Hi all I am so desperately wanting to start uni online, but I'm terrified!!!!!! Not too much with the actual work but the cost, it's such a big debt plus textbooks and just coping in general with family life vs uni life, any other mummies doing this or similar? How are you coping? I live fairly rural so there isn't any uni's close by so I'm concerned with access to text books, I know I can by them but they are almost $100 a pop, do you have any tricks of the trade for textbooks,ie is there anywhere that loans them that can post? Plus I'm terrified I'll get into all this debt (hecs) and not be able to secure a job in the field I want ( psychology) any and all advice will be greatly appreciated! Right now I'm battling my hearts desire to study this and the reality of my bills and kids and I'm scared to take that leap
4 Replies
I'm currently at tafe and will be applying for uni in july. I know how you feel that amount of debt hanging over you is really daunting. It's a big deal it's normal to be a little scared. I would check out what pathways you have and decide what's best for you personally I had 2 options the one I wanted to do would have left me with an extra 20000 debt so I've gone another route. I've also researched job prospects after I graduate so I know what my chances are of getting a job I'm fairly confident it's a growing field it's eased my stress about the cost a bit☺ at the end of the day you won't know until you try it. If your really passionate about this and will stick it out go for it.
Don't even think about the HELP debt. You pay that later and you won't even know any different. You will just get a huge pay rise when it's all paid (it took me 7 years but that's me now. Love it!)
I was in a minimum wage job. Went to uni and fu*k it was hard work! Financially, emotionally, physically. It was uni, work and my kids. There was no room for anything else!
Now I have a job that pays over twice the amount I was getting in my minimum wage job. In one year I get paid the same amount I would have got in 2 and a half years! Crazy!!
It's good now trust me. Definitely worth the hard work and sacrifices I made back then :)
I'm not sure about the text book loan option. Speak to someone who has done the course and ask them what text books you absolutely NEED. There are so many journal articles etc online and text books go out of date so quick that journal stickers are more credible anyway. So you don't really need to buy ALL the text books. Might be hard for you to find that information out since you're studying online... Check eBay, gumtree, forums etc to see if you can get the text book second hand. Most students sell them off when they're finished with them.
Great reply :)
I'm 6 subjects away from finishing my degree and also worried about my job prospects (different career to yours) but couldn't imagine doing anything else. In regards to textbooks, second hand ones will be your best friend. Check out textbook buy swap sell pages etc, you'll find some of the textbooks you need for half the price. Some textbooks will be really recent though and you may have to buy them brand new. Shop around though, you can save a lot by checking out different places, I use Booko to compare prices :-) Take it slow when you start, don't try and take on too much. Uni's have census dates and you can drop units by census and not pay for them if you think you've taken on too much. Good luck and enjoy :-)