Doing a second degree after 40 and student loan worries

[MeadwayMumofFour]

I have been redundant from a corporate job after 15 years. I have a biology degree and I'm done with corperate global business.

I want to retrain as a speech therapist but I can't get onto a masters as I have a 2:2.

So it would mean going back to uni for four years and paying fees, graduating past 44!

I am not sure if this is just bonkers. It would finically be a stupid move and I would be better off letting my brain frazzle up.

Obviously I wouldn't be working in 30 years from graduation, so how much realistically will I pay back? Will the loan hang over me into retirement? Would it come out from my pension?
I am secretly hoping they drop the threshold for the masters once the NHS funding and bursery stop. I did start another masters in another subject who was ok with my 2:2

[NiceCardigan]

I would check whether you'd be accepted onto the masters with a 2:2 the requirements are more flexible for mature students. I don't think you'd be able to get a student loan as you already have a first degree.

[titchy]

No you won't pay anything back once you're 60 so don't worry about that. NHS courses have a loan entitlement regardless of whether you have s degree or not. Also regardless of the amount you borrow the monthly repayments are the same.

Do check whether they'd accept you onto a Masters though - they might with a 2:2 and relevant work experience.

[MeadwayMumofFour]

so is there a cut off age for repaying the loan? I thought it was 30 years as most people will be working past 60 nowdays.
If so hopefully that's not changed in the future

[JenniferYellowHat1980]

If you have a degree already there is no cap on tuition fees and you don't qualify for student finance. The only place to do this with the NHS bursary is in Wales.

[SlightlyperturbedOwl]

Most NHS courses no longer have entitlement to a student loan if you already have a degree. I would contact the MSc providers and see what they suggest- sometimes they will count work experience as a mature student, or may be able to suggest a bridging course. Essentially they want to be sure you will pass well. Many masters courses are not over-subscribed.

[RedAmberGreen1]

Are you sure you can't get on with a 2:2? I also had a 2:2, and went back to University to do a masters in a different field in my mid thirties. I got some relevant volunteer first, and spoke to the course tutors on an open day to ask what they thought so I wouldn't be wasting my time if they said 'no way' and introduced myself, in the hope they might remember my name on the application.

The initial offer was a post graduate diploma, which is where you do the first two terms and if you pass, you upgrade to a full masters. It was a fairly common route, especially for mature students - and there were a fair number of them. I ended up with a Distinction: it was a course I was interested in, whereas my undergraduate degree was not for me, in retrospect.

[RedAmberGreen1]

• volunteer experience
  
  Sorry, my point was - mature students are a good bet for Universities, because they tend to be motivated and more certain the course is right for them before they start, which means they will offer lower entry grades.