University and being a mum

[aiiyl]

Hi!
I'm planning on starting full time university in February with the Open University, I'm a mum to a VERY busy 19 month old little girl who doesn't start Flying Start until April.
I was wondering how other mums handle university and being a mum? With it being the Open University I can go at my own pace (within reason) but I still worry about falling behind!
I also worry about the money aspect and funding. I understand that I can get grants and student finance but I'm unsure how much exactly I can get yet (still need to sort it out).
Thanks!

Good luck @aiiyl
One of my friends and my sister did this, both as single mums to young children. In each case they worked full time too, so absolute superwomen. One finished and now has an amazing career, but the other dropped her course. Its workable if you are strict with your routine. The one who completed was organised, she set a strict bedtime for the DC each night and then concentrated on her uni work. The one who didn't completed is a little more chaotic in her approach to life. She found she was okay with a young child on a bricks and mortar setting as it gave her routine, but not Open Uni.

You can get a tuition fee loan for the OU, but maintenance (ie money to live on) depends on where you live - in England you can only get a maintenance loan if you have a disability that means you are unable to attend a bricks-and-mortar university. It's different in Scotland and Wales. I think you can get a limited amount towards childcare, but it's not huge. If you are entltled to maintenance loan, deductions are made from universal credit, if you are in receipt of that.

There is a catch in the government rules that means that if you start in February, it's usually best to start part-time. That's because you can't start more than 120 credits in a 12 month period, and because most second year courses only start in October, if you start 120 credits in Feb 2027, you then have to wait until Oct 2028 to start more. There are a minority of degree pathways that do have more Feb start modules, in which case this might not apply.
Starting part-time has other advantages - particularly if you're going to be short on the childcare for the first couple of months!