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Tigerlea |
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Tigerlea Nitrous Nuisance
Joined: 07 Jul 2016 Karma :
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Posted: 17:55 - 06 Jul 2017 Post subject: University – apparently I'm in, and that's all I know! |
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I just found out this morning I've got an unconditional offer to attend university and finish my degree here in the UK. (Super happy, yay)
Things are different here, and apparently I've missed deadlines to apply for student financing.
And... Well, to be honest, I have no flipping idea what I'm supposed to be doing. I have a start date, beyond that.. no information. Nothing. Yikes! No schedule, no information on paying tuition, no address..
Was wondering if the BCF community could point me in the right direction? Financing, finding accommodation, and even what to expect? Admissions at my new uni have been pretty useless; it took a month of back-and-forth just to find out I had been accepted, after applying months ago (<- short version)..
The only things I know I do need to do are:
- sort out a new job (after handing my notice in here.. hurrah for 2 month notice periods )
- list my room for rent
- find somewhere to live
- sell loads of stuff (I'm keeping the bike)
- expect to become very poor very soon
PS ~ I get to fall into the "mature student" category these days. This, in itself, terrifies me.
PPS ~ Do I need to tell my insurance company that I'll be a student?! |
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Ste |
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Ste Not Work Safe
Joined: 01 Sep 2002 Karma :
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Posted: 18:00 - 06 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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Yes you do need to tell your insurance company about your change of occupation.
No idea about the rest though. |
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Matt B |
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Matt B World Chat Champion
Joined: 01 May 2012 Karma :
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P. |
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P. Red Rocket
Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Karma :
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Moo. |
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Moo. World Chat Champion
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SophR so good |
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SophR so good Trackday Trickster
Joined: 08 Aug 2016 Karma :
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M.C |
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M.C Super Spammer
Joined: 29 Sep 2015 Karma :
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Tigerlea |
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Tigerlea Nitrous Nuisance
Joined: 07 Jul 2016 Karma :
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Posted: 11:07 - 07 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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Paddy. wrote: | Where abouts did you get in to? Their uni might be able to advise. I know local ones to me are surprisingly helpful. |
Gloucestershire. So not a uni city, as it's in Cheltenham, which is turning out to be a very expensive place.
Thanks for the all the suggestions... I'll call up student finance and see what do, as I definitely cannot afford tuition out of my own pocket.
My concern with a lot of the information is that, apparently, the Uni sent me two offer letters (by email) which never actually came through. In the end the admissions officer had to email me with an attached PDF, which was absolutely fine.
So either it was a load of bollocks, or somehow Gmail is blocking their automatic email system, so I'm worried about any further contact through there which might not come through.
Right, on the list now:
[ ] contact insurers, let them know change of situation; mortgage will already know
[ ] call student finance; get money
[ ] find accomodation; try for agents, but hopefully not end up in house share full of 18-20 yos..
I put my notice in at work yesterday. They're going to keep me for as long as possible, which is a bonus to me cash-wise, not so much time-wise.. It's easy to move, right? Can be done in a weekend? |
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :
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M.C |
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M.C Super Spammer
Joined: 29 Sep 2015 Karma :
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Posted: 18:56 - 07 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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BTW I think you've got the student finance deadline backwards: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-student-finance/when
You can apply up to 9 months after the start of the academic year for your course.
So if you start in September you'd have until the following May to apply, but IIRC they start chasing you for fees towards the end of the first term (approaching Christmas). We had people starting a month into the course. Obviously get it sorted as they can be quite aggressive in pursuing fees.
Move into halls if you want the full uni 'experience' |
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Ribenapigeon |
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Ribenapigeon Super Spammer
Joined: 20 Feb 2012 Karma :
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Lord Percy |
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Lord Percy World Chat Champion
Joined: 03 Aug 2012 Karma :
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Lord Percy |
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Lord Percy World Chat Champion
Joined: 03 Aug 2012 Karma :
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Posted: 05:49 - 09 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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How old of a mature student will you be? I started at 24 and was fine mixing in with the others. My class had a few people older than me and they fitted in fine as well.
Only thing I'll say is that it definitely does grate a bit in the later years, or at least it did in my case. I finally finished just a month or so ago and was so glad to see the end of it. Just wanted to be done and be an 'adult' again. Worth it in the long run either way though.
What course are you doing?
For accommodation, you can normally live on campus in first year and make some chums. As a mature student your uni accommodation service might be sensible enough to put you in a flat with people you'll get on with, probably other mature students.
For finding another job, think seriously about your academic commitments and settle into that first. If you can survive off student loans, do it. Personally I did a physics degree and there was absolutely no way I'd have been able to do any kind of employment around all my lectures and assignments. I did at one point apply for some weekend work at Morrisons, but they rejected me and in hindsight I'm quite glad of that.
For 'being poor', it really isn't as bad as it seems. I had a good enough life, lived as cheap as I could (but still wasted money a little bit, mainly on lazy food options like takeaways when I could have just cooked for myself) but still afforded to travel India for two months over one summer, then China the following summer, simply by sensible budgeting, and that was entirely on student loans with no extra source of income. So the thing about being a poor student just isn't true unless you're an absolute moron with your spending.
Enjoy! |
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M.C |
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M.C Super Spammer
Joined: 29 Sep 2015 Karma :
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Posted: 13:49 - 09 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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Tigerlea |
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Tigerlea Nitrous Nuisance
Joined: 07 Jul 2016 Karma :
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Posted: 15:18 - 21 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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Lord Percy wrote: | How old of a mature student will you be? I started at 24 and was fine mixing in with the others. My class had a few people older than me and they fitted in fine as well.
...
What course are you doing?
For accommodation, ...
For finding another job, ...
For 'being poor', it really isn't as bad as it seems. ... |
Hey, thanks! That's incredibly helpful.
Yeaaaah.. I'm a little older than you are now. Which is one of the reasons I'm thinking that I'd actually hate living on campus, as I actually care about how I do at 'Uni' and my goal is not to get as drunk as I can with strangers... That's what summer BCF BBQs are for, right?
I found out yesterday about the whole 'apply up to 9 months' thing. I'm one of those adults who somehow has a mortgage, so I'll be renting out my place while I'm away. I'm thinking that might end up like-for-like for rent, so all I'd have to cover on top is bills, food, and travel expenses. While looking into the loans I found out about the maintenance loans. Figure it'd actually be a good idea to apply for both and get what I can out of those. I qualify for 'home student' status, so I shouldn't have any problems.
I'll be studying for a BSc in Web Technologies. I know there's an internship required at one point so I'm trying to figure out if I can just skip that as I've 10 years experience in the industry....
I'm just a bit anxious, tbh. I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I applied.
..... Tempting. But.. I think I'll pass on the risk of pregnancy, STIs and early death, cheers! |
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Alpineandy |
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Alpineandy World Chat Champion
Joined: 18 Mar 2015 Karma :
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Posted: 16:35 - 21 Jul 2017 Post subject: |
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Tigerlea wrote: |
..... Tempting. But.. I think I'll pass on the risk of pregnancy, STIs and early death, cheers! |
You could learn about contraception (safe sex) and do some self defence classes..... ____________________ The above comment isn't necessarily the truth and anyone that says it is, is only correct if it's the truth or they're bigger than me. |
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P. |
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P. Red Rocket
Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Karma :
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :
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Tamsin |
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Tamsin World Chat Champion
Joined: 07 Mar 2014 Karma :
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Posted: 23:02 - 11 Aug 2017 Post subject: |
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Being a mature student is good. The lecturers treat you with a bit more respect than the scruffy, drunk 18 year olds
https://www.gov.uk/apply-online-for-student-finance for student finance application. To get the money at the start of term you needed to have applied in May though, so expect a delay whilst they get their knickers untwisted. Its not a paticuarly arduous application but make sure you get the signature form printed, signed and sent |
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Sapolsky |
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Sapolsky Borekit Bruiser
Joined: 05 Aug 2017 Karma :
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Posted: 09:11 - 12 Aug 2017 Post subject: |
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One of the questions I was asked was basically have you lived in the UK for the last 3 years.
Apparently being abroad can be a stumbling block. I used to live abroad (I'm a brit) and my uni said it may mean I couldn't get finance. I've been back for 4 years now though, so I never found out if it was an issue.
I'm 41 and heading back to Uni in Oct I'll be skipping the majority of Freshers week
By the way I applied for tuition loan last week and got approved last week. Whether they'll actually have their shit together enough to pay it on time is another matter. I didn't apply for maintenance so can't comment there. |
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The999Kid |
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The999Kid World Chat Champion
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Sapolsky |
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Sapolsky Borekit Bruiser
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Tigerlea |
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Tigerlea Nitrous Nuisance
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SophR so good |
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SophR so good Trackday Trickster
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Sapolsky |
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Sapolsky Borekit Bruiser
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 6 years, 253 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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