Looking for advice on going to university as a mature student

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Afternoon all,

I'm currently in a reasonably well paid job (circa £24k) but I don't think it's for me and I'd love to wind the clock back and have gone to uni instead of sacking college off because I thought I was living the dream earning £200 p/w at KFC!
I'd go tomorrow if I could but unfortunately like an idiot I have got myself in to a sizable amount of debt and as such have a huge loan on top of mortgage as well as a new car to pay for etc etc and I'm wondering if anyone has been in a similar position and pulled it off.
I've been looking in to courses and quite like the sound of politics (possibly with media?) as it sounds quite interesting and I would like to think it would be seen on by employers as a good degree, what are peoples thoughts on that?
If I go my plan will be to use until next September to pay off as much debt as I can and if I decide to move away for Uni I will rent my house out. However, I'm only 45 minutes away from the UEA so I could look at living at home and travelling in.
Please don't flame me for my financial situation, I'm fully aware of my stupidity but instead please can someone enlighten me as to what financial help I could receive and whether or not I could realistically sign up to a degree. I've looked around and from what I can see I could get a grant of nearly £3k and borrow another £4k a year but I don't really want to get in any more debt, I'd rather work part time.
I've got 7 A-C GCSE's and just a C and D at A/S levels but I understand that if you are over 25, which I will be next March, you can start courses providing that you have some life experience and can handle yourself in an interview.

Thanks for your time, if anyone has any comments/advice I welcome your reply

Jonny
 
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I think there are more 'impressive' degrees than politics and media in terms of employment...

Also, set your sights on a reasonable university.
 
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Hmm yes I have thought that as well, I only started looking today and with so many courses it's hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. How do English and History usually fair as my problem is I'd have to do something that I have a personal interest in otherwise I know I won't pull my finger out. Oh, and I hear what you are saying about a reasonable uni, don't be disillusioned - I'm not expecting to walk in to Oxbridge!
 
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I think it's important to be clear on why you want to go to university, and what you hope to get out of it. You haven't said what you want to do, but I would be very careful before giving up a job to get a Politics/Media degree from UEA. You'll get further into debt while you are there, and it may not end up doing anything meaningful to help your job prospects. If you want to build up skills, there are other (and often better) ways than university. Consider evening classes/distance learning (e.g. Open University), and possibly even whether you can get your current employer to pay for you to develop yourself into a new area.

What kind of thing are you doing at the moment, and what direction do you think you might like to go in, work-wise?
 
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Maybe not oxbridge but somewhere with credibility. Not just credibility for a single subject either, the university needs to be good as a whole.

"I graduated from york / durham" sounds much better than "I graduated from plymouth, no, really, the xxx department there is really good, it is"

Where are you planning on going with a politics degree? it will probably take a few years of working as a graduate to be back on 24k.
 
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I think it's important to be clear on why you want to go to university, and what you hope to get out of it. You haven't said what you want to do, but I would be very careful before giving up a job to get a Politics/Media degree from UEA. You'll get further into debt while you are there, and it may not end up doing anything meaningful to help your job prospects. If you want to build up skills, there are other (and often better) ways than university. Consider evening classes/distance learning (e.g. Open University), and possibly even whether you can get your current employer to pay for you to develop yourself into a new area.

What kind of thing are you doing at the moment, and what direction do you think you might like to go in, work-wise?

This is good advice. University is not the fast track to success/higher wages/spiritual enlightenment that the government would have you believe.

Go because you're generally interested in your subject or because you want to grow as a person, otherwise you'll be wasting your money and time.
 
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Thanks for the replies so far, I'm looking in to the OU as well and like you say it may well be the best option if I do want a degree. My problem is and always has been that I still don't know what I want to do with my life! I'm only 24 and so far I've worked for the NHS, the Police and now in a school! I just find it annoying when I see a job advertised that I could do blindfolded but you need to have a degree to apply, not just that but I've got a real urge to learn at the moment (I think that comes from working in a school and seeing how much I took my education for granted at the time)
 
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Yes they'll pay a huge chunk of the cost of any part time courses I do but the problem is that I don't want to be in my current job for six years whilst I study!
 
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I doubt that studying politics at UEA will increase your earning potential much more. You're already earning the national average without a degree, I'd say go for the open university if you want to improve your education and go for jobs you are currently barred from without a degree.
 
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Best advise would to go for a science and maybe go into teaching. Otherwise I wouldnt bother unless you really know where you want to go. I would rather go for plumbing or electrician. I wish i'd done an apprenticeship instead of going uni all those years ago.
 
Soldato
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I funded my degree myself and then left when it suited me. I wouldn't have wanted to be at the place full time as a lot of the full timers were just too immature and irriating.
 
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I think if you're serious about going back to school you need to re-think the reasons for doing so. A degree in Politics and Media is all well and good, but it won't make you more marketable as an employee or candidate. If this is the kind of sacrifice you really want to make, be sure that it will amount to something once you're done. Don't pursue it as a flight of fancy, or to fulfil some deep-seeded desire to have the initials B.A.(Hons.) after your name on a business card.

As a mature student myself, I can tell you it will be extremely unsettling being forced to study alongside 17 year olds fresh out of their GCSEs. Going part-time might be a better idea considering you already have a job, and you can support yourself. Part-time studies are cheaper, and can be more fulfilling since you won't have to deal with the constant stress of exams and assignments all in one go.

Another important consideration, as has been highlighted already, is your choice of school. Don't pick the school closest to you simply for the sake of it: choose a school for the quality of its teaching staff, the research it does, the grants it provides, and its overall reputation that will inevitably factor into your marketability. If necessary, find a school with part-time distance learning, and complete modules from home in your spare time. The University of London has many such programs, and I think Nottingham has as well.
 
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Contact the UEA and ask about opportunities for mature students such as yourself. Even if you don't choose to go there the information they give you should let you know what your options are and what you need to do.
 
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