Permanent Residency and Student Loans

[Ericadslv]

Good day everyone,

I am Amandio, Erica's very stressed son.

I have been searching every corner of the internet to try and find information about student loans for permanent residents. I feel like I am getting nowhere. So next best thing I could think of was to use my mother's profile to ask some of the experts (I read some of the posts using my mother's profile sometimes). So my question is, since I am interested in beginning my studies as an undergraduate, what are my options in order to get financial assistance? (The fees are extremely high and I cannot actually afford it with my weak Rands).

What I have discovered so far:
HECS loans are only for Australian Citizens and Humanitarian Visa Holders.
Same applies for Fee-help.

I am only concerned about the beginning of my studying career as I am quite confident that I would be able to get an academic scholarship. (I am interested in studying mechanical engineering). I do plan on going to the universities personally to get more information but I am trying to gather as much information as I can, as soon as I can. I feel that I could never be too prepared.

Any help/information would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. I am extremely excited for the move in February, I would leave tomorrow if I had a choice.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Jordy
Admin removed surname

[qwerty]

Think this site will help you find the info you need: http://www.studyassist.gov.au/sites/StudyAssist

It tells you what government study assistance you are eligible for as a permanent resident.

[Ericadslv]

Hi @qwerty,

Thank you very much for the link. I have been on that website. There isn't anything on there for the path that I am interested in. I am running into dead ends all over

[timothy]

There is Youth allowance & Austudy.

You do not have to be a citizen, but you need a PR. The only catch is there is a 2-year waiting period once you arrive in Australia.

I also could not find any student loans. The reason is, there is HECS for citizens, so banks don't care about the rest. (Also too much risk for them)

There is actually one I found but the amount you can borrow was only $5000 and you had to be in your final year.

Best is to get a part-time job as you get paid very well in Australia.

If you find anything else I would also like to know.

Ciao mate

[Ericadslv]

Thank you very much Timothy. Im starting to think that the only thing I can actually do is work a full year to save up, as I have missed the registration period for 2015 already, then use the money I save to fund my studies initialy and work hard to get scholarships. I will let you know if I do discover anything.

Ciao

[Mara]

Armandio, have you tried trawling the individual universities websites to see if they offer any scholarships that may pertain to you?

I know of someone a few years back that got into a well known university in the USA, because she found a full scholarship for someone from a third world country to study medicine!

[rozellem]

Is there any courses/subjects you could do at Tafe and can get Uni credit for when you eventually go there? Or an type of related apprenticeship? So that you dont "waste" your time till Uni.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

@Amandio, do ypu have a South African passport ot EU passport. I only ask because of the surname. If you dobhave an EU passport and it's part of the Commonwealth then you may also he able to look into what the call Commonwealth assisted places at some of the uni's.

[timothy]

You only need PR to get a CSP (Commonwealth Supported Place)

I would not except any other offer.

Even with this CSP offer Uni's cost R90,000+ per year for an engineering degree.

Rozellem has a good idea.

I know they give credit for Unisa (south africa) degree modules. So you could even do that. Unisa being cheapest probably??

Mara, I have looked last year and there was exactly 0. But worth a check again.

Mostly rural scholarships.

Amandio, most Uni courses can be started mid year, which I think I'm going to have to do.

[OubaasDik]

Is there any courses/subjects you could do at Tafe and can get Uni credit for when you eventually go there? Or an type of related apprenticeship? So that you dont "waste" your time till Uni.

Was going to suggest this, but waited for someone to pull out the "magic" - "But OBD, you are an idiot - in the xyz.gov.au website they give away bursaries for children from the 3rd world and a bare subsistence allowance for their families of $100,00 per annum. As usual we are trying to get these paltry offers increased".

Yes, some tafe courses are credits for uni - see what you can do. All I can offer ...

[Ericadslv]

Thank you to everyone for the advice and suggestions.

Armandio, have you tried trawling the individual universities websites to see if they offer any scholarships that may pertain to you?

I know of someone a few years back that got into a well known university in the USA, because she found a full scholarship for someone from a third world country to study medicine!

I've been looking for scholarships and im still unsure what my circumstances have to be in order to get some of them AND whether I can apply for the scholarships before I am even enrolled.

Is there any courses/subjects you could do at Tafe and can get Uni credit for when you eventually go there? Or an type of related apprenticeship? So that you dont "waste" your time till Uni.

I haven't checked that yet, if I find no resolution to my dilemma by mid 2015, I will go into something like that.

@Amandio, do ypu have a South African passport ot EU passport. I only ask because of the surname. If you dobhave an EU passport and it's part of the Commonwealth then you may also he able to look into what the call Commonwealth assisted places at some of the uni's.

I do have an EU passport but as Timothy has said, a permanent residency is enough for commonwealth assistance which still leaves a large lump of debt.

You only need PR to get a CSP (Commonwealth Supported Place)

I would not except any other offer.

Even with this CSP offer Uni's cost R90,000+ per year for an engineering degree.

Rozellem has a good idea.

I know they give credit for Unisa (south africa) degree modules. So you could even do that. Unisa being cheapest probably??

Mara, I have looked last year and there was exactly 0. But worth a check again.

Mostly rural scholarships.

Amandio, most Uni courses can be started mid year, which I think I'm going to have to do.

I am gonna apply for entry midyear if I do manage to pull off the miracle of finding funding.

Was going to suggest this, but waited for someone to pull out the "magic" - "But OBD, you are an idiot - in the xyz.gov.au website they give away bursaries for children from the 3rd world and a bare subsistence allowance for their families of $100,00 per annum. As usual we are trying to get these paltry offers increased".

Yes, some tafe courses are credits for uni - see what you can do. All I can offer ...

Is that $10'000? Even then, accommodation or residency still leaves me with a huge issue as I haven't got any family there with whom I can board. So still gotta find a solution. Would be so easy if the HECS loans were allowed for us. then again, that would be handing it to immigrants on a silver platter.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice and suggestions.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Ericadslv

[rozellem]

I think the idea of actual engineering subjects through Unisa is a very good one. Dont loose momentum with studying, while you search for a solution for your problem. My nieces could not study because of not qualifying for Hecs. They both came down to Sydney and worked as au pairs for over 2 years, now both at Uni in Syd. The one is a exceptional student, MacQuarie Uni is making a great fuss over her now, and although they knew this before, it did not expedite her case. Good luck.

[AmandioJNR]

Hi @rozellem,

I've created an account for myself. That sounds like something I had in mind. Working to save up then once I enter university, I would work hard to get scholarships. We will see what I can do. Thank you very much for the advice

[OubaasDik]

Be careful, Amandio about the subjects you take ....

Straight BSc subjects and Engineering BSc subjects are not equal ...

I had a number of Wits BSc (Eng) subjects (up to 3rd year) and wanted to do a BSc with Unisa - NONE of my subjects were allowed.

Rather look at TAFE and apprenticeships here that will lead to what you want.

Sorry to be a wet blanket ...

[AmandioJNR]

@OBD thanks for the warning. I'd rather have someone tell me before I make a mistake so no need to be sorry

To be honest, I don't want to have to deal with UNISA anyway, so I will see my options over in Australia.

[Mara]

Amandio, what about Open University Australia? I have no idea whether or not they will offer the course that you want or even what their cost is, but perhaps it is something to check out. They are the same as Unisa, so you study in your own time by correspondence. Here is the link:

http://www.open.edu.au/?gclid=CjwKEAiA74qkBRCdrM-6or7U73QSJABCDL9pvKlU2Wr44lXQPVh1V6_deCr-dGg2rEAN3Esgyp82ahoCOpnw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[AmandioJNR]

Hey @Mara,

After lots of thinking and stressing, I've decided that the best thing for me to do is go to the nearest university to the place that we settle. I am going to sell my car soon and I will use that money to pay for my tuition, my parents have agreed to help me out with half. I will study at whatever university I can for at least a year and apply at some of the larger universities and apply for scholarships at the same time. That way I am being productive and cut one year off without waiting for the bigger universities. I hope it all works out.

Thanks for the link, I did have a look at it. After trawling the Web it seems that the only thing I could gather from it all is that if it is Mechanical engineering that the institution offers, it's going to cost $8000 (approximately, slightly less sometimes). My biggest concern was getting funding for residency as I wanted to study at a more reputable university but I've realized that I can't be fussy.