Plan ahead
If you're thinking about full-time postgraduate studies, then you should ideally start your planning a year ahead, as it's a huge financial commitment. And in most cases there's no Student Loans Company (SLC) loan to help you, although if you live in Scotland you might be eligible for help from the Student Awards Agency For Scotland (SAAS).
You should try to work out what your studies are likely to cost, in terms of fees, course costs and living expenses. Ask the universities you're considering applying to for an estimate. Of course, where you study will have a big impact on your finances, as the cost of living in a big city will be more expensive than in a smaller town.
The UKPASS website is the place to go to search for courses.
University funding
Firstly, you should check if your university offers financial support either through grants, bursaries or scholarships. In some cases, funding is also available through external organisations such as the Research Council, which provides Studentships for certain subjects, although this funding is being cut. These are usually advertised on the university website, alongside details of how to apply. If your university has a careers centre, it may be worth paying them a visit.
If you haven't chosen a university, you can search for scholarships by course via the Scholarship Search website.
Make sure you get your application in early, as funding is usually snapped up quickly.
Make work pay
As mentioned earlier, if you're doing a postgraduate course, you will not normally be eligible for a loan through the SLC. Exceptions to this rule are university-based postgraduate teacher training courses such as a PGCE or a PGDE. If you qualify, you will able to apply for a student loan on the same terms as other students studying for their first higher education course.
In addition, you could also apply for a training bursary. Bursaries range from £4,000 up to £25,000, depending on the subject you train to teach and your undergraduate degree and/or work experience. There's more information on the Department for Education website.
If you're from England and you're training for social work, you could be eligible for a Social Work Bursary. There's more information on this NHS website. In Scotland, this is provided by the Scottish Social Services Council. In Wales, this comes from the Care Council for Wales (Cyngor Gofal Cymru).
And if you're training for a medical career, you can apply for a Student Bursary from the NHS. There's more information on this NHS website.
Career loans
Not planning to embark on a teaching, social work or medical course? No problem. If your course is geared towards helping your career prospects, you could always apply for a Professional and Career Development Loan (PCDL).
This is a special type of loan where you can borrow anything between £300 and £10,000 to help fund a variety of courses to help improve your job skills.
PCDLs are available in partnership with the Government and two high street banks: Barclays and the Co-operative Bank. The great thing about a CDL is that the Government pays the interest on your loan while you're learning, and for one month after you've stopped. You then repay the loan to the bank over an agreed period at a fixed rate of interest.
It is important to note that you will be responsible for paying back the loan even if you do not complete your course. Also, the interest rates for PCDLs tend to be higher than for a personal loan. At the time of writing, the Co-op and Barclays were offering fixed APRs of 9.9%. You could apply for a personal loan once you've graduated though and pay it off more cheaply.
Use your bank account
Your student bank account will usually come with a free overdraft so take advantage of that if you need to. Many banks and building societies also offer a graduate account to smooth the transition into the working world and allow you to pay off your overdraft in manageable chunks.
Check out charities and trusts
Various charities and trusts may offer grants and bursaries, depending on what you're studying and where you're studying it.
The first place to head to research these is your local library, where you should check:
- the Educational Grants Directory;
- the Charities Digest;
- the Grants Register;
- the Directory of Grant Making Trusts.
The Family Action website also has a grant search facility for students from poorer backgrounds.
MORE ON STUDENT FINANCE
The best student bank accounts