Uni later in life......

[misscackle]

I left school at 16 with fairly good GCSEs and went straight out to work. Was a head strong teen and all I ever wanted was to have a house a husband and children. I do not regret any of this for a second but now we have decided we will not be having anymore children I have started to think what else is there out there? I am considering the idea of going back to school so to speak. Not exactly sure what to do more exploring the idea in general right now. I was hoping to hear from any one who has gone back to education after having children. What costs are involved with going to uni? Would it be too much to take on with 3 children (aged 2, 6 and 9). Any advice or experince would be great, thanks.

GO FOR IT! I left school without a single GCSE (o levels at the time!) and went back to college at 24. Having a child really motivates you and i now have a degree and phd. (not that i use it SAHM again ). Im not entirely sure about the costs now, but i think you are entitled to the same grant as non mature students, i didn't have to pay my grant back but had a student loan. I am assuming it will be similar.

If i were you i would look into things you might like to do, have a look at what qualifications you might need to do it and if they are offered locally. The most common route for mature students is to do an access course, which covers the general areas covered by a level and study skills etc. If you are really unsure about what you might like to study you can do a pre access course to get your study skills up to speed again.

Depending on what you study, the contact hours and level of study it will be hard in terms of time. BUT i noticed that actually mature students with young families do as well, if not better than students who have some serious drinking and socialising to keep up with. You HAVE to be strict with yourself about deadlines etc and you make sure you utilise what time you do have. What you definately DO need is a supportive partner - especially to listen to you whinge when you are juggling deadlines. I found my university lecturers totally sympathetic to a parents needs, they get so sick of work not being done due to hang overs etc that when you go to them to extend deadlines they are more than happy to do so as they understand the family dynamic.

Absolutely the best thing i ever did going to university so pick a course and do it. You could even do a course part time, a friend of mine did a law degree this way, she had a handful of GCSEs, started part time law diploma and moved on to degree. I went the access course route into full time science degree - i think you have to self fund part time degrees though - expensive. There are funds available for students with financial pressures and parents are looked upon favourably.

There is LOADs out there, you just have to go and get it - have fun!

Like you I left school at 16. My first job paid for me to go to college on day release so I had the equivalent of 2 A levels. I took O level maths in the last year of O levels (took the exam 6+ months pg with baby no 2 ) then went on and took an A level in archaeology. I went to the local college in a mixed GCSE/A level class with students aged 16 to 18, even though I was in my late 20s with 4 little children.

I went to university "full time" at 30. My DCs were 7, 6, 4 and 2. I also had a PT job ( and a very supportive DH who would take the DCs out for the day on a Sunday so I could write my essays).

You have to be very very organised, which isn't my natural thing at all. I really really enjoyed my time at uni. It was thrilling to be taught by the people who'd written the text books we were using. You get so much more out of it as a mature student and there were quite a few of us.

Don't know about the money side because I went in the days of grants.

Hello misscackle

I am a university lecturer and just wanted to let you know that if you do decide to take the plunge and apply to university that I often have mature students who are parents, and they often cope better than the 18-21 year olds, because they are determined to work hard and know how to juggle responsibilities.
They are often my most successful students.

Fees are usually approx £3000 per year, but you will be able to apply for these to be covered by the student loans company.

If you don't want to do 3 years then look in to Foundation Degrees that are two years, more vocational and you can always do a third year to top up to a full BA/BSc if you want.

If you are worried about coping with the levels of study, because you have been out of education for a long time, then you may want to look in to doing a one year Access course first, probably offered at your local FE college. These courses are aimed at people who left school after their O Levels/GCSE's and who need to get up to university level.

For more research then look at UCAS.com as this is the application website, (application costs approx £15 for up to five applications or £5 for just one application.
Hope this helps.

I graduated last year with 4 boys aged (then) 8, 7, 4.5 and- wait for it- 5 weeks

Go for it. I'd seriously suggest an access course if you can as it teaches many useful skills and mature returners with it had a clear advantage but definitely do it, I loved it.

Thank you so much everyone. So great to hear success stories! I am definately going to look into it more and see what is available. Bit worried about the costs £3000 a year is alot plus maybe the cost of childcare, not too keen on the idea of increasing our debt but it would be an investment in the future.

My dh taught at Birkbeck for a while, which is for mature students. He loved teaching them - they wanted to be there, rather than it just being a next step, they thought about things and argued their cases, etc. I've taught a few mature students and found the same.

I'd go for it - it'll be a great experience, and it'll bring all sorts of benefits.

Remember the debt is only repayable when you earn over £15k a year, and then repayments are staggered as to the amount you repay.

If you qualify (we did) you might get up to 80% off the cost of childcare in the form of a grant