PoppetUK

Hi all.

Hubby has finally got his offer letter for university. He wants to do the 4th year of psychology here in WA.

We have pr status and will apply for citizenship in march. Currently hubby works full time and I work part time. We have 2 small children and one due in April.

Hubby is going to do the 4th over 2 years and try to work full time. Can anyone that knows the uni system and govt help side of things tell us where to look with affording it. The stimulus package will mean we have less to find for the fees but anything else that you may know about would really be appreciated. Course fees alone are $13k. Ouch.

Cheers

Poppet

JAJ

Is that a domestic fee or international?

PoppetUK

Domestic post graduate fee. Looks like the course might be a commonwealth assist course and the lady did seem to indicate that hubby would get this. I think that will bring fees down to around $5k

Finding it a bit of a mind field. Thanks in advance for any responses.

Smartinis

Unfortunately I think that with a post grad degree that there is much less chance of funding. Some post grad certificates or diplomas will allow you to claim Aus study if you are eligible but most masters courses (except if it is in the medical field) don't normally qualify for any assistance. This does vary with uni to uni though so you will need to check. Our son returned to qld yesterday to start his masters and isn't entitled to any youth allowance or aus study even though he is a citizen now. Only citizens can also get HECS help as a PR you won't be entitled to this either or the up front discount given to Aussie citizens, one of the drawbacks of being PR. I know because we had to pay all our sons fees and accommodation for the first 2 years without HECS until he took citizenship last year. He has never been able to claim youth allowance because we earn over the threshold about $40000 I believe. If your husband is going to work full time I would be suprised if you will be entitled to any support. But check with Centrelink. I don't think it is dealt with by them exactly but they will be able to give you the right people to contact.

Sorry but I know having a son at uni has cost us a small fortune, No2 starts uni as well in a couple of weeks!! Our mortage just goes up each year instead of down.

asprilla

when does the course start? and is the $13k due in one lump sum? Perhaps you can negotiate payments per term or year?

If it starts in e.g. 2010, then you can spend a year saving cash and perhaps making prepayments into your homeloan. Then, when the course starts, you can perhaps pay for year 1 by taking a redraw of $6k out from your homeloan.

I know this post doesn't really help you find the $13k that you need, but it does show you that there may be ways to push the $$$ problem out until 2011.

cheers

jayr

As PR you are likley to pay a domestic fee rather than international.

I assume the $5ki or $13k is an annual cost. I believe most Unis allow payment by semester, or by term, meaning you may at least be able to break this down into 2 (or 3) chunks.

Smartinis

As a PR you are entitled to a domestic fee, but mske sure that this is a commonwealth supported place as that will makw the difference between the $13K and $5-7K. Not all places are allocated as Commonwealth places, these are usually for those with the best ENTER score. If you don't get one of these then you have to pay for the course at a full fee rate. Yes, most uni's you pay be Semester so in two halves.

Stitch

University may have some form of scholarships. i.e. mature students, name begining with .... etc. Call and ask.

Cheers

Ginny

Smartinis

Is the 4th year course hes doing his Hons year? If so then once you get citizenship (and that can take several months) he should be able to apply for HECS and this will mean that he won't have to pay his fees back until his course is finished. If hes doing it over 2 years you will normally pay over the 2 years as you pay for the number of units you are taking each semester not by course. This should help to spread the cost and hopefully you won't have to pay too much before your citizenship comes through.

Good luck