thread in which the Mentally Normal sustain a stream of fascinating chat

[Mitchy1nge]

and die of being cold

I would hope my annual diabetes check would cover thyroid function as I take metformin, which can affect it, but I will have to ask.

Part of the trouble with education is funding it - I could take out a loan, but then in a bit buggered if I can't cope with the course as I think you're only allowed one student loan for each level of study, so it's a one-shot deal, and also I'd be stuck with debt for an education I didn't have Wish I could go back in time, attend the local comp, and use the money my parents wasted spent on my private schooling for an access course

What course were you looking at doing, Niamh?

Funding is tricky OU is so much more expensive now, I'm not sure if I'll be able to continue with the new fees (I already have a degree).

Does having a degree mean you have to pay higher fees, Snowy? Or is it that you're not eligible for loans? My highest qualification is at GCSE so my options are slightly more open but still not great TBH. The state can far better afford to take the financial risk than I can and would benefit as much as I would from my being better educated so part of me thinks the state should fund me but that's just appalling cheekiness on my part!

A huge amount of my job is/was helping people access college and uni courses. I might be able to help.

You can get a level three qualification for free, which is equivalent to a levels. You can defer on it twice.

It's kind of daft; they're willing to pay for astonishingly expensive antipsychotics for me, and pay for treating the diabetes those have caused, but not for training/education that would allow me to actually contribute to society They'll provide a loan which ramps up the pressure by making it a one-shot fail-now-that's-it-forever deal, though. Thanks

I know it seems astonishingly entitled of me but it just seems odd what the state is/isn't wiling to pay for and looking at my life as a whole it seems they're not getting good value for money on the things they choose to buy for me.

Was up all night throwing up having inadvertently eaten shellfish. Hosts are v embarrassed although I'm pretty mortified too. Just back from a long dog walk and feeling a little less fragile.

You can get a level three qualification for free, which is equivalent to a levels. You can defer on it twice.

Really?

I've tried to do A-levels before and dropped out; does that make a difference?

Do you have an allergy Mp?

Oh MP poor you.

Not as far as I know. If you can get a prospectus from the local college to you it'll say that there.

Re uni you can also defer, you can have funding for five years. I have £40000 student debt which I'll never end up paying back.

I don't usually qualify for help with things as I have contribution-based ESA rather than income-based and DP has money coming in that I never see and doesn't seem to prevent him suddenly needing £600 from my savings every so often.

They've increased the fees a lot for new modules. I could afford it before, but now it's £1316-£2632 per year.

Oh no, mp

I actually have no idea what savings I do have - DP deals with all my money except what I have in my current account.

Wow, that's a lot, Snowy.

I have a shellfish allergy and didn't know that the stock for a fish soup was made with prawns and their shells. Was too polite to ask

Oops.

Led to a most unpleasant evening.

Also, my diet is fucked. Have to start afresh fate the weekend.

Boiled prawn shells are pretty much the worst thing you can put in your mouth, carbs be damned.

Was it at least nice soup?

The access course I'm looking at is £8000 a year

enpoid

Local college

I'm probably misreading and that's for degree-level courses or something. There's another localish college that charges £2100 for over-24s, which is more doable. Fulltime education here I come

Oh good Is it a general access course?

If you want, send me a pm with the details and I'll have a look. If you were in the midlands I could do it easily but it'll vary depending on borough/city.

They do different ones - Humanities, Sciences, Engineering, Social something-or-other… would help if I had any idea what I want to do with my life other than being an internationally-acclaimed human rights lawyer or had any particular aptitude for anything

Wow, thanks, Caulk - I couldn't ask you to do that for me but I really appreciate the offer