I am a 31 year old single mum and want to do a second degree - what funding has anyone found?

[birdieisthewordie]

I attained a 2.1 honours degree in Biology from the Uni of Notts in july 2012.

I have a 10 year old son and am a single mum.

I intend to apply to Nottingham vet school 2013 for 2014 entry finishing in 2019.

if anyone has any useful info which they thing might help me please post :-Dxxx

p.s the fees are £9,600 per year for Notts vet school x

Birdie, is there no graduate route into Vet med, in the same way as there is for (people) medicine? Is a four year new degree really the way to go?

If so, then have you looked at firstly Nottingham's web site, which is really pretty comprehensive or the direct.gov website. My initial reaction is that you do not qualify for a student loan as its an equivalent level qualification - but things like vet med might be exceptional.

There may also be specific charities who fund either vet med or single mums. I would suggest giving Nottingham student services a ring and ask them - there won't be much that they don't know.

And bear in mind that vet med is more competitive to get into than medicine itself so make sure your assessment of your chances is realistic. Good luck tho!

Can't offer help, but good on you for being so ambitious. Go for it.

www.prospects.ac.uk/funding_postgraduate_study.htm

Looking at how people fund postgraduate study might give you some ideas, even though the vet degree isn't actually a postgraduate course. (It may be that since it isn't postgrad, you might be barred from some specific types of funding, but some of the advice will be general.)

Maybe try going to a postgraduate study fair & attending a seminar on funding, or asking for specific advice. If its free to attend, you have nothing to lose.

I got the impression that some people manage to fund postgrad study with a number of fairly small grants and awards from quite specific charities (combined with part-time work and loans) - you aren't necessarily looking for one big award to fund the lot.

ww2.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Funding_my_further_study/Alternative_sources_of_funding/p!egama

This explains a bit about aplying for awards from charities - this is probably the most relevant bit: "Trusts need to be satisfied that you have exhausted every other possible source of funding (sometimes this includes loans) before applying for charitable help."

Good luck!

Unfortunately you will not get a loan or grant from student finance. You might get a bursary from the uni.

If you were going for human health care there are bursaries from the NHS, but I know of nothing similar for animal health. Perhaps ask the University?

Unfortunately, I believe vet med (unlike nursing, medicine etc.) is one of those courses that falls foul of the ELQ rules.