University in the UK

strongbluebell

My son, who has 2 years to go before Leaving Cert, is very anxious to leave Ireland to go to college.
Not sure where to start in trying to find out how much all this will cost.
Can anyone give me a rough idea of what it would cost to fund a year in the Uk.
I'm thinking maybe €10k for fees, accomodation and living expenses. Is this anywhere near the mark.
Thanks

steve_

Im thinking of studying abroad in September next year and time site has been a great help

http://www.ucas.com/

Mary007

Most college fee's in the UK are in and around 3,000-4,000 for the year not including the cost of textbooks. I'd say you're fairly accurate with your 10k but do remember the student loans over there are a given and most people die with their loan as you do not have to pay it back rapidly and there are constant allowances e.g. if you get a job its postponed a year, if you get married its postponed a year etc etc.
And as fee's are coming in here too there won't be much of a difference soon!

He should consider Scotland as they have some good universities and free education!

Check www.ucas.com for more info!

truecrippler

Mary007 wrote: »

He should consider Scotland as they have some good universities and free education!

Check www.ucas.com for more info!

+1 on studying in Scotland. I would have studied there this year but was too far away from home :P. Great Universities and yes, it could well be a lot cheaper.

Good luck anyways.

zipped

Hi just want to come back to the comment about the student loans-

when you're from the republic of Ireland and studying in the UK you're in a very different position than uk students. You are not elligible for the student government loan system if you are not a UK citizen and resident in the UK.

The only grant you are elligible to apply for is the european student grant which is worth a try but this is means tested. You are not elligible for career and professional loans either if you are not a uk citizen and have not lived in the uk for 3 or more years right up until applying.

I found it quite difficult to even open a bank account in the UK without quoting a relatives / friends address- only one bank would open an account for me when I first moved over and as I was 17 at the time I still wasn't elligible for a student account as you must be 18.

The only thing I can say is living expenses and accomodation can be a lot cheaper in the uk. To give you some figures my fees for a year are £1285 and accomodation including all bills, internet etc is £2700- different regions may vary.

This all sounds very negative and I would in no way dissuade somebody from moving abroad to the uk for study- it's an absolutely fantastic experience and your son will end up being very independant because of it- but I'd like you to be aware of some obstacles you may come across-

directgov.co.uk has all the information you'll need in terms of finance- there's also studentfinance.co.uk- I think if you google egas aswell there may be some info there in terms of grants etc.

Each university will have a finance officer that will be glad to give you any information you need if you want to approach specific places directly.

steve_

so what other options are there for loans? im hoping to study in the university of Derby, the course is 3500 a year not to mention living and accommodation costs. Tis truly a pricey affair.

truecrippler

steve_ wrote: »

so what other options are there for loans? im hoping to study in the university of Derby, the course is 3500 a year not to mention living and accommodation costs. Tis truly a pricey affair.

I think there may be a bursary for that.

I'm going to be studying in Wales and will be getting a Welsh Assembly Grant that automatically pays half the University fee's and pays the other half which I have to owe back when I'm working or earning 15,000+ pound a year.

I remember reading something similar for the UK, I'll try dig it out for ya.