New single mum thinking of studying

[Becci1990]

hi, I’m 29 and a new single mum

Im thinking of starting college next year to do an access to higher education diploma in the hope to then study at university

has anyone else done this as a single parent ? Are you entitled to any help?

At the moment I couldn’t afford to study full time and pay for my child plus a mortgage , but maybe if I could get some financial help , benefits / childcare etc I could do it

i want to better myself now for my daughter , and do something I actually want to do with better job prospects in the future

[Welshdad]

Hi Becci

Not sure what specific area you are looking for or even if you’ve chosen one yet, but take a look at these free courses in the first instance as you can learn at your own pace and get a feel for what interests you, it gives ideas then about what you can do later on.  If you’re going to invest in education the best advice I can give is NOT to do what I did and do something because you thout it would get you a job, but instead to focus on something that really interests you.  I can assure you it makes studying a hell of a lot easier and more worthwhile 🙂

https://www.futurelearn.com/

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses/full-catalogue

https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/online-learning/free-short-courses

https://www.theskillsnetwork.com/learners

https://www.cybrary.it/

http://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/study/further-learning/online-courses.aspx

https://www.khanacademy.org/

and here are some links for grants for education once you decide what to do 🙂

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/grants-education/

Best of luck and good on you for wanting to get back into education 🙂

[Missmc]

Hello, new here but saw your post and thought I could shed a little bit of light. I’m a single mum of 2 children and split from ex whilst I was at college doing an evening access course 2 nights a week with the hope of applying to study nursing st university…I didn’t think I’d be able to manage not only was it daunting now being a single parent but also I didn’t think I would manage financially.

Luckily I have a very supportive family who I had to move near to but that helped me out alot with childcare so I didn’t have that as a financial burden . I applied for benefits I was entitled to, I did some research online and used an entitlement calculator. In my area universal credit is rolled out so I had to attend a job centre for the initial assessment but they calculated it all and sorted it out.

I applied and got in to university and use student loans to live on! As a single parent I was entitled to parental learning allowance which is a grant on top of your loan that doesnt need to be paid back and also child dependent grant that doesnt need to be paid back, these are paid in installments along with your student loan. I also gave up my full time job and took on a zero hours contract allowing me to work whenever I choose to so it’s at my own leisure when I have free time from university/placements.

It’s not been easy however it hasnt been a major struggle either – and I’m in my final year now! And I honestly believe that if I can do it anyone can. Itll be the best decision you make and worth it in the end.

Hope this helps 🙂

[Welshdad]

Inspirational Missmc, really great to hear you’ve done well.  Fingers crossed for your final year! 🙂

[Becci1990]

Thank you ! You’ve both been really helpful – just all a little daunting as I’ve not been in education for over 14 years and I want to make sure I won’t be putting myself into any hardship if I choose this route !

Thanks again x

[BluebirdSue]

Hi Becci

Well done for making this step. It is better to do something you love than going for a job that will pay well but bore you.

I wish I paid attention to the subject matter in the college course I went on. I was the only one that failed the course. But I got financial help to give me the opportunity to do the course. Good luck 😀

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