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Deciding to return to education in later life can be the start of an exciting journey. Learning can not only expand our minds but also open up a range of new career prospects.
However, with some courses charging eye-watering fees and various other financial responsibilities to balance, the prospect of learning in later life can often seem daunting.
Luckily, there are ways you might be able to get help with paying tuition and supporting yourself and your family while you study, so you can focus on fulfilling your goals.
To help you get started, here are our four top tips on financing education later in life.
1. Check whether you can learn for free
It might sound a little obvious, but the first thing to do when working out how to finance your studies is to see if you can do it for free.
Free qualification courses
If you’re hoping to gain a qualification, you could be eligible for a range of government schemes that deliver free education to adults and help them gain in-demand skills to open up a range of job opportunities.
For instance, adults don’t normally have to pay to take their first English or Maths GCSE, and some digital skills courses are also free. These can help you brush up on essential digital skills that’ll come in handy in life and work.
Plus, if you don’t already hold a full Level 3 qualification (which is equivalent to an advanced technical certificate, diploma, or two A-levels), you might be entitled to take one of a range of government-funded Level 3 courses for free.
New City College estimates that Level 3 qualifications can boost your income by 16% and help you stand out in job applications. They’re available in a range of subjects – from engineering and science to childcare and early years. While there are no course fees, you might have to pay a small college membership fee. But you might be able to get help with costs like childcare and travel.
You can browse these courses and check if you’re eligible on the government website.
Free courses if you don’t want a qualification
If you’re not looking for a qualification and you just want to learn more about a subject that you’re passionate about, the good news is you have even more options to learn for free.
Two of the most popular resources that provide knowledge seekers with free online courses are OpenLearn and FutureLearn.
OpenLearn is run by The Open University, and its free courses are made up of material from the OU’s curriculum and dozens of specially commissioned Badged Open Courses. So you can rest assured you’re accessing expert knowledge.
FutureLearn also offers a wide range of free online courses from universities and other institutions worldwide. You can get a Certificate of Achievement to include on your CV, though this comes at an extra cost.
Although online learning has opened up lots of educational opportunities to a wide range of people, not everyone wants to learn online. You might prefer a classroom setting where you can interact with other people while you learn.
In this case, you might be able to access in-person courses and workshops for free. To find these, it’s worth speaking to your local council, library, or community centre.
2. Do your research when looking for courses
No matter what you want to study, there’s a wide range of providers out there offering different courses at different prices. So when you’re looking for a course, it’s important to do as much research as you can to get the best value for your money.
Sometimes, these price variations can be relatively small. For example, University Centre Farnborough offer their Aeronautical Engineering Higher National Certificate (HNC) course for £5500, while the equivalent course at Harlow College costs £6185.
But, other times, especially if you want to study for an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, the price variation can be huge, and you could save thousands of pounds depending on where you study. For example, The Open University offers its three-year BA in English Literature for £8,176 per year, while the University of Birmingham offers theirs for £9,790 per year.
However, it’s worth bearing in mind that no two courses are made equal. So even if two courses grant you the same qualification, it doesn’t necessarily mean that both will have the same quality of teaching and cover the same content. Getting the best value for money isn’t necessarily about choosing the cheapest course you can find, so investigating each course thoroughly is also important.
There are many ways you can get an idea of how good a course is, but two great ways to do so are to look at the course content, which can usually be found on the course provider’s website, and to read reviews from past students. You can search for student reviews on broad websites like Trustpilot, or you can use student-specific services like WhatUni and StudentCrowd.
It’s also worth seeing if your course provider offers open days or taster sessions, so you can get an idea of what the teaching and atmosphere will be like.
3. Find out about government-funded loans
If you’re looking to study for a degree, you could consider applying for a government-funded loan.
Tuition fee loans
Tuition fee loans are for exactly what you might guess; they cover the cost of your tuition. These are paid directly to your course provider, so you don’t have to pay your tuition up front.
You typically won’t have to pay back tuition fee loans until you finish your degree, and when exactly this is will depend on how much you earn and which repayment plan you’re on. You can find more information about this on the government’s website.
Whether or not you’re eligible for a tuition fee loan (and how much you can get) depends on a wide range of factors, including what course you’re studying and if you’ve studied a higher education qualification before, as well as personal circumstances like your nationality.
To find out more about tuition fee loans, including whether or not you’re eligible for one, take a look at the student finance section of the government website.
Maintenance loans
You might not only need financial support when it comes to paying your tuition, but also for living expenses such as travel, accommodation, and groceries. In this case, it’s worth seeing if you’re entitled to a maintenance loan to help cover costs like these.
Whether or not you’re eligible for a maintenance loan – and how much you’re eligible for – depends on a wide range of factors. Some of the most influential of these are your household income, where you live, where you’re studying, and your age.
Age is an important factor, as if you’re 60 or over on or before the first day of the first academic year of your course and studying full-time, you may get limited funding for maintenance loans.
To find out more about maintenance loans, including whether or not you’re eligible for one, the best place to look is over on the student finance section of the government website.
Advanced learner loans
If you’re studying a government-approved course at Level 3, 4, 5, or 6 (A-level to degree equivalent), you may be able to apply for what’s called an advanced learner loan to help pay towards your tuition.
Whether or not you’re eligible for an advanced learner loan will depend on a range of factors, including whether or not you’ve had one in the past (the maximum is four), as well as your nationality or residency status and the length of your course.
If you want to find out more about advanced earner loans and whether or not you’re eligible for one, the government website has more information.
Important note: Student finance for higher education is changing. If your higher education course begins after 1st January 2027, you may need to apply for a Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) loan.
This scheme is replacing the current system in England, and it’s designed to make access to student finance more flexible. Instead of applying for specific courses, successful applicants will be granted a loan entitlement that they can use throughout their lives until it runs out, giving them the chance to upskill through courses and short study modules when needed.
In many cases, LLE loans can still be used to cover tuition and maintenance costs. However, frustratingly, people aged 60 or over won’t be able to get tuition fee loans, unlike under the previous scheme, which had no upper age limit. This is something that we, frankly, do not understand.
You can find out more about LLE loans on the government’s website.
4. Consider applying for grants, bursaries, and scholarships
If you’re looking for ways to finance your education in later life, it’s also worth looking to see if you can take advantage of any grants, bursaries, or scholarships. Unlike loans, if you qualify for one of these, you won’t usually have to pay the money back.
In most cases, grants and bursaries are offered to help underrepresented groups (such as people from low-income households or those with disabilities) excel in education – and they’re typically intended to help cover living expenses. The main difference between the two is that grants are usually offered by charities, trusts, and other organisations, while universities, colleges, and potential employers typically provide bursaries.
Scholarships, on the other hand, are typically offered by the same organisations as bursaries – the main differences being that they tend to be awarded to students because of academic excellence, and they usually cover tuition fees as well as some living expenses.
If you’re interested in applying for a grant, bursary, or scholarship, then, to help you along and give you an idea of what’s out there, here are a few popular government-funded ones that you might be eligible for.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)
Disabled Students’ Allowance is a government-funded grant that aims to help undergraduate and postgraduate university students with disabilities, long-term health conditions, or learning difficulties with any extra costs that may arise due to their disability during their time in education.
This can include money towards costs for any specialist equipment, non-medical helpers (such as British Sign Language interpreters), extra travel costs that arise because of your disability, and any other disability-related study support.
Once your eligibility for DSA has been confirmed, you may be required to go through what’s called a ‘needs assessment’, which is designed to work out what help you can access through the scheme.
To find out more about Disabled Students’ Allowance and see if you’re eligible, take a look at the government website.
Teacher training bursaries and scholarships
If you’re looking to return to education to become a teacher, you might be eligible to apply for postgraduate bursaries or scholarships to cover or contribute to the cost of training.
Postgraduate bursaries are tax-free payments for people who are training to teach certain subjects. You don’t need to apply for one of these, as you’ll automatically be awarded one if you meet the eligibility criteria.
As for postgraduate scholarships, these are given out by different organisations to support people training in certain in-demand subjects. If you’re eligible, you’ll need to apply directly to the provider to be granted one.
To find out more about postgraduate bursaries and scholarships, including how to apply for scholarships, head over to the UCAS website.
And if you’re considering becoming a teacher in later life, but you’re unsure how to get started, why not check out our guide to becoming a teacher? You might also be interested in reading Frances’ story, who became a teacher in her 50s after a career in the armed forces.
Childcare grant
If you’re responsible for children under the age of 15 (or under 17 if they have special educational needs) and you’re looking to study a higher education course full-time, you might be worried about how you’re going to care for them. In this case, the government offers a grant to help with the cost of childcare.
For information on the Childcare Grant and to see if you’re eligible, take a look at the government website.
More resources…
To find out more about scholarships, grants, and bursaries for university students, you can also head over to the UCAS website or visit the government website.
Final thoughts…
Whether you want to gain a GCSE qualification or a postgraduate degree, there are lots of things to consider when it comes to financing your education. And although knowledge should be free to everyone, unfortunately, some of the courses out there aren’t too easy on the wallet.
However, we hope these tips will help you bring down the cost of whatever you’re studying, so you can take steps towards achieving your goals.
If you’re thinking about returning to education but have some reservations about taking the plunge, why not have a read of our article, 6 fears you might have about returning to education as an older adult? It outlines a few common worries people have about learning later in life, but also offers tips on how to overcome them.
And if you’re interested in gaining a degree, we have a few different articles to help you on your journey. Why not take a look at our guide to becoming a university student in your 50s, 60s, and beyond, as well as our tips for choosing a university as a mature student?
Do you have any tips for financing studies in later life? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
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