Masters funding options - banks, private tuition loans etc?

[Tacitus]

Hey everyone,

So today my final available scholarship before the start of the next academic year came back as a non-starter. So I'm looking to alternative methods of funding the £8000 degree:

- Can maybe get a couple grand out the parents
- Have very little savings, and am overdrawn a bit, so the two almost cancel each other out
- I'm a Scottish student, continuing to study at Edinburgh, so England-only type stuff is no good to me.
- Current debt from undergraduate study is ~£8000


Has anyone been through this at all before? If so what works out best? The bank, private tuition loans company of some sorts? What other avenues of funding am I missing here?

Any advice would be great!

 

[Amp34]

There are career development loans that you may be able to get. May be worth looking at those. Otherwise if you have already exhausted all the scholarships not sure where else you can go. The government are introducing a masters student loan last I heard, I assume that is for next year and not available to you then?

EDIT: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-30293964 Seems you're a year early.

 

[dowie]

I think there are two banks that offer the career development loans... that should cover the fees, probably worth maxing out those loans as they're interest free for the duration of your course, you don't tend to get early repayment penalties so get as much as you can up front, just in case, and aim to repay as much as possible(inc any excess you don't use) as soon as your course finises.

Other option is credit cards... though your call on what the risk is here - how employable does this masters course make you?

 

[Tacitus]

There are career development loans that you may be able to get. May be worth looking at those. Otherwise if you have already exhausted all the scholarships not sure where else you can go. The government are introducing a masters student loan last I heard, I assume that is for next year and not available to you then?

EDIT: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-30293964 Seems you're a year early.

Education fully devolved to Scottish parliament, I'd not be applicable as far as I know.

I think there are two banks that offer the career development loans... that should cover the fees, probably worth maxing out those loans as they're interest free for the duration of your course, you don't tend to get early repayment penalties so get as much as you can up front, just in case, and aim to repay as much as possible(inc any excess you don't use) as soon as your course finises.

Other option is credit cards... though your call on what the risk is here - how employable does this masters course make you?

Not sure how much more employable this would make me, but I aim to to a PhD so it'd be years before I could reasonably begin paying back these loans.

I think I can also get about a £2000 interest free overdraft, but that would leave me with no cash to live off of.

I might pop down to the careers service or talk to my bank about it.

 

[dowie]

if you're going to do a PhD then forking out for fees shouldn't be necessary, there are other options for taught courses

plenty of PhD programs are moving to a 1+3 where you do 1 year of taught courses (sometimes resulting in a masters) and then do the 3 year PhD, they tend to be fully funded with you earning a tax free stipend

look at doctoral training centers too, some universities have set them up in collaboration in order to offer taught courses to PhD students

 

[Buffman]

What course do you do?

Normally they offer 10% discounts etc to previous graduates. I would apply to all the funding bodies available.

Also you can generally apply for phds straight from a bsci (if you have keen research interest/ summer experience it looks good)

 

[Tacitus]

Thank you for all your replies, it's much appreciated.

Take time out and earn - there's no rush. Presumably they have 1+3 funding up there? So you'll be able to get funding for a masters, then a PhD, all in one thing? They have that down here.

Could try abroad where it can be significantly cheaper.

I'm not 100% sure, it must depend a lot on the body you're applying to. My mate got his masters covered by some poetry society thing haha (though he's been a published poet since he was like 16).

if you're going to do a PhD then forking out for fees shouldn't be necessary, there are other options for taught courses

plenty of PhD programs are moving to a 1+3 where you do 1 year of taught courses (sometimes resulting in a masters) and then do the 3 year PhD, they tend to be fully funded with you earning a tax free stipend

look at doctoral training centers too, some universities have set them up in collaboration in order to offer taught courses to PhD students

These might not exist for me since I'm not doing a practical subject deemed particularly useful and worthy of funding by the Scottish Government. It's Classics I'm doing haha. Edinburgh Uni definitely treat them as very distinct and different programmes though. Plus I may seek to do my PhD at another university, depending on my field of research/faculty expertise.

What course do you do?

Normally they offer 10% discounts etc to previous graduates. I would apply to all the funding bodies available.

Also you can generally apply for phds straight from a bsci (if you have keen research interest/ summer experience it looks good)

£8000 includes the 10% discount :/

I'd be unable to do my PhD straight from my degree (MA Hons) since it's in a different discipline, plus if I had a very keen area of research I'd be doing a research masters instead, which is just a 40000 word dissertation. I've got some ideas, but whether they are viable is another matter entirely.

 

[JonJ678]

Are you wholly certain a masters or a phd in classics is a good move? The subject is fantastic, but it's difficult to source funding for it beyond undergraduate and it's difficult to imagine any career options that would be open to a classics MA that aren't to a classics BA.

It's also likely that the three years you've completed are sufficient that you'll be able to interpret whatever texts you wish without further guidance.

 

[Surfer]

in case it hasnt been mentioned. Sign up as a guinea pig to those paid research programs. 97% safe Decent ones can get you £2 - £3k for 2 weeks allowing them to "experiment on you"

 

[dowie]

supposing you don't get onto an MSc this year or can't get funding for it... is it still possible for you to get onto a PhD the next year?

I men an MSc isn't compulsory for a PhD - is your undergrad degree completely irrelevant or could you do some self study and/or get into contact with some potential supervisors and perhaps discuss with them how best to proceed

I've got no idea what things are like in classics but I have found that universities can be quite flexible if you're a good candidate and it is some non-academic issues (such as in your case lack of funds) that is causing problems

 

[Tunney]

A career development loans is probably the easiest route. Just be careful - you're given a period of grace (usually six months after the completion of your course) but then you have to start paying it back whether you have a job or not.