Paying for Your Education

If you are like me, one of the biggest questions I had to answer before committing to a degree in the UK was how to find the money! Forgive me for stating the obvious, but UK tuition is expensive…and it is rising every year. I managed to pull enough together in the forms of loans and one small (Canadian) government grant to cover the one year of my masters course. Now I am applying to do a PhD and unfortunately the math just doesn’t work out well. One year is one thing, but three more…not even close to possible. In order to continue I NEED help. So my new past time? Searching for anyone anything anywhere to help me! It can be worth it to know what is available at any level of study…granted, the further up you go in your studies, the more there is available, but either way, it is good to know your options.

The first place to look is university websites – Essex has a scholarship finder tool that helps to narrow down your search based on your degree, nationality etc.

http://www.essex.ac.uk/studentfinance/scholarships/scholarship_finder.aspx

Unfortunately for me it only brings up two possibilities. The first being a sports scholarship (and I am decidedly unathletic!) The second is the Essex Social Science Research Scholarship. While there is money available, and it is worth applying, the unfortunate financial reality in this country means less and less is available every year (that is the apparent trend at least…)

My point is not to be gloomy, but to emphasize how important it is to continue the search. You never know what is out there. A piece of advice I received recently… no scholarship is ever too small. People tend to gravitate towards the large amounts and so there are mountains of applicants for those scholarships, while the smaller ones or those that require you to write an essay often have fewer applicants and therefore less competition…and small amounts can add up!!! When I see an essay requirement, first I groan, then I try to think how much I would earn per hour of essay writing if I were successful...

Anyway, moving on… There are all kinds of scholarship and grant finders online. Probably ones that you find in your own country’s Google search are the most relevant, but this is an example:

http://www.studentcashpoint.com/default.aspx

There also exists a Grant Bible (aka The Grants Register)…. This amazingly thorough resource is unfortunately not available online, but is certainly available in all university libraries and possibly public libraries in the UK. (Its coverage is worldwide, maybe it is at your uni library too…?) You can catch a glimpse of its amazingness online… but sorry, no Google Books preview… L

http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?pid=402973

If you need to chuckle at the enormousness of the financial commitment, check this one out:

http://www.postgrad.com/editorial/masters-funding-infographic/

If you need financial help in order to come to the UK next year, now is the time to be looking and applying. Don’t assume there is nothing out there… there are research councils and charities galore… you just have to find the ones that are applicable to you. If you know of a useful site please share the link in the comments section! 

Emily

Campus Accomodation vs. Private Rent

For better or worse, all students can spend their first year living right on campus; in the second year though, European Union and home students are thrown into the wild to house hunt. Which accommodation is better? This really depends on what you value more:

-   Is it money? Campus accommodation can be very reasonably priced if you go for the economical choices. Towers are about 70 pounds a week, compared to ensuite rooms (with bathroom included) which are around 110 pounds a week. Private rents vary a lot depending on how cool your house is, where it is, whether you have your bills included or not... Normally they are between 250 and 380 pounds a month. So there’s not that much of a difference compared to ensuite (South Courts, Quays, Houses), but Towers definitely save you money.

Private houses have a big added cost, though. Internet is normally not included (around 8 pounds a month), nor is the TV license (I’ve no idea how much this costs--we just use Playstation and DVDs in my house), plus lunch every day. If you don’t pack your lunch like I started doing, you end up spending a looot of money built up from snacks (which take up a whole corridor in the Campus Shop, so evil!), sandwiches or proper sit-down lunches. If you live on campus though, you can just go up to your house to have something to eat if you’re hungry—you’re probably not going to walk to your house and back for the free hour that you have, even if it’s just a 20 minute walk!

-   Housemate-picking? You don’t get to choose who you live with in your first year... If you pick the Towers, you will live in a flat with 15 other people. Though you would have to be very unfortunate to have all of them to be unbearable/ antisocial/ awfully messy, for your second year you can pick your favourite people and live with them in a house all of your own. This means you live with your best friends, but it’s also bound to be quieter—Towers are the most sociable accommodation and you make 15 instant friends/acquaintances, it’s a lot of fun. South Courts and Houses have a reputation for being quieter (not always true of course), so if you want to lead a calmer way of life then probably go for these two. Or the Quays, but these are further away from the main buildings- about a 15 minute walk away.

- What about hygiene? Luckily, during my first year the flat was cleaned every day; some of us got to bond with the cleaner. Since 2011 though, accommodation is cleaned once a week. When I heard about this I had flashbacks of my kitchen bursting from rubbish and dirty dishes after just a week-end; I was thankful to live well away from those flats. But I’ve heard from friends that it’s actually not that bad at all since they worked out a few strategies, like leaving any unwashed dishes on top of the offender’s bed or splitting the loos—a very English term for bathroom-- into Girls and Boys (we did this in my first year and it was just another girl and I on our side of the flat, yeah!). You’ll have to clean your own house in the second year, so it’s up to you how tidy you keep it. Unfortunately for me, my house has been hoovered once in 5 months.

-   Convenience: Oh, how I miss leaving the flat 5 minutes before a class and still arriving on time! Having a rest in my own flat between lectures! Revising in the library and going up to my flat to grab some lunch before going back! Going on nights out on campus, and then just having to walk two minutes to be in my warm bed! Distance was definitely the best part of living on campus accommodation, it is so convenient!

In any case, I really valued (am valuing) the experience of living off-campus this year: house-hunting, having my own house to decorate, having a living room! Big plus to live very near Tesco (the student supermarket par excellence) and just pop in whenever I need any ingredients! And don’t think it’s difficult to find a house; there are loads of student houses around, whether you want to live with up to 6 people or even a nice apartment on your own. The university does help you out too. Personally, I’m going to try to live on campus next year by finding a place in the Resident’s Support Network (RSN): I miss campus!!

P.S: If you’re not in the European Union, you can actually apply for accommodation on your second and third year too ;).

Speak soon!

xoxo

Ana