Dont know what to do - whether to go to uni or not with zero funding ?

[Huddersfieldlass]

Hi
Im in a real cross roads in my life and dont know what to do. I dropped out of my art course 20 years ago due to my dad becoming very ill in and out of hospital and stress of it all actually made me ill at the time. I went to work in a bank and worked my way up to be a senior manager from a temp but always wanted to work in art as a career it always haunted me what happed. I kept my hand in art and did evening courses etc whilst also wanting a family and having difficulties with that. Our first son died shortly after birth 4 years ago and I luckily went on to have another son 2 years ago who is healthy and happy boy very grateful. This year Ive really thought about going back to uni to finish my degree and after interviews have been offered a place starting second year of a foundation art degree starting in september. I have volunteered at a charity one morning a week for 6 months teaching art to the disabled and have a sabatical from work for a year to be able to return if i so choose next november. Unfortunatley at the last moment a large spanner has been thrown in im having a nightmare with student finance they keep moving goal posts as to why im being declined funding and im stuck trying to argue that with them. Im not sure what to do I have some savings and the place ive been volunteering have offered me a part time job around uni but low paid. Not sure whether to at least do the next year and get a foundation art degree even if it means paying for it myself and funding myself or not doing it at all and just seeking more paid work in art as I build up my experience. My worry is we have a house and mortgage and my partner is about to start a new job himself. We have already had so much stress with the death of our first son i dont want to add more to us both. Im also scared of failing again. Ive looked at our finances and made savings on that front and think it will work technically on paper but just worrying about whats round the corner especially right now. When i started this journey to get back into it the world wasnt as it is now with war in ukraine and the impact of that on cost of living. My heads just fried thinking about it all. Im going to carry on arguing it with student finance but unlikely will be sorted for my start date now so have to think i may be funding it myself. If anyone can offer any advice i would be grateful.

Why are they rejecting funding?

By 'foundation degree', do you mean that the course in total would be 2 years, leading to an award of something like 'FdBA'?

What year were you in when you dropped out of your previous course?

It's the having previously studied at the same level which is relevant and the formula is 'length of current course, plus one year, minus previous years of study'. That is years started, not years completed. So possibly '1 year, plus one year, minus - x years' knocks out funding for the actual first (in this case, only?) year being applied for now? Even if some funding were still claimable, it is the 'further' years of the course that woukd be funded, not the first year, presumably to try to stop 'serial droppers out' from being funded.

Exceptions to the number of years of previous study being deducted can be made where the student left the course due to certain personal circumstances such as ill health/ pregnancy / bereavement, but evidence woukd be required.

(Sorry, @Huddersfieldlass , I'm just surmising here snd may be wildly out re your own current situation).

Sorry you’re having difficulties OP. I’m not sure you’re aware there is a dedicated Mature study and retraining board here:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

You would undoubtedly find it helpful and reassuring to read some of the threads there. And MNHQ would happily move your thread to that topic if you ask via the Report button.

Hi thanks for trying to help. i dropped out part way through second year. I have a place rejoining at second year as I recieved a Higher national certficate for the work I had completed and credits attained. But thats classed as Level 4 qualification. Im joining second year of Level 5 qualification. So there reasons was ELQ that I had a qualification higher grade which is incorrect. I explained above to them via appeal form and supplied copy of my HNC. Now they saying they wont accept an appeal from me yet. I need to now upload a doctors note covering what happened 20 years ago. ?? Firstly thry declined due to rejoining at same level I explained I wasnt and provided evidence of this. Now they are saying I need a doctor or tutor to confirm what happened. Its taken weeks to get these responses back from them I applied in May for funding. Just feel dejected with the whole process. I have repayed my loan years ago plus interest and rejoining at year 2 so I dont understand why im being out through thr ringer like this. I will get a foundation degree at the end of this year if i start in september. I feel like i should just go for it to be honest. As Ive worked hard to get here and dont want to give up on my dream to be an art therapist. Thanks everyone it helps to just offload all this my heads fried.

I'd go for it. It's your dream to study the course, you'd always regret not doing it. None of us know what's around the corner so you need to grab these joys whilst you can.

Is the funding issue because an Art Foundation is classed as FE rather than HE, so once you are over 19 you must pay your own fees. My relative was in the same position and self funded the Foundation year, then received student finance for the undergraduate course.

Thanks @MuddlerInLaw ive asked for it to be moved :)

I hope you work things out.

Do you actually have enough savings to cover the almost £10k tuition fees if not? That's a lot of money to spend on a degree! I doubt you would get that money back in terms of earnings and it would cover a lot of other course fees in art short courses

Thanks so much @RoseGardenSummer. I think thats what Im going to do I think just got a wee bit scared but I know I can do it. Helps to hear about their experience hopefully thats how it goes for me too. Thank you

@ArcticSkewer I will be okay for this year of the course its just beyond that, where it would get tricky. If I was to make it to a BA Hons it wouldnt be as easy to think if I should go for it. Yes take on board what your saying thats what I have been thinking through but its something Ive wanted to do for many many years. I have done evening courses upon evening courses but I guess Im at a point where if I want to

Good luck, OP!

I don't have anything much to add in the way of advice (I self-funded through a graduate degree but was working part time), but people might need some clarification: an art FOUNDATION DIPLOMA is a one-year course which is free to under 19s, and means that you can progress to a degree. An art FOUNDATION DEGREE (FdA) is a two-year course (where OP would skip the first year). An FdA can be topped-up to a full Bachelor's Degree (BA) by adding one more year, not necessarily at the same uni. It's confusing!

(Also, to add to the chaos, many art schools and unis offer a 'degree with foundation' which is a 4-year BA but doesn't give you the foundation diploma at the end of Y1 so you can't move to a different place. These are aimed at people whose portfolio isn't good enough to get onto the regular course.)

Don’t give up as I think you really need to do this. You’ve been through so much and I think the course would be so good for you and your future.
As hard as it is, please keep persevering with SF - can a future tutor or admissions intervene to help you with that side of things? Good luck.

Yes thats the difference in courses @PhotoDad i have the foundation diploma already This is the degree and then moves on to the BA. But I do get a distinct foundation degree at the end of this next year. Thanks for explaining that better then I did myself.

@Houseplantmad ive just been thinking that myself, i do need it. My little boys death changed our life like a bomb went off in 2018 and its taken me a lot to get to this point both emotionally and academically (doing short evening courses) building my confidence to do this. It means a lot to me and people spend money on all sorts of different passions and interests this is just my thing and something im good at and get strength from. Thank you for the encouraging words.

@Houseplantmad sorry forgot to add Yes I will speak to them when I start if still not resolved which doesnt look likely at this point and will ask for advice/help - thank you

I was confused until I read photodad ‘s post. When I did it there was only the year Foundation Course and then on to the three year BA degree, the foundation didn’t get accommodation funding so people did it locally and then often moved for their degree which was funded like any other.
So I assume that you should be able to get loan funding for your BA now,
I am very sorry for your loss. You have been through such a lot, I hope this issue gets sorted out quickly.

Hi OP, one thing I would suggest is if you want to be an Art Therapist you will usually need a BA Hons course to get onto an Art Therapy Master’s course in order to be a registered Art Therapist. They are also extremely competitive courses to get onto. So you will need to consider if you can afford/ get funding to complete a BA Hons and a Master’s degree in the future if you wish to be an Art Therapist. I’m unsure if you can do a 1st degree in Art Therapy in the UK, think they might only be offered at Master’s level so something worth thinking about before spending a lot of money on your foundation course! Xx

I'm also very sorry about that awful situation and your loss, @Huddersfieldlass. I do think that getting that degree and changing course would be an excellent thing, if the finances can be worked out.

I got thoroughly confused by foundations etc; my DD is starting art-school next week (!) and although I have a good knowledge of the UCAS system, it's a completely different world in art & design.

Hi yes @Nellynoo182 thats partly why im in a quandry what to do now. Iam already teaching art in a care setting Ive been doing that for 6 months and plan to continue that over the year they have offered me a low paid position doing that which im able to do within terms of my sabbatical. Also completed level 1 and 2 counselling course this year and have a place for level 3. Basically been doing all this to try and make my app stand out for an art therapy masters course. To be honest though either way doing this qualification will be good for me and still have option to continue on for a further year and make it a BA Hons degree. If i can work everything out.. just feels like stepping off a ledge at the moment holding my breath and hoping for the best.

Thanks @PhotoDad it is complicated the qualification options/routes with art. Thank you for your kind words appreciated. Iam going to go for it and try and just take it one step at a time. It will mean a lot to me just getting this even if i cant go further and will mean I can at least look at adult teaching art up to level 5 so still gives me options even if i cant go do what im aiming for right now.

Good luck to your DD @PhotoDad

@SirVixofVixHall it's still true that Foundation Diplomas don't get accommodation funding. But the four-year "degree with foundation" courses do, even though the first year of those is normally very very similar to the diplomas.
(My DD managed to get straight onto Year 1 of a degree, without doing the foundation, as she already knew exactly what her speciality would be. She's extended the course it to four years with a "sandwich" placement year, as it's design rather than fine art. That has different funding rules again, because of course it does.)

Thank you, @Huddersfieldlass! Keep us posted about your art journey and your battles with Student Finance!

Will do thanks a lot @PhotoDad :)

There is funding out there but it isn't easy to get.

Start with your uni - can they offer a discount on fees or a bursary?

The next bit is time consuming, there are charities and organisations that offer funds. Your local library and your uni library will have a copy of ," the directory of grantmaking trusts" - 1st link below.

What I used to do was spend the first two weeks of my uni holiday setting up a database of the trusts I was contacting, I then wrote a letter to each (I soon learned how to use mail merge), stating my circumstances and asking for an application form.

Out of the 50 or so I contacted about half replied, some turned me down, some sent me application forms, one sent me a £10 and another sent me a cheque for £1000. I got other amounts, some paid to my uni, others to me.

This was early 2000s a lot more is done online - other links below.

Obviously keep chasing student finance but there is other help. Local organisations sometimes have funds eg Round table.

Lots of them have odd wording because they were set up by victorian philanthropists, I remember one was worded, "to help the impotent of the parish"

www.dsc.org.uk/publication/the-directory-of-grant-making-trusts-2022-23/

fundraising.co.uk/2022/01/24/funding-guides-the-reading-list/

www.dsc.org.uk/publication/grants-individuals-need-2022-23/

Just to add, these are one off charitable payments so don't attract income tax or interfere with any benefits.