Funding MSc - living expenses, loans etc

[goingmadinthecountry]

I know dd is a grown up but she's abroad all summer and thought some of you may have experience.
She's worked for a year to save to travel/continue education after graduating and is starting an MSc in London in September - has applied for the Masters loan which is 10k. Her course is 10.5k. She will in all probability be continuing with her LPC after this so more debt in sight.

Is there anything better out there than a career development loan to help fund living expenses? The rates looked very big. She will have a few thousand left after her travels and hopes to get a p/t job but needs the money in case. Would be interested to hear what others have done.

[goodbyestranger]

One of my DDs was funded for her MSc by the ESRC but this was before the new facility for student loans came in. Another DD had her LPC funded by her law firm since she got her TC in place after vac schemes in the summer holidays of second year and a third DD had her BPTC fees paid for by her Inn of Court with living costs aided both by that and a further scholarship from the BPTC provider. When you say your DD will be doing the LPC does she not also need to do the GDL? From the way you write it sounds as though she doesn't have a TC in place. If she does, then the firm may well cover both fees and living costs for the LPC 6 months/ year. If she doesn't, my strong advice would be to hunt one down as soon as the window opens. Sorry, I'm no help re. commercial loans and I think the loan landscape keeps changing, so it's easy to get out of date very fast.

[Becca19962014]

So the masters loan covers fees, but it doesn't cover living expenses, is that right?

It's too late now to apply for a career development loan (CDL) the closing date is a minimum of three months before a course starts and at that late there's no other option if the bank chosen says no, and there can be interviews (it took months to arrange mine, including interviews, though that was a few years ago the process is the same, the application is different for each bank and can take weeks). Unlike the masters loans CDL are bank loans and there is no option to defer repayment which is due one month after finishing the taught part of the course usually the taught part finishes start of May so repayment is due start of June. I know courses continue until September for dissertations but CDL doesn't include dissertations. As a bank loan it shows on credit checks etc. In my experience universities don't recommend them lightly.

I was ill after my course and was chased by debt collectors for the money, it was a nightmare. I loved my course and there was literally no other way, but I'd warn anyone before they took on one of these loans to think very very carefully regarding repayments.

She needs to look on the uni website and see if anything else is available, there may be bursaries but it won't be enough to live on.

I know further law qualifications like LPC can require professional loans which are from the same banks as CDL and if there is a CDL outstanding it will be refused (I know someone this happened to last year). I know nothing about training to go into law but I do know that your DD need to think carefully about the debt she is getting into - the masters loan will be added to her undergraduate one, and there is no increase in the deferment amount it remains the same but her contribution even at the lowest level will be much higher.

Apologies if I've misunderstood. I've been considering doing some study myself but cannot afford to so this is based on the information I looked at with regards to my situation.

[goingmadinthecountry]

Thank you for all that, Becca. The CDL just doesn't seem like a good idea anyway.
Goodbye, she's doing an MSc related to a specific area of interest to her, and very much related to her Law degree. Don't want to be too specific! Just mentioned the LPC as she may need further funding and I know there are implications.
Becca, her debt (27k) is rising at over £100 per month with interest. She managed to avoid the maintenance loan.The week she got holiday pay at her temping job they already took some money! She'll end up paying 15% of what she earns over 21k with the PG loan.
In hindsight, maybe she'd have been better taking the maintenance loan and not using it, then having it to help fund this. The thing is, education kind of evolves; it doesn't always take a straight path.
I wish I had enough money to support my children's education. Sigh.

[goodbyestranger]

goingmadinthecountry well it's done now but at least she doesn't need to do the GDL - I'd wrongly assumed the MSc was an extension of a science degree and that there might be funding available in consequence of that. Does she have a training contract in place? Or is she waiting to hear in September? If not, the LPC year is going to be a massive expense. On the other hand, if she's keen on the Bar, the time frame might work better for funding for that. My niece is starting a MSc in the autumn for which her parents are funding the shortfall between the new loan and the rest, since no funding is available beyond the £10k. It's in London, so living costs obviously not cheap.

[Becca19962014]

I totally understand what you are saying about funding evolving and changing. Since I did my undergrad there have been many many changes to funding and my career ideas were forced to change a lot as a result of that. I hope your DD can sort something out.

[goingmadinthecountry]

goodbye, dd will be London too. We're commutable, but that's really no fun and not very cheap. Plus, she'll be at my old university so I really want her to enjoy it. The MSc is law based - she's applying for training contracts when she gets back from her travels. Guess we'll be helping out then. Ah well. At least only 2 out of the 4dcs are at university at once.