But you need academic strength to get scholarships and I lack that. I went to school a few times on my own dime, but in California community colleges are inexpensive and affordable. Full-time you don't even need 1,000 a semester for most (some of the short term stuff costs more).

Same course load at various schools here would be 3,000-5,000 a year based on the schools websites.

In Canada, they are not affordable and paying out of pocket tuition that is more then our total annual income, is simply impossible.

I haven't found any scholarships available for a 6 month program, to a 36 year old with no long term academic strength.

From our brains, and working with the school financial aid office, we have not been able as of now to find a viable way to pay the tuition, let alone the daily gas cots, tolls, and associated expenses.

Tuition costs are simply a barrier some people cannot break down, that is how the system works.

I certainly sympathize with your situation, I'd imagine its very frustrating. Unfortunately that's the system. From a Machiavellian perspective, "the system" has to ration itself, usually through a combination of qualifications for entry and cost. If it didn't, who would do all the lower paid jobs for low pay?

I bet your nan did though.

I was also able to avoid draining the parental fount, albeit in my home country, all the way through to D.Phil.

You're clearly younger than I've imagined you to be because "credit card debt" was unheard of at the time.

I love the smell of progress in the morning.

I'm sympathetic too, JS, however I have absolutely no idea how the system works in BC; I find the QC system convoluted enough, although it seems there are more openings here for "mature", unemployed, people to access further education without paying exhorbitant fees. Mainly college-level/vocational diplomas.

I do realise that your dilemma is also complicated by not being able to move provinces without your wife risking the loss of her disability payments.

Have you looked at the SFU evenings/weekends program? That you can do at a class at a time and there isn't a Math requirement as such (depending on the degree you want to do). You would need a Q (quantitative) class which you can get from another college (I'm doing Critical Thinking at Douglas, no math at all!)

Once I pass that, I can transfer over to SFU and I don't have to do any kind of math at all.

It's called SFU NOW, might be worth a look?

I remember when I was at school in the 80s my father took me and a couple of friends to open days at a couple of places and I also went with groups from school to some other places so I had a look at a few Manchester, Sheffield, Cambridge, Nottingham. Didn't go to any of them in the end but it was worth seeing them.

The sums of money seem tiny compered to now days but between the parental contribution, maintenance grant and local authority paid tuition fees and summer/Christmas jobs it was fairly straightforward financially. It wasn't Mrs T who jacked up tuition fees at least.

Eldest son just started at UofT. I would have preferred him to go to a UK university but that didn't happen. He didn't apply to any Alberta universities and I don't think many of his friends did either. The ones who got better grades went to places like UBC, UofT, Waterloo (waste of good grades) and Queens. The ones who got poorer grades went to places like Regina. Toronto required a skype type video recording of answers to questions as part of the application - none of the others he applied to required that so there was no interview at all. No one in his year applied to McGill. I tend to find that the biggest evangelists for places generally promote Waterloo, McGill and Queens.