worked my arse off at Tesco's earning 5-600 squid a month to fund mine. Then again, I'd previously shafted funding that I'd got for a Bachelors I failed (twice) in 1999 and 2000. The funding - admittedly - would've only been course fees, but that would've been nearly 3k (grarararrrraar). e2a: Oh! I also got two student loans of 3,600! And own my house - so no rent / mortgage costs, which was probably what saved me / made life more manageable!

I believe there're grants out there too. Or I believe grants are back. They were GAWN roundabout 1998 and that's the last contact I had with em / the last I heard of 'em.

Like Tufty says - local LEA (or another thread on here ) would probably yield the best info

 

[Yetman]

Brilliant! Cheers Quoad (&Tufty)

I flunked out of my last year in A Levels - I did Physics, Biology and Art.

I'd be looking to get back into Art, hopefully CG based stuff in the long term. I'm assuming it'd have to be an Access Course to get back into education, then onto do a degree?

I'll take a look at the above - I'm 27 so a mature students grant would be ideal (mature ) cheers

 

[tufty79]

aye, it's a bit useful, the grant thing.
i did constantly worry that they'd take it off me for immaturity reasons though

good luck flower x

 

[pembrokestephen]

This thread title reminds me of a strange conversation I once had with my ex-wife's cousin's husband (yep), who - along with the rest of the family - is German. We were there visiting once, and he announced at dinner, out of the blue, "Eh heff vun en evort!". I had no idea what he was on about, and after several requests to him to repeat it, I eventually said to him (in German - I wasn't thinking) "I'm sorry, my English isn't so good: could you say it in German" (and I should say here that my German is far worse than my English). Which he did, and I understood straight away. Everybody laughed, except poor proud Gerd, who had won an award at the company he worked for for the progress he had made in his studies...in English.

So, Mrs Quoad, "Krumps, eh haff gott ein Vundink Evort".

Viel Spass!

As you were.

 

[pembrokestephen]

Brilliant! Cheers Quoad (&Tufty)

I flunked out of my last year in A Levels - I did Physics, Biology and Art.

I'd be looking to get back into Art, hopefully CG based stuff in the long term. I'm assuming it'd have to be an Access Course to get back into education, then onto do a degree?

I'll take a look at the above - I'm 27 so a mature students grant would be ideal (mature ) cheers

You might not have to do an access course if you can demonstrate sufficient ability/aptitude to be able to go straight onto the course.

The nice thing about being a mature student (says ps, who's just finished being one. For now) is that the universities stop being quite so fussy about qualifications, and start looking at your actual skills, and whether you're likely to cope with the course.

Universities like mature students, because they tend to be, er, mature, and the dropout rate amongst them is generally much lower.

 

[Yetman]

Nice one PS

Where did you do the course and what in if you dont mind me asking? Only reason I do is because I think we live in the same place and have similar interests

Defo going to get onto this now!! Cheers everyone

 

[mrs quoad]

Yep. What Stephen said.

One other suggestion - I know that in my old workplace, we pointed LOTS of people towards access courses (should that turn out to be the best route - and as a mature student, it really is worth speaking to universities direct).

The courses were almost universally part-time and absolutely universally free. I'm not sure how much use that is; but depending on where you're based there may be a community organisation that's set up to help people access FE / adult learning / access courses / universities. Your LEA would probably be the best place to start!

G'luck!

 

[mrs quoad]

Nice one PS

Where did you do the course and what in if you dont mind me asking? Only reason I do is because I think we live in the same place and have similar interests

Defo going to get onto this now!! Cheers everyone

He's in Wales and studied Existential Psychotherapy in Reigate (or Roehampton?) (if memory serves)

 

[mrs quoad]

Ah, nope

Me, gradulating.

And, because I know you'll all ask ( ), it was an upper second bachelor's in Integrative Counselling. Roehampton University. Ithangyew...

 

[Yetman]

He's in Wales and studied Existential Psychotherapy in Reigate (or Roehampton?) (if memory serves)

The name probably gives it away really doesnt it

I was thinking of Gentlegreen

*twats self*

I'm gonna ring the uni now...will let you know how I get on!

 

[pembrokestephen]

Nice one PS

Where did you do the course and what in if you dont mind me asking? Only reason I do is because I think we live in the same place and have similar interests

Defo going to get onto this now!! Cheers everyone

Erm, my location's not going to be a whole lot of use to you, I think!

I did a BSc in Integrative Counselling, but I did it at Roehampton University, in London (I moved out here towards the end of the first year). That involved quite a lot of commuting from here to London, once a week: I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Yetman]

Just been checking out access courses.....they seem a little simple for me. I'd get pissed off re-learning all the stuff I did at college.

Gonna contact the local LEA and Uni's and see what happens

 

[tufty79]

wooooo!

open looniversity's in my two year plan at the moment i heard somewhere you can even get help with the fees (might've already said this, but hey, i don't mind being repetitive)

 

[i-am-your-idea]

well done quoad

 

[AnnaKarpik]

wooooo!

open looniversity's in my two year plan at the moment i heard somewhere you can even get help with the fees (might've already said this, but hey, i don't mind being repetitive)

You can get all of your fees paid for you if you're poor enough! They work out an amount of funding they're prepared to shell out per year though; if you wanted to go mad and do more than one module per year you would probably have to pay something and some courses are more expensive than others, eg languages so the year's allowance would need supplementing.

And they offered me money to buy a computer and are currently asking if I would like them to pay for my internet connection

((OU))

And well done mrs quoad, couldn't happen to a nicer person!