Advice for mature students

Hairdressing for NVQ 1 and 2
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hairdressing-NVQ-1-Bob-Woodhouse/dp/0340814942/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/203-0840279-8588736

First off ignore the dodgey answers on here from people trying to take advantage and suck you into some dodgey loan, reputable companies wouldn't be on here!

I'm a mature student, in my first year so have just been through the process. So long as you haven't been to university before you will qualify for a loan for your tuition fees. You will never see this money as it goes straight to the uni. You can also apply for a maintenance loan which at the moment is about £5000. You can then also apply for a grant, if you are earning £20000 or less (which I assume you will be when at uni) then you will qualify for a full grant of around £3000 which doesn't have to be paid back, the grant available then decreases up to a £50000 threshold. This will be offset against the amount of maintenance loan you can apply for. Finally when you apply tick the box to say you want to share your information as then the universities can access it and calculate how much of their bursary you are entitled to. All universities have to offer some kind of bursary to students who are paying full tuition fees however it is up to them how much and the criteria they use so some are better than others. You won't start paying your loans back until you have finished and are earning £15000 or more, if you drop below this then you stop. They don't affect your credit rating and have a low interest. If you have been to uni before then you will have to pay your tuition fees. I went to uni for 2 years at 18 and dropped out so am having to use my maintenance loan to pay for my first year.

I work a lot too as well as my full time degree. You will be able to find work at uni, I have 4 part time jobs where I meet loads of other students and get loads of experience.

Don't forget that student finance is somewhat up in the air with the new governent so this may well all change!

Good luck and if you can then do it, you'll love it!!

don't worry about your age, we have people in their late 30's studying Medicine in my class.

I think that staying in Halls is a good idea as you be socialising more with your fellow classmates - age doesn't matter, seriously. Plus you will have a better time staying in Halls.

Best of Luck, it's never too late to do anything.

You need A levels in Maths, Biology and Chemistry at grades AAB or AAA (as your a mature student you will have stiffer competition for a place.

She'll get the same loan and grant other students get. The only difference is they will look at her income not her parents.

Technically, you can apply via UCAS up to June, even though the deadline was in January. Realistically though there is not a huge chance of you getting a place now. Even at the lower ranked universities, law is a competitive subject and it is likely most will have filled up their places. Your qualifications are also very unlikely to be sufficient - partly because they are very low for a law degree, even at a low ranked uni, and partly because most universities want to see evidence of recent academic study, i.e. in the last three or so years max.

In addition, and assuming you want to go into law as a career, be aware that law places a lot more emphasis than many other professions on the 'prestige' of the uni you go to. This does depend to an extent on the kind of law you want to practice, and whether you plan to be a solicitor or barrister, but by going to the kind of uni that might potentially accept you with the qualifications you have now you will be massively limiting your options in terms of a career in law. A lot of firms and sets also consider A level results as well as degree results. You would most likely need a very good 2:1 or 1st, as well as good extracurriculars & work experience, to 'make up for' your A levels and university, even if you're going for the less competitive careers in law (e.g. solicitor in a high street firm specialising in criminal/family).

After all that doom & gloom, however, all is not lost. My recommendation to you is to forget about applying this year, and instead sign up for an access course at your local college starting this September. These are specifically designed for people like you - mature students who, for whatever reason, don't currently have the right qualifications to get into uni. They are a one year course, broadly equivalent to A levels. You will probably get the fees paid given that you don't currently hold a full level three qualification (three A level passes) but the support you get otherwise financially is pretty poor - just ALG which is £30 p/w. Most people just work part-time & try and live cheaply for the year!

Access courses are very respected by universities - a friend got into Oxford to study law on the basis of one, and I and many other friends easily got accepted into universities like Durham, Bristol, UCL, Manchester etc for various degrees. You would have a very good chance of getting in somewhere similar provided you do well enough on the course and your personal statement is up to scratch - universities tend to like the experience and dedication mature students bring. You can look here -
https://ava.qaa.ac.uk/SubSites/PublicSearch/search.aspx
for an access course provider near you - then just make an appointment with an adviser for a chat.

With regard to finance for uni - as you are over 25 your parents' income is irrelevant. The finance you get will depend on your earnings. You can look here -...

its just different people do different books, so as people cant cheat as much.
im doing Jekyll and Hyde, Julius Caesar and View From The Bridge, other people in my school are doing a Sherlock Holmes, Romeo and Juliet.
it vaires, but its all the same really.
just go on bbc's bitesize or something

im 23 and just started uni in september and its great and all my grades so far are B's and A - because i have a lot more life experience than these other students and uni is not just about course work they also mark you on how you answer the questions and if you have a lot more worldly experience than everyone else your answers are gonna be better.all my other class mates got C - and D's so i did al lot better than them cos of my age.and also the tutors treat me with a lot more respect because im a mature student the other kids arwe always joking around and not taking things seriously they always say if they fail there is always next year and obviously the tutors mark them accordingly.