Finance for MA/MSc

[Crazymummyto4]

I am thinking of applying for an MSc. I wouldn't be able to afford to pay for it outright so would need a loan. I've seen that I may be eligible for a student loan to start repaying when I earn over the threshold like I did with my student loan for my first degree. Is it easy to apply for a loan for an MSc and am I likely to get it? I won't be able to do the course without the loan so do I apply for the course or the loan first?

If you meet the eligibility criteria you’ll get the loan. You would usually apply for the course first and then the loan when finance opens. If for whatever reason you don’t get the loan or decide not to go ahead you can drop out of the course without any issue.

Application process is pretty easy, but it is a set amount so you’d need to check it will cover your fees.

You apply for the course first and then the loan. Don't let the uni bamboozle you into doing a PGDip first. Dh did this because they said they weren;t sure if the full MA would run (PG Dip is hte first part of it) and he wasn't entitled to the MA loan once he'd enrolled on the PG Dip.

Do check the fees though as the loan might not cover them all. It doesn't for dd.

My DD is going through this atm. She actually just got her loan approved yesterday. The loan is only £11000 and her masters is £26000!!! There is no separate maintenance loan.

Be aware that postgraduate loans are nowhere near enough to cover the cost of a master's and maintenance costs. Will you continue working while you study to make up the shortfall?

@Yourownpersonaljesus

My DD is going through this atm. She actually just got her loan approved yesterday. The loan is only £11000 and her masters is £26000!!! There is no separate maintenance loan.

What is she studying? The course I've seen says £8400, I was assuming that was for the whole course but is it likely that is per year? It's a two year part time course

@AlexaShutUp

Be aware that postgraduate loans are nowhere near enough to cover the cost of a master's and maintenance costs. Will you continue working while you study to make up the shortfall?

At the moment I'm only working one day a week as I've reduced my hours at work while the children are young, so my husband is providing most of the finance for our household at the moment anyway. It's one of the reasons why I'm thinking of doing it now.

@Yourownpersonaljesus

My DD is going through this atm. She actually just got her loan approved yesterday. The loan is only £11000 and her masters is £26000!!! There is no separate maintenance loan.

WTF is she studying that costs that much?!

It's Real Estate Economics and Finance @SpaceBethSmith. No idea why it's so ridiculously expensive. Surely all programmes should cost the same and loans should be enough to cover the course and living costs.

The post above is also to @Crazymummyto4.

Are you in England, Wales or Scotland? The post grad student loans systems are different.

My daughter is studying musical theatre. The MA is £14,500.

@youaremysunshine2623

Are you in England, Wales or Scotland? The post grad student loans systems are different.

I'm in England

It should be clear on the uni website but that does sound cheap for a Finance MSc.

The postgraduate loans aren’t designed to cover the cost of postgraduate study, they’re a contribution towards it which is why they sometimes don’t cover fees.

All the information on Government Postgraduate Loans is in this link, OP.

@Edmontine

All the information on Government Postgraduate Loans is in this link, OP.

Thankyou very much

Masters fees vary widely and often relate to supply and demand rather than actual cost. It is a way of Universities making money to subsidise other activities, or to keep less popular programmes running. The cost of DS' Masters was steep but helped by the discount he got for having been an undergraduate at the same University.

If you fancy a Masters in Finance at Imperial it will cost £ 37,500.00 for the year. An MBA is worse at £ 54,500.00, though in both these cases a bank might well give a career development loan.

Currently doing a part time masters, paid for with loan. You’ll get it if you don’t already have a masters and meet the criteria. It only goes up to I think £11000 though, but your course is less than that so that’s fine. The repayments are additional to your undergrad student loan though, the amount isn’t just tacked on to the first loan, something worth just knowing. So when it comes to repaying you’re paying two loans at once.

It's a two year part time course

Be a bit careful around this. In Scotland, and I guess the rest of the UK, the part-time length can't be more than (twice?) the length of the normal course. Also so no living cost support if part time.

Check whether the course you are interested in is available as a master's level apprenticeship.

Also, bear in mind that the value-add from a FT master's is often minimal to nil without applied experience. PT alongside relevant work is the best way to do one IMO, unless you're doing it purely for pleasure. I would be wary of relying on it to pay for itself otherwise unless you are in a position to be very secure that in your field it will.